Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin's style of writing compared to those of the American romantics we have read are quite similar. From the title, the short story seems like it would be more pleasant and jubilee, but in reality, the story has a more darker meaning. Similar to the American romantic's. In "A pair of silk stockings," a woman possesses fifteen dollars, and she plans to spend the money wisely, but once she goes out, she ends up spending all the money on herself. I think this is depicting the situation that many Americans are in today. With our struggling economy, we all should spend the little money we make wisely. But the question is, do we? Another ominous theme i see is in the other story, "Lilacs." The tale is about how a girl grew up in a convent but chose to move out when she has matured. Once in a while , she would come back to visit. But she only comes to visit when she smells lilacs. When the sweet fragrance of lilacs make contact with her nostrils, she must go visit the convent, at all costs. I think that she has mental issues, or some problem. Therefore, she has been banned from the convent. So, there is some type of Realism depicted in the two short stories.
I think one of Kate Chopin's main focus is society. In both of her stories, the main character is a woman who is struggling in society. In the first one, the woman finds it hard to keep money in her pocket in a society where people need to conserve. In the second story, a woman is trying to keep a part of her past with her in the present, and fails. Society is "the real world," and as every parent will say to the children, "the real world is a cruel place."
After reading these two stories, I feel that Chopin is writing to women, and she is writing for women. I think she is using writing as a sanctuary, where she can communicate the true feelings of a conflicted woman, with other women. But i don't think minds when men read her work.
As a male reader, you might say that her writing is of no relevance to me, but it does. I mean just because the story depicts a woman, doesn't mean that a man can keep money in his pocket either. From reading her work, I can really see that our world is in a tight place, and it is up to us to fix it. It is all up to use to make the decision not to buy the pair of silk stockings, an expensive meal, and other unnecessary luxuries.
"Now, there was only room for tears. She leaned her forehead against the heavy oaken panel of the door and wept with the abandonment of a little child." Chopin uses metaphors countless times in her writing, and they really bring out a sense of sympathy from me, as the reader, to the main character. Another thing she does, is that she infuses another language with her text which heightens my skills in context clue usage.
To summarize, Kate Chopin has a very unique and distinct way of writing and after reviewing some of her work, I learned to really appreciate her writing. Even though i feel that her audience range didn't really include me.