Kate Chopins Controversial Views Essays - Frdric Chopin,

Kate Chopin's Controversial Views "Too strong a drink for moral babies, and should be labeled `poison'." was the how the Republic described Kate Chopin's most famous novel The Awakening (Seyersted 174). This was the not only the view of one magazine, but it summarized the feelings of society as a whole. Chopin woke up people to the feelings and minds of women. Even though her ideas were controversial at first, slowly over the decades people began to accept them. Kate O'Flaherty Chopin was raised in St. Louis in the 1850's and 1860's. Chopin had a close relationship with her French grandmother which lead to her appreciation of French writers. When she was only five Chopin's father, Thomas O'Flaherty died leaving her without a father figure. Eliza O'Flaherty, Chopin's mother, was from there on the head of the household. Chopin grew up knowing that women could be strong and intelligent and that they did not have to be submissive creatures (Skaggs 2). She loved her mother and considered her "A woman of great beauty, intelligence, and personal magnetism" (Seyersted 14). Growing up around independent women, however, did not dissuade her from marriage. Her marriage to Oscar Chopin by all accounts was a happy one. Taking on the role of a high society lady as well as wife and new mother, Chopin fit in well with the New Orleans culture. She enjoyed the Louisiana atmosphere so well that most of her writings were based here. Chopin continued living in Louisiana raising her six young children until the sudden death of her husband brought her back to St., Louis (Skaggs 3). Oscar Chopin died while their youngest child, Lelia was only three. Soon after Chopin moved her family to St. Louis to be with her dying mother. In the grief of her losses Chopin had to rediscover who she was. This challenge came out in her writing of heroines searching for self-understanding (Skaggs 3). No longer Eliza O'Flaherty's daughter or Oscar Chopin's wife, Kate Chopin was forced to find a new role for herself. Her new role would be a writer. A few key figures in her life influenced Chopin to write. Doctor Frederick Kolbemheyer was a life long friend on whose support she always relied. Raised in Austria and then exiled for his beliefs, Kolbemheyer was a philosopher and encouraged Chopin to read Darwin, Haxley, and Spencer. Their beliefs were very similar and he must have supported her when she denounced the Catholic religion after her mother's death. The beloved friends wrote to each other often while Chopin was in Louisiana. Seeing the talent in her writing, Kolbemheyer encouraged Chopin to publish her letters. She admired him greatly and even named her son Frederick after him. (Taylor 147). There were three American women writers of the time that Chopin admired. When asked who would be a good model woman writer she responded, "I know of no one better than Miss Jewett to study for technique and nicety of construction. I don't mention Mary E. Wilkins for she is a great genius and genius is not to be studied." (Taylor 163). Wilkins's book Pembroke was condemned by society and Chopin must have been sympathetic when five years later her own book The Awakening was also condemned. Chopin also looked up to Ruth McEnery Stuart and praised her work as being "True to nature," and having a "wholesome human note" (Taylor 163). It is notable that later Chopin's talent and style were to be compared to the works of these women whom she admired. The greatest influence on Chopin was the French writer Guy de Maupassant. Chopin describes Maupassant by writing, "Here was a man who escaped from tradition and authority ... looked out upon life through his own being with his own eyes; and who, in a direct and simple was, told up what he saw." (Taylor 159). Chopin translated eight of his works and through him developed her style of writing. She shared his concept of a hero : "An isolated world-weary and misanthropic hero who revels in his own sensuality; who trusts in nature and distrusts human relationships, especially love; who experiences a sense of liberation through solitary walks and confidences in his writing... and who is strongly drawn to death as a solution to the repetitive meaninglessness of life's pleasures. (Taylor 160) This was the basic outline for the plot of The Awakening . The book starts with Edna, a New Orleans high society wife and mother who was miserable with her life. While spending the summer in Grand Isle, Edna meets Mademoiselle Reiz whose music is the only thing in which Edna finds happiness.