Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Kate Chopin was an extremely talented writer during the 1800's. Kate Chopin is known for her stories about women's feeling, she was known to write about how women truly felt and their sexual desires that they were taught to keep inside. Kate Chopin is most known for her novel, The Awakening. The Awakening is a novel that deals women in marriages in the 1900's and dealing with trying to fulfill their desires. The novel is highly controversial much like Chopin's many other literary works. Chopin became one of the most controversial writers of the 19th century because she wrote about topics that were rarely spoken of. Despite what others would think of her and her stories, she continued to stand up for women and expressed their rights and spoke

By doing this, we see the difference in the narrators thought and Edna's thoughts at first then as the plot continues their opinions become more similar. By doing this, we see the Change in character and "awakening" that she experiences during the story. She goes from believing one thing and being submissive to seeking freedom and growing as a character.

"Chopin said herself that she was neither a feminist nor a suffragist" (Kort). However, she would drink, smoke, and was her own woman. She did many things that during that time and current times are considered feminist acts. She didn't want to live by the norms of society and strayed away from the boring wife role. Kate aimed to obtain physical, emotional and spiritual freedom in women, this was a theme in much of her work which is why her work seemed autobiographical. Kate Chopin was a daring writer, she defied everything she was taught. That makes her more appealing and influential to future

Her work was even suspended once because it had too many explicit details of love and sex. She even almost stopped writing. Her career lasted years and she wrote over 100 pieces of literature. She was an advocate for better treatment of women and freedom. However, during her time, her work was looked down upon, in later years, this type of writing became more common and she influenced many other writers. An example of someone she directly influenced was Barbra Ewell. Ewell was so influenced by Chopin's work that she wrote a book about her, entitled "Kate Chopin" in "American Literature. Ewell loved Chopin's ideas of feminism and sensuality. She wanted to give another insight on Kate Chopin's life. In her book, she brings recognition to Kate Chopin as an author, before her death and a while after, she was not highly recognized. After other authors, like Ewell began writing about her, her stories gained momentum. According to Barbra Ewell "Chopin let her imagination run wild and started to speak on physical interaction" (Ewell). Kate Chopin also influenced other writers from published authors to students such as myself. Kate Chopin brought sex in writing to the table and made it un-taboo. Not only did this influence other writers, she also started a movement for all the things that were taboo.