The Kiss By Kate Chopin

The female role in today’s society, is drastically different than the female role that took place in the 1800’s. The short story “The Kiss” by Kate Chopin gives an introspective look at a women in that time period deciding between wealth and lust. The two men in the story represent two extreme stereotypes, however their relationship with Nathalie is not quite so typical. How Nathalie interacts with the men in the story, as well as Nathalie’s thought process with each man, hints the reader to notice how Nathalie was a feminist in the beginning stages.

Unlike a majority of Chopin 's stories, the main character Nathalie, is a strong willed women that possess no feelings of uncertainty or true mental conflict. Nathalie knows what she wants from

The character of Brantain is a rich man, that is visually displeasing and has an uninteresting nature. That juxtaposed with Harvy’s charming, dashing nature and levels of intelligence make it appear to the reader as a clear choice as to which man would preferred by Nathalie. In the very beginning of the short story Chopin tells the reader “It was still quite light out of doors, but inside with the curtains drawn and the smouldering fire sending out a dim, uncertain glow, the room was full of deep shadows”(lines 1-3), in many ways this line acts as foreshadowing to later in the story and mirrors Brantain and Nathalie’s relationship. Just as the room has been darkened by the drawn curtains, Brantain also remains in the dark when it comes to Nathalie’s affair with Harvy. The fact that Chopin describes the glow from the fire as being “uncertain” also appears to mirror the uncertainty that Brantain has when it comes to Nathalie’s relationship with Harvy. When Chopin describes the room as being “full of deep shadows”, it appears to be mirroring Brantain and Nathalie’s relationship, all is not as it would seem. However Nathalie does not see that as a problem whatsoever. This perspective was quite uncommon for women in this era. The idea of having more than one man for one women seems quite taboo and inappropriate. Women in the 1800’s did not have an open choice as to who they wanted to marry, when approached with the actual marriage, the women would never even think to continue more than one relationship. However Nathalie did not mind whether or not what she was doing was