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Kate Chopin Feminism And Feminism

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American Author, Kate Chopin came from the Victorian Era where women were oppressed and restricted from the freedoms most women enjoy today. Her contributions to American Literature through her numerous short stories and novels are often described as the beginning of modern feminism. There are claims that the feminist movement was born through her stories and books, Chopin is often described as a feminist writer of her time, although she did not see herself in that way. Many of her short stories and books focus on the struggles and oppression of women, but this was not the only theme she wrote about, some of her other themes in her books describe the women's revolt against conformity, and often against gender traditionalism. The ideal …show more content…

They were kept there until they conformed to acceptable social standards.
Kate Chopin was born Catherine O’Flaherty in St. Louis on the 8th of February 1850. Her mother, Eliza Faris, came from a French family and her father Thomas, was a successful Irish-born businessman, and died when Kate was five years old. Chopin was raised in a home primarily led by women, her mother, her grandmother, and the female slaves her mother owned, who took care of the children. She spoke French and played the piano. During her younger years she read books authored by Charles Dickens, Jane Austin and the Brontë’s. Chopin's writing career began after the death of her husband, Oscar Chopin. Soon after her husband’s death, her mother past away, leaving her in a state of depression because of the loss of both her husband and mother. Her obstetrician, and family friend, Dr. Frederick Kolbenheyer encouraged her to begin writing as a way for her to fight her depression and to possibly begin a healing process. This turned out to be a new way for her to generate some income she needed.
By the early 1890s, Chopin was writing short stories, and articles that appeared in periodicals and literary magazines. Chopin’s writing style was influenced by her family roots of French and Irish ancestry. She often placed her story settings in Louisiana. Her writing

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