kate chopin

The writings of Kate Chopin do not compare to the ones of America Romantics that we read. Romanticism greatly differs from the Realism that Kate Chopin bases her two stories “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings” on. Romanticism is the idea of using strong emotion and imagination to describe the true beauty of nature. Kate Chopin’s “Lilacs” does have a hint of Romanticism however. She uses images that describe the Romanticism idea by stating “And I never smell the sweet scented honeysuckle without living again through the blessed day of my first communion" and other descriptive images like “At the very first whiff of a lilac blossom, I am gone! There is no holding me back.” With these lines incorporated in her story you would assume that maybe it would be based on American Romanticism, but after reading the rest of her story you realize that it has the entire feel of American Realism. American Realism is based upon the idea in the visual arts and literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation. In the story “Lilacs” Adrienne banned from the convent because of her life style. She is thought of to be too wild and is not accepted by the other nuns. And the story “A Pair of Silk Stockings” deals with the idea of putting yourself before others. Both of these stories deal with reality and ideas that people go through on an average day.

Kate Chopin’s stories pertain to the idea of a woman’s search for selfhood. This theme appears in both stories, “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” In “Lilacs” A woman named Adrienne lives a double life. She stays in Paris with her servant Sophie and lives a life full of “sin.” But when she returns back to the convent she tries to redirect her life by the way of the nuns. Mother Superior of the convent finds out about her other side and she is banned from the convent forever. The search that Adrienne made toward self discovery left her without half of herself. This story shows the line between being yourself and trying to find yourself. In the story “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Mrs. Sommers runs across fifteen dollars her first thoughts were to spend it on her kids. But when the day ends it appears that all the money is gone and she is left with plenty of things she bought for herself. Mrs.Sommers tries to be a better mom for her children but ends up getting caught in the idea of spoiling herself. Both of the women in her story go on a personal search and both of them fail in one way or the other.

I don’t think that Kate Chopin is writing for just one set of readers. I think that she is honestly writing for whoever wants to read it. In both stories, “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, her writing deals with situations that women could find themselves in. In “Lilacs” a woman finds herself caught in an internal lie. In the end she ends up being banned from something bigger than herself, the convent. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings” a woman finds herself splurging on herself rather than taking care of her family. Both of these stories do use woman as the main characters but not only them go through situations like this. I think Kate Chopin’s stories are written to give advice to people going through real life problems.

As Kate Chopin’s reader, her stories did have a strong sense of woman life issues. I enjoyed reading “A Pair of Silk Stockings” more because I could better relate to the issue. I understand how hard it is to put others before yourself. So reading how the story unfolded didn’t blame me much.

“A dollar or two should be added to the price usually paid for Janie's shoes, which would insure their lasting an appreciable time longer than they usually did. She would buy so and so many yards of percale for new shirt waists for the boys and Janie and Mag. She had intended to make the old ones do by skilful patching. Mag should have another gown. She had seen some beautiful patterns, veritable bargains in the shop windows. And still there would be left enough for new stockings -- two pairs apiece -- and what darning that would save for a while! She would get caps for the boys and sailor-hats for the girls. The vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives excited her and made her restless and wakeful with anticipation.”
After reading that paragraph I was drawn into the story of “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” The idea that a woman found money and her first thought was her children was very touching to me. I really hoped that Mrs.Sommers would go through with her plan. I was very disappointed when she ended up spending it all on herself. The way Chopin made Mrs.Sommers appear I really believed that she would do the right thing. The theme really shined reading this story.