Kate Chopin

At Fault (1890) is a novel by American author Kate Chopin. Published at the author's expense, At Fault is the undervalued debut of a pioneering feminist and gifted writer who sought to portray the experiences of Southern women struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic hardship. Thérèse Lafirme is a Creole widow whose husband's death has made the Place-du-Bois plantation on the Cane River in northwestern Louisiana her sole responsibility....

Bayou Folk (1894) is a short story collection by American author Kate Chopin. Chopin, a pioneering feminist and gifted writer, sought to portray the experiences of Southern women and ethnic minorities struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic hardship. Bayou Folk collects twenty-three of her stories. "Beyond the Bayou" is the story of La Folle, a thirty-five-year-old black woman living on the outskirts of a Louisiana plantation....

A Night in Acadie (1897) is a short story collection by American author Kate Chopin. Chopin, a pioneering feminist and gifted writer, sought to portray the experiences of Southern women and ethnic minorities struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic hardship. A Night in Acadie collects twenty-one of her stories. In "A Night in Acadie," a young farmer named Telèsphore decides to take his meager earnings with him into town. Making...

Mrs. Louise Mallard, afflicted with a heart condition, reflects on the death of her husband from the safety of her locked room. Originally published in Vogue magazine, "The Story of an Hour" was retitled as "The Dream of an Hour," when it was published amid much controversy under its new title a year later in St. Louis Life. "The Story of an Hour" was adapted to film in The Joy That Kills by director Tina Rathbone, which was part of a PBS anthology...

In “The Kiss”, a beautiful young woman, Nathalie, has decided to marry the unattractive and uninteresting but very wealthy Mr. Brantain. When an old friend kisses her passionately in front of Mr. Brantain, Nathalie must control the damage done by this kiss in order to reassure Mr. Brantain. This done, the relieved Mr. Brantain proposes to her. At their wedding, her old friend appears and suggests another kiss. Has Nathalie arranged matters perfectly?...

Kate Chopin’s “A Reflection” is a reflection on the fortunes of life. It is a meditation on how some people succeed by harnessing their energy effectively while others get left behind.

In "A Respectable Woman", Mrs. Baroda, the wife of a wealthy sugar plantation owner plays hostess to Mr. Gouvernail, a friend of her husband’s. The reserved Mr. Gouvernail is a puzzle to Mrs. Baroda who is nonetheless intrigued by the man’s retiring nature. When the two speak to each other outside one evening, Mrs. Baroda wants to get closer to her guest but realizes this would be at odds with her position as a “respectable woman”. First published...

In “The Locket”, a confederate soldier declines his fellow soldiers’ request to reveal the contents of the locket around his neck. The locket, which holds pictures of his fiancée’s parents and the date of their wedding is found on the battlefield after a battle. Later, the soldier’s fiancée visits the battlefield with the soldier’s father, both shaken with grief. The soldier’s father asks his son’s fiancée to remove her veil, as...

Las mujeres se han amado desde siempre. No obstante, las diversas formas del amor sáfico permanecieron ocultas, encriptadas y codificadas hasta prácticamente las primeras décadas del siglo XX. Antes de El pozo de la soledad (1928) de Radclyffe Hall, considerada la primera novela de tema lésbico en lengua inglesa, se habían publicado otros textos de idéntica temática, principalmente poesía. Era extraño, pues, que un género tan extendido y...

El despertar narra el progresivo acercamiento a la libertad de Edna Pontellier; mujer casada con un rico comerciante de Nueva Orleans y madre de dos hijos. Durante unas vacaciones en Grand Isle, en la costa sur de Luisiana, Edna empieza a conocerse como mujer y su vida, tal y como la ha concebido hasta ese momento, comienza a carecer de sentido. Edna entra en crisis al poner en duda el papel del matrimonio y la maternidad, manifiesta abiertamente...