Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin was born in 1851 in the southern US state of Missouri to an Irish immigrant father and a mother of Canadian descent. She married at twenty after a standard young woman’s education and, before she was thirty, had six children. Her husband’s business failed around that time, causing the family to move to Louisiana, where he managed others’ property and opened a general store. This was not enough, however, to pay his debts and, on his sudden death, Chopin was left penniless, forcing her to move back with her mother, who promptly died as well. Chopin took up writing to overcome her depression at the deaths of these much-loved figures so close together. She wrote novels at first: the most famous, ‘The Awakening’ (1899), is now highly regarded. However, the feminist ideas Chopin expressed were far ahead of their time and the book was widely seen as immoral. She turned to short stories, influenced by the French author, Guy de Maupassant, but never made much money from these either. She died of a brain haemorrhage in 1904. Her reputation as a major writer had to wait until the feminist movement of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Articles by Kate Chopin

The Kiss

IntermediateFiction

The heroine of this story has decided that money is more important in a husband than love and a very rich man she knows is about to ask to marry her. Then something goes very wrong. But, in the end, she believes she has both riches and affection … or does she? (970 words)

A Respectable Woman

Upper-IntermediateFiction

Mrs. Baroda was not happy when her husband invited an old friend to spend some time at their country home. She had been looking forward to being alone with her husband after a busy few weeks spent with friends. To make matters worse, she was less impressed with the quiet man when he arrived – he did not seem to be half the man her husband had described. But then things changed … (1,300 words)

The Story of an Hour

Pre-IntermediateFiction

This very short Kate Chopin story is about a young married woman, who is told her husband has died in a train accident. Although she's upset, she also believes that she will now be able to live her own life. (825 words)

Desirée’s Baby

AdvancedFiction

In this story of romance and prejudice in the slave-owning South of 19th century America, an orphan called Désirée falls in love with a wealthy man. He’s mad about her and at first they’re in heaven. The dream dies when he realises their child is not white but there is a surprising twist at the end. (1,850 words)

The Story of an Hour

AdvancedFiction

This very short story by the feminist American writer, Kate Chopin, examines the awakening of hope in a young, but sick, married woman, when she believes that the death of her much-loved husband in a train accident will allow her to live her own life. 'The Story of an Hour’ is also available at pre-intermediate level (930 words).