Questions and Answers for Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin
What is the theme of "Ripe Figs" by Kate Chopin?
Another theme of this story is that patience can be taught. Young people can struggle with patience, and this is the case with Babette; older folks tend to have a bit more patience because they...
Kate Chopin
What symbolism is there in "Ripe Figs" by Kate Chopin?
The ripe figs seem to symbolize the idea that there is a good time for everything, and everything happens in its own good time. We cannot force the figs to ripen sooner than they will; they will...
Kate Chopin
What is the theme of "The Kiss" by Kate Chopin?
The main theme of the story is that a woman cannot possibly expect both passion and wealth in marriage: she must choose one. Chopin often writes about the untenable choices women had to make during...
Kate Chopin
What are the characters and characteristics in The Kiss by Kate Chopin?
The three characters in Kate Chopin’s short story “The Kiss” are Nathalie, Brantain and Harvy. As with much of Kate Chopin’s work, this story sheds light on women’s lives and their place in...
Kate Chopin
How does the short story "A Respectable Woman" demonstrate the universal truth of pride?
Kate Chopin's short story, "A Respectable Woman," has several themes, to be expected from an author with such strong female protagonists. However, the story may also demonstrate the universal truth...
Kate Chopin
In "The Story of an Hour," explain the elements you feel the author used that helped shape this story and make it...
The author used several plays on word that succintly imply the matters at hand. The first thing we see is her description of the main character's condition as "heart trouble"- what sort of trouble...
Kate Chopin
In the story, "The Kiss" by Kate Chopin, what roles do the settings play in the story?
Settings play a key role in establishing the characters of this terrific short story all about the way that a woman is able to manipulate her way into a wealthy marriage, in spite of an incident...
Kate Chopin
Please give a summary of "Athenaise" by Kate Chopin.
This short story by Kate Chopin features the characters Athenaise, who has been recently married to Cazeau, her brother, called Monteclin and another man called Gouvernail. The story starts with...
Kate Chopin
What are the themes in "Athenaise" by Kate Chopin?
The key theme in this short story is a theme that is explored in many of Chopin's works, which is the theme of marriage and woman's role within it. What leads Athenaise to reject her husband and...
Kate Chopin
Please give a summary of "Beyond the Bayou" by Kate Chopin.
"Beyond the Bayou" by Kate Chopin features a black woman called Jacqueline, but who is known as "La Folle" (Crazy Woman in French) because of the way that she has drawn "an imaginary line" through...
Kate Chopin
Share your ideas about the main characters in Kate Chopin's "Ripe Figs."
Unfortunately I had to edit your question to focus on just one question. You are not allowed to ask multiple questions. You have picked a rather intriguing story to focus on. I think "Ripe Figs" is...
Kate Chopin
What overall feeling do you get when you read The Locket by Kate Chopin? Does this mood change at all throughout the...
The feeling I get when I read this short story is one of mystery. The author sets the stage for this right from the very beginning when she describes the locket as some sort of good luck charm....
Kate Chopin
Compare and contrast the way the female charachters are presented in Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" and Charlotte...
There is a frightening modern relevance to Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper": Both these short stories point to the power that people can wield...
Kate Chopin
What is the setting of Kate Chopin's story "A Pair of Silk Stockings"?
The city in which "A Pair of Silk Stockings" is set is unnamed; however it is large enough to have a department store, theatre, and a trolley car. In the 1890s this could easily be New Orleans...
Kate Chopin
How are the author's values reflected in the story "The Story of An Hour"?
Kate Chopin was an advocate for women's liberation from Victorian restrictions. Her narrative of "The Story of an Hour" exemplifies the stultifying impact of biological determinism, social...
Kate Chopin
A pair of Silk Stocking Setting and and conflicts
The conflict of this story falls into the character vs. character kind. Mrs. Sommers is no longer used to spending money on herself. She has, apparently, several children who require all the things...
Kate Chopin
In "The Storm," does Chopin prepare us for the adultery that occurs, or is it a surprise? Is the incident itself...
Chopin certainly puts the ingredients together for adultery to take place in "The Storm," but the foreshadowing is very subtle, so it definitely sets the reader up to be surprised by Calixta and...
Kate Chopin
Who or what is the protagonist and antagonist in the short story "The Kiss" by Kate Chopin?
Well, I suppose this question depends very much on who you side with when you think about the characters in this short story. The protagonist is the character who is trying to achieve something and...
Kate Chopin
Can someone give me a good thesis answering this question: "What actions are expected of individuals within society?"...
I am not quite sure what you mean by "hook-up" sentence. Are you referring to a "hook" which is the initial sentence of an introduction (used to grab the attention of the reader), or are you...
Kate Chopin
Which female character in Chopin's stories possesses true love for her husband? Calixta, Louise or Desiree?
I think one can argue that both Calixta and Desiree truly do love their husbands. However, one would be hard-pressed to make the same argument about Louise Mallard. When Louise learns of her...
Kate Chopin
(a) How is Bruce, Alceé's manservant, important and what information does Alceé give him that he provides to...
In Chopin's short story "At the 'Cadian Ball," Bruce, the manservant of the Laballières, tells Mademoiselle Clarisse that Alceé Laballière has gone to the Cajun (Acadian) ball. He explains that...
Kate Chopin
In responding to Kate Chopin's tale "The Story of an Hour," do you condemn Mrs. Mallard for reacting with such...
Mrs. Mallard lived in a society that, presumably, gave very little opportunities to women to succeed on their own. Moreover, she was ill and possibly unable to support herself independently, even...
Kate Chopin
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” and “Desiree’s Baby” the stories involve the reader in the experiences of...
Kate Chopin is able to write complex short stories in brief lengths for several reasons. In both of the examples listed, Chopin uses a third person limited point of view and spare figurative...
Kate Chopin
Through her work, what is Kate Chopin trying to convey?
I think that the basic idea of Chopin's work is to express what it means to be a woman. Writing from the age of 37, Chopin is able to bring out the unique dynamics and conditions that govern being...
Kate Chopin
In Kate Chopin's "A Night in Acadie," what is an example of binary opposition?
The Kate Chopin story "A Night in Arcadie" opens with binary opposition representing binary system. Binary opposition (BO) is used in contemporary literary criticism by structuralist,...
Kate Chopin
What are some of the language features in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" and how do they add to the total effect?
One language technique that Chopin uses is imagry. This is where you use the 5 senses to describe a scene, helping it to seem more vibrant and alive. After Louise has heard the news of her...
Kate Chopin
What kind of assumptions can be made about Babette's past in "Ripe Figs"?
In Kate Chopin's 1892 short story "Ripe Figs," very little is made explicit about the two characters, Babette and Maman-Nainaine. The term "Maman-Nainaine" translates to grandmother, but Chopin...
Kate Chopin
In "Odalie Misses Mass," what does Kate Chopin say about southerners using ironic criticism?
In "Odalie Misses Mass," the main character, Odalie, is a young white girl who goes to visit her an older black woman named Aunt Pinky. At first, Odalie says and does many things that could be...
Kate Chopin
Write a compare and contrast essay about the internal and external conflicts of Ian and Cress. To help answer this...
[ While Enotes educators do not compose essays, we are glad to assist with ideas as to the composition of comparison/contrast. ] Certainly, Katherine Mansfield's short story named after a Chopin...
Kate Chopin
Describe the interpretation of "Desiree's Baby," referencing specific passages about religion, family, race, or...
This story by Kate Chopin deals with issues of race, family, and racial stereotypes with minor references to religion. The reaction of a mother to her child is repeated in three different ways. The...
Kate Chopin
How is gender defined in Kate Chopin’s works?
I think that any potential answer to this question is going to be larger than the space here will allow. Chopin's understanding of women's identity and, basically what it means, to be a woman is...
Kate Chopin
What are some of the themes in "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin?
Like previously stated, the loss of freedom due to marriage, and the existence of the self-assertive woman despite of social limitation are, indeed, themes in the story. However, upon performing a...
Kate Chopin
When Kate Chopin's The Awakening was published in 1899 it seen as "dangerous" and was removed from libraries and...
At the time The Awakening was published women were expected to behave in a certain way. Women were supposed to be demure, submissive, subservient to their fathers and husbands. Patriarchal society...
Kate Chopin
What similarities do the women in Wharton's story "The Other Two" and in Chopin's story "At the Cadian Ball" exhibit...
In both "At the Cadian Ball" and "The Other Two," we meet women who arrange, manage, and control their men. They are self-possessed people who know how to get what they want. A more negative...
Kate Chopin
Based on Kate Chopin's short stories, "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour," what are her views on marriage?
I think that in the two stories specified, Chopin views marriage as an institution that inhibits individual desires, specifically those of women. Calixta and Louise Mallard are both repressed, to...
Kate Chopin
Explain the cultural, social, and historical implications of "The Storm"
Kate Chopin's short story "The Storm" was not published during her lifetime because of its scandalous (for that time) content. In the late-ninteenth century, women writing about adulterous and...
Kate Chopin
I am trying to write a thesis statement to argue how different the story would be set in todays world with DNA...
Please repost your question with the specific Kate Chopin story to which you are referring. This will give you the best possible answer from one of our superb eNotes editors.
Kate Chopin
In "Odalie Misses Mass," by Kate Chopin, what does the author say about the Southern region? Is she being...
To answer your question, Kate Chopin may have written Odalie Misses Mass as a literary experiment. Chopin wrote in the 19th century, when stories about female friendships were rare. In fact,...
Kate Chopin
In "Odalie Misses Mass," what is Kate Chopin saying about the South using muckraking? What is she trying to...
Muckraking is considered investigative writing meant to expose social ills or corporate and political corruption. In her short story "Odalie Misses Mass," Kate Chopin exposes some of the social...
Kate Chopin
In the story, "the storm" and "the wall paper", how does the author view love/hate relationships according to their...
In "The Storm", Kate Chopin's main character Calixta lacks the understanding of what marriage is in terms of sexuality. She lives life as it is expected of her, and the relationship in her marital...
Kate Chopin
What themes does Chopin address that relate to societal changes in the late 19th century?
In addition to the ideas raised earlier, Chopin examined the changing perceptions of women towards their social roles in her short story, "The Story of an Hour." Chopin takes the notion of a...
Kate Chopin
Can we do research on Kate Chopin's story Charlie and The Christ Light through psycho feminism view? im a researcher...
I'll be happy to provide whatever help I can (feel free to "message" me). Let me say for now that there are three things that I always try to do when beginning to develop a research project on a...
Kate Chopin
What region of the Unted States provides the setting for the short story "The Storm", by Kate Chopin and...
Lousiana is the setting for "The Storm" by Kate Chopin. (See the sources cited below.)Kate Chopin (1851-1904) was an intelligent and witty debutante who traveled to Europe and then...
Kate Chopin
Would you please guide me to a new approach and views of feminism that can be applied and new on Kate Chopin's...
Concerning your plans to analyze Kate Chopin from the feminist point of view/feminist literary theory, it is every critic's goal to discover and relate something new. It is a particularly...
Kate Chopin
Question on my Ideas for an argumentative paper on "A Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin. I am considering writing my...
This is a very good approach to Kate Chopin. When her husband died, he left her with six children and substantial debts in a period in which women had few avenues open to earn money. Her career as...
Kate Chopin
Are the stories of KATE CHOPIN, THE AMERICAN WRITER, PSYCHOLOGICAL? Are the stories of KATE CHOPIN, THE AMERICAN...
Many of Chopin's stories are highly psychological. In my opinion, this is no better seen in the short story, "The Story of an Hour." Mrs. Mallard's extreme emotional roller coaster upon hearing...
Kate Chopin
What is the relation between the stories "The Storm" and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin?
I think that one can find a couple of links between both of Chopin's short stories. The depiction of women being able to act on their autonomy or consider a life where this freedom is activated is...