Kate Chopin's Reading Journal

Kate Chopin was a famous writer whose works were a main part of American realism. She wrote many short stories in which people can specifically relate to because she makes them realistic and tells of situations how they really are in everyday life. American realism was a time when the writers told a story that boys and girls could grow up with as a guide and made sure the stories relate to the average Americans life. In Chopin’s story’s Lilacs and A Pair of Silk Stockings she did just that. For example in Lilacs Adrienne lived a life of happiness. She had her life in Paris, but still visited the Church where she grew up at every year in the spring. In the End she was forbidden to go to the church anymore because she lived a life that had two sides to it and she wasn’t as pure as the other nuns were. This real life situation where people get rejected because they act like they are someone they are not. In Chopin’s other short story called A Pair of Silk Stockings a problem was brought out that still to this day we come across .She tells a story of a woman who spent all of her money she finds on stuff that she really didn’t need but greatly wanted. She wanted it because having a lot of money just to enjoy wasn’t a part of her daily life style and it was something different for her .Living a day in a life that we know we can’t have is something we can all relate to, and spending money like it grows on trees is another problem Americans seem to have. Although this was progress and Chopin’s writings had messages in them making her be a writer in the Realism time period there were some aspects in her works that could tie back to the previous time period of the American Romanics. The Romanic writers concentrated on nature’s beauty and emotion rather than reasonableness and being realistic. For instance, Chopin made several references to nature. A very vivid description of nature was used when she said “…could hear the notes of birds, just as we hear them now, and the humming of insects in the air.” Also when she describes her walk by saying “ … over the tufted grass down the gentle decline where it sloped toward the broad, flat meadow , and the limpid stream that flowed cool and fresh from the woods.”
Chopin’s stories are stories with meaning, but they have to be deeply looked into in order to get the message across. A theme that I got out of these short stories is that you can’t live a double life and live the life you wish you lived while being the person you truly are. Your character type in one setting cannot differ from your character in other circumstances because that is how problems are caused. In Lilacs, Adrienne acted one way in Paris, but a completely different way when she came to stay at the church. She was more open and on the crazy side in Paris, but at the church she acted as if she was always pure like the other nuns .Eventually this double act backfired on her. She was trying to pretend she lived a life under chastity but in reality she was a dancer and did scandals things. That is another little mini lesson that the story taught about the Catholic religion. In A Pair of Silk Stockings the main character, Mrs. Sommers was a mother who didn’t have a lot of money. When she found 15 dollars she had all intensions of spending it wisely, but instead she got caught up in living in the life she always wanted to live with extra money to just enjoy for herself. Both situations show that if you just live the life that was made out for you instead of changing things around to be someone you were not meant to be then there would be no bad consequences there for you in the near future. This author views the world as one big place where we all have a spot that is made for us.
Kate Chopin’s writings are made for any audience those choices to read them. Her purpose is to teach people a life lesson through a story that people can relate to .Any one can take interest in a story that they relate to. In the case of the two short stories I read from her theme of being someone you are not is something that everyone pretty much goes through at one time or another because it is part of finding out who you really are .Although her writings can relate to any one I particularly think it would be easier for females to relate to her stories .This is supported because the two main characters are females and although the stories have messages males can connect to , the story line itself is more set for girls. The females back in the day when Chopin wrote this didn’t have many opportunities set out for them and neither did the woman in her stories .The woman in Lilacs had set rules to live by and a certain way she had to do things in order to be excepted and the woman in A Pair of Silk Stockings didn’t have much money.
As a reader Kate Chopin’s way of writing is something that attracted me to her stories and kept me interested. I enjoy writing stories and most of the time they come easy to me, but there is always room to better my writing. I believe the way she ties in a message, is humorous and includes real life situations along with creating vivid images makes her a high-quality writer which allows me to read her works not only to enjoy them but to learn from them also.
“How good was the touch of the raw silk to her flesh! She felt like lying back in the cushioned chair and reveling for a while in the luxury of it. She did for a little while. Then she replaced her shoes, rolled the cotton stockings together and thrust them into her bag. After doing this she crossed straight over to the shoe department and took her seat to be fitted.” This is a quote from Kate Chopin’s story A Pair of Silk Stockings. I was attracted to this author’s works, especially this piece, because of her feminine ways. Her writings leave me with something to think about. The quote above can be particularly related to teenage girls. Shop till I drop is my motto and as soon as the mother in the story got extra money she seemed to have the same mind set even though she didn’t mean to. She went from store to store buying stuff she really didn’t need, but doing it made her feel complete. This is how a lot of girls of all ages feel about buying new things. They feel like they need it all but from the outside point of view, we already have too much.
In brief, Kate Chopin has writing talents that grab my attention and make me want to read her works, but also shows me an example of a good writer from the time of American Romanics. Her two stories A Pair of Silk Stockings and Lilacs both have themes that I can relate to. I believe I made a good choice when I choose this author.