Kate Chopin [Reading Journal]

Kate Chopin’s writings have a somewhat slight tie to the American Romanticism era. Romanticism writers create stories describing Nature and her beauty, expanding on individual feelings and emotions. In her story, “Lilacs”, Adrienne Farival visits the church every spring where she spent her childhood. At the first bloom of spring, lilacs bloom and remind her of her past. There were also many descriptive images described in the story that gives it a touch of romanticism such as “the sweet odor of lilac blossoms” and “the notes of birds, just as we hear them now, and the humming of insects”. The connection with nature and lilacs gives the story a slight bond to the romanticism writings. The rest of “Lilacs” and “A Pair of Silk Stockings” are pure American Realism writings. Both stories depict reality how it is. For “Lilacs”, Adrienne was kicked out and banished from the church in the end because she was impure compared to the other nuns. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Mrs. Sommers spoils herself with the money she finds. It shows that people have fantasies and would like to try to live another life even if it’s only for a day.

A major theme in Chopin’s writings deals with feminism. Both of her stories revolved around a main female character that had slight issues with their individual life. In “Lilacs”, Adrienne lived a double life and that ended up conflicting with one another. In Paris, Adrienne is a lazy, immature woman who throws flowers at her maid when she gets irritated. When she goes to visit the church, she is a calm and happy lady. After Mother Superior found out about her Paris life, she banished Adrienne from ever coming back. The main idea in this short story was the strict boundary between being pure and impure in the Catholic religion. It states that you cannot be both sexually active and chaste at the same time. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Mrs. Sommers is a poor mother but she does her best to keep her children happy. After encountering fifteen dollars on the ground, she ended up spoiling herself with the materials she could have never afforded before. Mrs. Sommers did think about her children at first, but she later fell under the spell of materialism. Chopin does use some humor in her stories to give a mini lesson about several situations in life.

I believe that Chopin’s audience could be anyone who is willing to read and learn from her stories. She included mini facts/lessons in both of her stories and probably more in other writings. In “Lilacs”, she was probably trying to say that living a double life would most likely not work out in the end. She also mentioned about religion and how strict it is when it comes down to being pure or impure. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, she was trying to say that anyone, rich or poor, has a fantasy to be someone they are not, even if it doesn’t last long. Her writings were probably written for the women in the 1890s. During that time, women couldn’t vote, own property, and had a low chance of finding a job. Chopin probably wrote it to expand on a woman’s life during her time.

As a reader, I liked her story “A Pair of Silk Stockings” the most. The lesson about how materialism can effect anyone is what stood out to me the most. This is true today because many people, especially teenagers, are constantly wanting new items and things. Some people are even greedy enough to steal, murder, and kill others to obtain it. Her writing style made this story appealing too. It included imagery, humor, and a bit of irony.

“She descended the steps with a nerveless and dragging tread. Once as she was walking away, she turned to look back at the imposing facade of the convent, hoping to see a familiar face, or a hand, even, giving a faint token that she was still cherished by some one faithful heart. But she saw only the polished windows looking down at her like so many cold and glittering and reproachful eyes... After a short while, a lay sister came out of the door with a broom, and swept away the lilac blossoms which Adrienne had let fall upon the portico.”
This scene happened after Mother Superior banished Adrienne from ever coming back to the church. She looked back to see if anyone felt pity for her, but no one was there for her. After she left, someone came out to sweep away the lilac blossoms that Adrienne dropped as she became heartbroken. This passage from “Lilacs” made me feel extremely sorry for Adrienne. She got turned down in a very cruel way and the lilac blossoms that were swept away was symbolic. Nothing of her remained at the church after she was exiled. The way Chopin chose to write this scene brought out many emotions that could be felt by the reader for Adrienne.