Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Kate Chopin was born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1851. She was born to Eliza and Thomas O’Flaherty. Unfortunately, her father passed away when she was just five years old. “As a result, Kate Chopin lived her preteen years in a female-centered household. She lived with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother” (Tolentino 6). Most authors immerse themselves in their books. Whether a planned or subconscious action, they use their own experiences to influence their works. Kate Chopin’s household experiences, as well as, the progression of feminism, society in Louisiana, and Creole standards directly influenced her novel, The Awakening. Kate Chopin lived a bittersweet young-adulthood. In addition to the death of her father
Millions of people were “focusing on the changing position of women at the turn of the century” (“Awakening” 1). The Women’s Movement was a national movement by women for women. They fought for equality – legally, politically, and socially. Kate Chopin was alive for the first and second waves of this monumental feminist movement. By the time Chopin began writing in the 1890s, the second wave of feminism had already begun. Women had made great strides. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was born in 1966. This group fought for maternity leave rights, tax deductions for child-care expenses, equal job-training opportunities for poor women, etcetera (Burkett 1). In a relatively short time period, “women gained access to jobs in every corner of the U.S. economy…divorce laws were liberalized…women’s studies programs were created in colleges and universities” (Burkett 2). Unfortunately, women were still expected to complete the traditional “housewife tasks”: cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children (Henry 168-69). Needless to say, society’s focus was turned to the political and social progression of women. This is why Chopin was concerned with “the fixed idea of women’s roles. She and other women were beginning to set down the roots of modern feminism” (Davis
“Such details and ideas about the sexual feelings of women, as in The Awakening, were essentially taboo subjects” (Caldwell 6). Many critics, as well as the general public, were in opposition toward Chopin’s novel because she included topics not usually spoken about. She was not writing to change the world, but to accurately describe the true interactions between men and women. Historical and cultural influences are apparent in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Because women during the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s were seen as “fragile and lovely girls of pure character,” Chopin was intrigued by those who were independent (Davis