Kate Chopin’s writing is very different from anything we have read thus far, and it is currently my favorite. First of all, she is the first female author we have read, and she brings a very different perspective, adding to our picture of the South. While the black servant presence is still observed, Chopin focuses primarily on female sexuality, and the slave issue falls into the background. Perhaps this different focus can be attributed to the fact that she is writing in a different period from the one that we have been exploring, this new one being labeled “The New South” by our anthology.
I think that there are numerous interesting components of Chopin’s work. One of which is that she makes great use of literary techniques such as description and irony. Description is employed to give readers a sense of the local color, but it also seems as though Chopin wants readers to understand what type of people the characters are by their appearance instead of their actions; thus, the sequence of events is detailed less than what someone looks like. Eyes are one feature that is frequently described and have much meaning attributed to them. For example, in Désirée’s Baby, when Armand looks into Désirée’s eyes, it is because he is in love with her, but when he later speaks to Désirée “with averted eyes” (302), this subtle change means that he has fallen out of love with her. Chopin also writes a lot about females’ bodies, giving them a sensual quality. It caught my attention that, although Calixta has a bewitching effect on the men at the ball in At the ‘Cadian Ball, she wears a “white dress,” which usually suggests purity. However, I think that Chopin uses white here to represent that Calixta’s sexuality is natural and not wrong. In The Storm, I think white represents something becoming apparent, or a revelation, because the color is mentioned many times when Calixta and Alcée engage in sexual activity, including the reference to a “white flame” (307). The fullness of their sexuality becomes clear to them during this experience.
Chopin’s use of irony relates to another component of her writing that I enjoyed, which is that each of the works of hers we’ve read each conclude with a twist. In Désirée’s Baby, Armand realizes that he just sent away his wife for being partially black when it is actually he who is partially black. At the ‘Cadian Ball concludes with two couples expressing love or marriage intentions for each other, when one member of each couple was not long before intending to run off and have an affair together. It’s an ominous conclusion, which leads to The Storm where Calixta and Alcée have an affair but all ends happily. These conclusions were striking to me because they leave readers thinking about what they just have read. The conclusion to Désirée’s Baby especially drives home the message that rejecting someone for the color of their skin is a preposterous practice because skin color is something that someone has no control over and should make no difference in matters of love.
Lastly, Chopin’s work struck me because it does not cast marriage in a positive light, and I wonder if that relates to her husband having died relatively early and left her with six children to take care of. She was deprived of a sexual relationship but given much work without a partner to help her.
5 comments:
She does include about the class structures of the south. For example the creoles are the wealthier group and the cajuns are the lower farmer class. I agree that she does focus on women's features and describes them in great detail. Kate Chopin is also different from other authors because she included a seduction scene and not many writers at that time did that. I think her work was interesting to read. It really never got boring.
I love the fact that Chopin gives up the idea that female sexuality was something that was strong in the south. It makes you see that women were a big part of the south. They were the ones that took care of the children and they were the ones that kept the family together. Even though they took on smaller roles that were pushed to the background they were still there and chopin takes these roles and pushed them to the front and shoves them into our faces so that we can see what these people went through and experienced.
While Kate Chopin writes about local color, her stories could take place in other settings. Her themes are not often exposed in writings or in general. Even to this day, people are likely to keep affairs covered up. During her time, women's sexuality was not talked about, let alone incorporated into stories. Women everywhere weren't seen as sex symbols.
Although these stories of infidelity and sexuality could have occurred anywhere, Chopin upholds the Southern theme and the social classes present in that area.
I liked Chopin because its not something you just put down and forget about. It made me think especially “Desiree’s Baby” because I’m still thinking about Desiree and Armand. It seems that eyes are not only brought up here in Chopin’s work but they seem to cross some of the other literature that we have read Poe page 106 “The now ghastly pallor of the skin, and the now miraculous lustre of the eye, above all things startled and even awed me.” In “Swallow Barn” in describing Frank “I think he prides himself on personal appearance, for he has a handsome face, with a dark blue eye, and a high forehead…” (pg 62) I think it’s a play on the idea that the eyes don’t lie. When someone smiles truly smiles then there eyes smile too.
“Lastly, Chopin’s work struck me because it does not cast marriage in a positive light, and I wonder if that relates to her husband having died relatively early and left her with six children to take care of. She was deprived of a sexual relationship but given much work without a partner to help her.” I couldn’t help but chuckle a little when I read this do you think that you would look highly on marriage if you had to raise six kids by yourself. I think she also was exploring her sexuality when she was writing “The Storm”.
Choping is definitely my favorite author thus far, I completely agree that her being female gave us a much needed opinion and depiction of the South. I was definitely getting a little tired of hearing about how slaves were smelly...her romantic pieces were really a good break from what we've been reading.
I liked how you pointed out the use of the eyes- that is definitely something I notice on the opposite sex, and the fact that Chopin used it was interesting to me.
Also, how you wrote that Chopin though it ridiculous to stop loving someone because of their skin color. I could never imagine something like this happening to me, or even to someone I know- but it happens all the time today. People are still pre-occupied with race, and it's very sad to see, just like in Desiree's Baby.
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