In this volume, Library of America publishes the complete works of Kate Chopin in one authoritative volume, including many previously uncollected stories. As the publisher writes: "From ruined Louisiana plantations to bustling, cosmopolitan New Orleans, Kate Chopin wrote with unflinching honesty about propriety and its strictures, the illusions of love and the realities of marriage, and the persistence of a past scarred by slavery and war."
Sandra M. Gilbert edits this volume to include a comprehensive chronology of Kate Chopin's life and works, along with "Notes on the Texts," "Notes," and an index. As co-author of The Madwoman in the Attic and No Man's Land, she is recognized as a foremost literary scholar.
Where Did They (The Stories & Novels) Come From?
Kate Chopin was known for her storytelling skills, a talent she learned from her great-grandmother. Even with that talent, and with the writing she'd dabbled in while at school, it's doubtful if Kate Chopin would have written her novels and stories (more than 100 in all) if her husband, Oscar, hadn't died in 1882 and her mother hadn't died in 1885. She began to write as a form of therapy.
Chopin drew from French literature to develop her own personal voice. She heard French stories as a child, and then studied French literature when she attended the Sacred Heart Convent; so French literature had already influenced Chopin before she began her more intensive study of contemporary French literature in 1886.
Where Did They (The Stories & Novels) Come From?
Kate Chopin was known for her storytelling skills, a talent she learned from her great-grandmother. Even with that talent, and with the writing she'd dabbled in while at school, it's doubtful if Kate Chopin would have written her novels and stories (more than 100 in all) if her husband, Oscar, hadn't died in 1882 and her mother hadn't died in 1885. She began to write as a form of therapy.
Chopin drew from French literature to develop her own personal voice. She heard French stories as a child, and then studied French literature when she attended the Sacred Heart Convent; so French literature had already influenced Chopin before she began her more intensive study of contemporary French literature in 1886.
When Chopin read Guy de Maupassant in 1896, she wrote:
"Here was life, not fiction... Here was a man who had escaped from tradition and authority, who had entered into himself and looked out upon life through his whole being and with his own eyes; and who in a direct and simple way, told us what he saw."
Her early stories and novels gave her the means by which to discover how to tell her tale in that "direct and simple way." She tells the tales of unforgettable women, including independent individuals who come to the point of a revelation (or the revelation is made about them). As the publisher says, she "challenged contemporary mores as much by their sensuousness as their politics and today seem decades ahead of their time."
"Here was life, not fiction... Here was a man who had escaped from tradition and authority, who had entered into himself and looked out upon life through his whole being and with his own eyes; and who in a direct and simple way, told us what he saw."
Her early stories and novels gave her the means by which to discover how to tell her tale in that "direct and simple way." She tells the tales of unforgettable women, including independent individuals who come to the point of a revelation (or the revelation is made about them). As the publisher says, she "challenged contemporary mores as much by their sensuousness as their politics and today seem decades ahead of their time."
Who's At Fault?
Chopin had already started publishing short stories when she began work on At Fault (1890), her first novel. Set on a Louisiana plantation, Chopin also further develops her local-color writing. Here, she looks at human nature as it relates to divorce, relationships, love, and other mad pursuits. She writes about "the presence of Misery," explaining that "we see but a promise of him [Misery] as we look into the prophetic faces of children; into the eyes of those we love, and the awfulness of life's possibilities presses into our soul." Misery is, after all, present in all corners of existence.The novel centers around David Hosman and his relationships with two women: his ex-wife and his new-found love. The lives of all three characters are dramatically altered when Thérèse discovers that David is a divorcee, and that he left Fanny when she became an alcoholic after their son died. Even though David loves Thérèse, he reconciles with his wife and moves her out to the plantation, where he's running a lumber mill. With Fanny's tragic death, Thérèse and David marry and presumably live happily ever after.
With her love triangle of characters, Chopin raises the question of individual responsibility. Who is responsible for the mess these characters made of their lives? The novel was criticized by some, though it was also received with praise. In her novel's defense, Chopin explained: "Fanny [David's ex-wife] is not the heroine. It is charitable to regard her whole existence as a misfortune. Thérèse Lafirme, the heroine of the book, is the one who was at fault--remotely and immediately."
