Chopin, Kate

Chopin, Kate
orig. Katherine O'Flaherty

born Feb. 8, 1851, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.
died Aug. 22, 1904, St. Louis

U.S. writer.

Chopin lived in Louisiana during her marriage and began to write after her husband's death. A local colourist and interpreter of New Orleans culture, she foreshadowed later feminist themes. Among her more than 100 short stories are "Désirée's Baby" and "Madame Celestin's Divorce." The Awakening (1899), a realistic novel about the sexual and artistic awakening of a young mother who abandons her family, initially was condemned for its sexual frankness but was later acclaimed.

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▪ American author
née  Katherine O'Flaherty 
born Feb. 8, 1851, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.
died Aug. 22, 1904, St. Louis

      American novelist and short-story writer known as an interpreter of New Orleans culture. There was a revival of interest in Chopin in the late 20th century because her concerns about the freedom of women foreshadowed later feminist literary themes.

      Born to a prominent St. Louis family, Katherine O'Flaherty read widely as a girl. In June 1870 she married Oscar Chopin, with whom she lived in his native New Orleans, Louisiana, and later on a plantation near Cloutiersville, Louisiana, until his death in 1882. After he died she began to write about the Creole and Cajun people she had observed in the South. Her first novel, At Fault (1890), was undistinguished, but she was later acclaimed for her finely crafted short stories, of which she wrote more than 100. Two of these stories, “Désirée's Baby” and “Madame Celestin's Divorce,” continue to be widely anthologized.

      In 1899 Chopin published The Awakening, a realistic novel about the sexual and artistic awakening of a young wife and mother who abandons her family and eventually commits suicide. This work was roundly condemned in its time because of its sexual frankness and its portrayal of an interracial marriage and went out of print for more than 50 years. When it was rediscovered in the 1950s, critics marveled at the beauty of its writing and its modern sensibility.

      Chopin's work has been categorized within the “ local colour” genre. Her stories were collected in Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897). The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, edited by Per Seyersted, appeared in 1969.

Additional Reading
Emily Toth, Kate Chopin (1990), focuses on her life. Per Seyersted, Kate Chopin (1969, reprinted 1990); and Barbara C. Ewell, Kate Chopin (1986), are critical biographies. Analyses of her work include Alice Hall Petry (ed.), Critical Essays on Kate Chopin (1996); and Bernard Koloski, Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction (1996).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Chopin, Kate — orig. Katherine O Flaherty (8 feb. 1851, St. Louis, Mo., EE.UU.–22 ago. 1904, St. Louis). Escritora estadounidense. Chopin vivió en Luisiana mientras estuvo casada, y comenzó a escribir después de la muerte de su marido. Colorista local e… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Chopin,Kate O'Flaherty — Cho·pin (shōʹpăn ), Kate O Flaherty. 1851 1904. American writer whose works, such as The Awakening (1899), portray Creole life in Louisiana. * * * …   Universalium

  • Chopin, Kate — (1853 1904) …   Dizionario biografico elementare del Novecento letterario italiano

  • Kate Chopin — Born February 8, 1851(1851 02 08) St. Louis, Missouri, United States Died August 22, 1904(1904 08 22) (aged 53) St. Louis, Missouri, United States …   Wikipedia

  • Kate Chopin — Kate Chopin. Kate Chopin (* 8. Februar 1850[1] als Katherina O’Flaherty in St. Louis; † 22. August 1904) war eine amerikanische Schriftstellerin. Bekannt ist sie in erster Linie als Autorin des 1899 erstmals erschienenen Romans The Awakening (Das …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kate Chopin — Kate Chopin. Katherine O Flaherty (8 de febrero de 1850 – 22 de agosto de 1904), más conocida como Kate Chopin, fue una autora estadounidense de historias cortas y novelas. Compuso El despertar (The Awakening) y The Story of an Hour and The Storm …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kate — es un editor de texto avanzado para el proyecto KDE. Entre otras características soporta el resaltado automático de sintáxis (para lenguajes de programación), manejador de archivos y emulador de terminal (basado en Konsole) integrados y el uso de …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Kate Chopin —  Pour l’article homonyme, voir Chopin (homonymie).  Kate Chopin Kate Chopin Nom de nais …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chopin — noun 1. the music of Chopin (Freq. 1) he practiced Chopin day and night • Hypernyms: ↑music 2. United States writer who described Creole life in Louisiana (1851 1904) • Syn: ↑Kate Chopin, ↑Kate O Flaherty Chopin …   Useful english dictionary

  • Kate Chopin — noun United States writer who described Creole life in Louisiana (1851 1904) • Syn: ↑Chopin, ↑Kate O Flaherty Chopin • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author …   Useful english dictionary

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