Clearly Armand fell in love with Desiree in the first place purely because of her beauty.
In addition, women of the time were expected to be caring and nurturing as well as creatures of beauty. Strong minded and independent women such as Kate Chopin would have been seen as unconventional and frowned upon. It was assumed that the goal of every woman was to marry and become a mother. They were required to be submissive, selfless and devote their lives to their families.
After Desiree gives birth to a son, Chopin uses imagery to portray society’s expectation of a mother.
“The young mother was recovering slowly, and lay full length, in her soft white muslins and laces, upon a coach. The baby was beside her, upon her arm, where he had fallen asleep at her breast.”
This pretty, maternal image implies that Desiree is tired from dutifully caring for her infant. The white lace suggests she is pure, angelic and beautiful even after the trauma of child birth.
Women were expected to build their lives around their husbands and aim to meet their every need. Women were satisfied and happy so long as their husbands were satisfied and happy. This is illustrated by Chopin when Armand becomes unhappy after the birth of their black son, believing it to be a flaw in Desiree’s ancestry. This part of the story provides an insight into the racism of that era and also highlights the fragile relationship in existence between husband and wife.
“Moreover, he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.”
Desiree immediately reflects her husband’s misery, feeling the weight of Armand’s disgust and grieving the loss of love and warmth between them.
“Desiree was miserable enough to die.” If a woman could not make their husbands happy then their lives were meaningless. Kate Chopin uses Desiree to help portray a woman’s lack of self worth and significance when no longer pleasing to her husband. Modern society would feel irritated by Desiree; today we would count on a woman to give more weight to her own happiness rather than to let it be dictated by the feelings of a man, as Desiree does.
Chopin uses Armand to highlight the brutality and dangerous effect that men could have on women.
“He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him; and felt, somehow, that he was paying him back in kind when he stabbed thus into his wife’s soul.” When Armand encourages Desiree to leave the home his actions are cold and callous. Abandoned and alone, Desiree hasn’t the strength to go on without her husband’s love and support and feels “miserable enough to die.”
“She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again.”
Here, Chopin uses euphemism to imply that Desiree has taken her own life as well as that of her child. This would have shocked nineteenth century readers as suicide, even implied, was socially unacceptable.
Desiree’s baby depicts how women were repressed and vulnerable to both physical and emotional abuse by their husband’s in late nineteenth century US society. Desiree was the essence of a perfect female, fulfilling the roles of a dutiful wife and mother that society expected of her. Unfortunately, due to Armand’s unknown black ancestry resulting in their baby having black skin, Armand rejects his wife and Desiree’s life is literally destroyed.
Another aspect of America in the late eighteen hundreds was that it was a very male dominated period and women were the possession of their husbands. At the time, Men were considered to be the head of the house hold and would have provided all of the income for the family to survive. On her wedding day, a woman would lose all her independence and give over the ownership of any possessions to her husband. Her only responsibility in marriage was to care for her husband, children and home. A woman’s own needs and feelings were of little importance following her marriage and family life may have greatly harmed her self esteem and feeling of significance. However, to conform to the way of society, women would have to appear content, however neglected and depressed they may feel. This is particularly illustrated by Chopin in the short story ‘A Pair of Silk Stockings’.
In “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Chopin starts by introducing the main character as being ‘Mrs. Sommer’s’, the use of this title implies she is the property of her husband and no longer has her own identity. Kate Chopin uses Mrs. Sommer’s character to illustrate what it may have been like to be unfulfilled in the role of wife and mother in the 19th century. It would appear that, like Chopin, Mrs. Sommers was more content with life prior to marriage.
“The neighbours sometimes talked of certain ‘better times’ that little Mrs. Sommer’s had known long before she had even thought of being Mrs. Sommer’s”.
However, Mrs. Sommers does not allow herself to think about this, she appears to exist only in the present and does not allow herself to be consumed with unhappy thoughts of her future existence;
“The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes.”
Chopin uses personification to portray her misery as a monster that she keeps buried and doesn’t want to face. Feelings such as these would have been seen as inappropriate for married women and many would have to conceal their unhappiness behind painted smiles.
We soon discover that Mrs. Sommers has come into possession of a large sum of money. This would have been unusual for women of that time as all property belonged to their husbands and it was rare for a woman to work and earn any money. On learning of her good fortune, Mrs. Sommers first thought was to spend the money on new clothes for her six children.
“The vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty for once in their lives excited her and made her restless with anticipation.”
Despite the fact that Mrs. Sommers was very poor, has few clothes and hadn’t eaten, it would have been considered natural by society for a woman to prioritise the needs of her children above her own.
It would have shocked nineteenth century society to read the story and discover that Mrs. Sommers is tempted by a pair of silk stockings into what would have been considered a series of self-indulgent acts. As she releases herself for a short period of time from the duties of wife and mother, Mrs. Sommers allows herself to be the woman she once may have been.
“Mrs. Sommer’s bought two high-priced magazines such as she had been accustomed to read in the days when she been accustomed to other pleasant things.”
In this quotation, Chopin illustrates that at one time life had been more enjoyable for Mrs. Sommers. Since her marriage she had suppressed these needs, absorbing herself in meeting the needs of her husband and children.
“She was very hungry. Another time she would have stilled the cravings for food until reaching her own home, where she would have brewed herself a cup of tea and taken a snack of anything that was available.”
This shows that Mrs. Sommers is used to repressing her own needs and forcing herself to be satisfied with very little.
The shopping spree is joyful and allows Mrs. Sommers to remove herself from her dull and tiring circumstances and responsibilities to live in a dream. Each item she purchases boosts her self-esteem, her status and her identity.
“She felt like lying back in the cushioned chair and revelling for a while in the luxury of it.”
Chopin describes the shopping trip, choosing her words carefully so as to maintain our feeling of sympathy towards Mrs. Sommer’s, by contrasting her actions with self-indulgent women who only go to theatres “to kill time”.
Society in the nineteenth century would have been critical of the actions of Mrs. Sommers. She would have been considered as having ideas above her station and ignoring her place in society. She would have been seen as selfish and irresponsible, neglecting her duties and betraying her children. It would have been considered theft from her husband, as the money would have belonged to him. However, today’s readers would empathise with her, seeing her as a down-trodden and repressed victim. We would have considered it her right as a hard working and dedicated mother, to occasionally indulge herself in a fantasy. As a modern reader we are moved by the ending of the story where Mrs. Sommers returns to her dreary existence.
“…a poignant wish, a powerful longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere, but go on and on with her forever.”
Kate Chopin ends the story with Mrs. Sommers returning to face her husband, along with the duties of a mother that her “monstrous” life hold, and unlikely to experience the sense of freedom she longs for again.
Another aspect of the life of married woman in the 1900’s was that it was considered unacceptable for a woman to express unhappiness in marriage. Society would have been critical of women expressing their own views on subjects such as politics or religion or certainly for disagreeing with their husbands. It was seen as taboo to admit to not loving your husband and very few divorces took place in the 19th century.
In “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin uses imagery to express Mrs. Mallards happiness at the loss of her husband.
“There stood, facing the open window…there were patches of blue sky here and there through the clouds…” The open window represents the new found freedom felt by Mrs. Mallard now that she is no longer restricted or confined by the duties of married life. The blue sky symbolises hopes and ambitions that Mrs. Mallard will be able to fulfill without the constraints brought about by societies’ expectations of a wife. The “Spring-life” implies that Mrs. Mallard has been re-born and may now enjoy a new and optimistic outlook to her future. Not only does she feel an overwhelming sense of freedom but she expresses this freedom through her actions. “She carried herself unwittingly like a goddess in victory.” This simile is a military term which implies that Mrs. Sommer’s life so far has been like a battle; however she has now achieved victory. Her future will be like life after battle.
These feelings would have been seen as shocking and controversial to many contemporary readers of Chopin’s time as women were expected to love and respect their husbands and consequently mourn their death.
“She knew she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her…but she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.”
In this personification, Chopin suggests that although Mrs. Mallard was loved by her husband and returned that love, her marriage is dreary and mundane. Chopin uses this language to show that Mrs. Mallard would rather embrace a lonely future without her husband than endure further years in a marriage of convenience and social expectations. This would have appalled nineteenth Century readers as married living was thought to be all women’s ultimate aspiration in life. Through the character of Mrs. Mallard, Chopin suggests that marriage represses a woman’s own identity. This conveys to us Chopin’s own feeling that self-assertion is of higher priority than love. It is only after the death of Mrs. Mallard’s husband that you discover her maiden name as she is no longer the property of her husband. Like Mrs. Mallard, many women were forced to act the part of a content wife; however, Mrs. Mallards death was her final act of deception as she left her husband and friends believing her death to be the result of overwhelming happiness at the return of her husband.
In conclusion, Kate Chopin’s stories show us that life for married women in the 1900’s was one of repressed individuality and little self-esteem, even if you were fortunate enough to marry for love. Firstly, women had to conform to societies expectations of a wife and mother; this is best illustrated by Kate Chopin in ‘Desiree’s Baby’, when Desiree is not only an object of male desire, but dutiful to the point of death. Secondly, women were forced to suppress their own needs and prioritise the needs of both their husband and their children. Chopin describes to us a day where Mrs. Sommer’s steps out of those boundaries and fulfills her own needs rather than the needs of her family. Finally, women are required to lose all sense of self-worth and individuality in entering married life. This is best expressed through ‘The Story of an Hour’ where Mrs. Mallard experienced rebirth through the supposed death of her husband. However, the shock and disappointment of her husbands’ reappearance is too much to bear, and sadly Mrs. Mallard is only able to achieve eternal freedom through death.
Kate Chopin’s many short stories were shocking to a society that never questioned the dominant status of men in 19th Century USA.
