Louisiana Leaders: Notable Women in History
KATE CHOPIN, 1850 - 1904
AUTHOR
Although a native of St. Louis, MO, Katherine O'Flaherty Chopin spent thirteen years of her married life in Louisiana, both in New Orleans and in Cloutierville (in Cane River country), and returned to her native home after her husband's death. Her family of birth was southern creole, so she was quite comfortable in her Louisiana life. New Orleans, Natchitoches Parish, and Grand Isle provide the settings for her fiction, and of her over 100 published stories, the best known of her short story collections are entitled "Bayou Folk" and "A Night in Acadie". Her stories were also published in the Saturday Evening Post, The Atlantic Monthly,and The Century among other periodicals and earned her the reputation of a "Louisiana Writer".
She is best known for her second and last novel, The Awakening, which was published to cries of scandal in 1899, and is now regarded as a classic novel written by a woman at the turn of the century. Used widely in women's studies courses, the novel describes one woman's awakening and subsequent revolt against socially prescribed roles for women and their sexuality. It is routinely assigned in first year college classes in American literature.
Kate Chopin's Cloutierville home has been restored and is accessible to the public. Known as the Bayou Folk Museum, it is a museum of 1800s Louisiana life, including a blacksmith's shop and country doctor's office.
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