Self-assertive Female Characters in Kate Chopin’s Fiction

Abstract

The late nineteenth century American novelist and short story writer, Kate Chopin is well-known for her compelling portraiture of women in her fiction. Quite often, editors would turn down many of her short stories because her female characters were considered too emancipated and passionate for her time. They were often, daring women who lived out their strong impulses and tried to challenge the conventions of the nineteenth century. They were self-assertive and courageous women who wanted to decide over their own lives. Kate Chopin herself was a daring and self-assertive writer. She wrote about some taboo topics in the nineteenth century, such as female sexuality, childbirth and pregnancy. Chopin is considered the first woman writer in America to accept passion as a legitimate subject for serious fiction. Kate Chopin saw and understood all aspects of the female psyche and her particular interest was woman’s awakening to her true nature, whether traditional, emancipated or a mixture of the two. Of particular interest for this paper are a number of these self-assertive female characters in Kate Chopin’s fiction.