Biography in Fiction
Kate Chopin is the author of many great stories that are still being read of today. Chopin portrayed the inequality between men and women throughout these stories. Her writing was emphasize on women and their struggle to live in a society based on the supremacy of men. Most of these stories were influenced by past events in Chopin’s life. Her life during the Civil War, the death of her father and husband, growing up surrounded by women, and her life in the south, all inspired Chopin’s writing.
The Civil War played a vital role in Chopin‘s life and writing. Experiencing the struggles between whites and blacks, she lost her one and only close female friend, Kitty Garesche. The loss of this relationship can be viewed in a similar form in her story “Desiree’s Baby.” In the story, Desiree and her husband loose their relationship because of the questioning of why their baby was black. This one relationship that was once filled with love was lost forever over this issue. Chopin’s lost relationship with her friend, Kitty Garasche, relates to that depicted in “Desiree’s Baby” because of the issue of whites against blacks.
Just like the Civil War inspired Chopin’s writing, so did such tragic events like the deaths of her father and husband. In her biography, it was stated that Chopin’s father died in a train that crossed a bridge that collapsed. This event could be related to the story “The Story of An Hour.” In this story, Mrs. Mallard’s husband was said to be killed in a railroad disaster. Both these events are based on a tragic death dealing with railroad transport. Another death that inspired Chopin’s writing was the death of her husband. In a similar way it relates to “The Story of An Hour” because of the fact that Mrs. Mallard, like Chopin, also looses her husband.
Another major influence that shaped Chopin’s writing were the women that she grew up with. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were depicted through Chopin’s stories. In her stories, she illustrates these women that live under the rule of their husbands. Both her stories “Desiree’s Baby” and “The Story of An Hour” indicate that these women had to live under the rule of their husbands, for women did not have a voice in those times. Women could not speak back to their husbands, men had the final word, and women had to obey their husbands because they did not own themselves when they were married.
Most of all, life in the South for Chopin was viewed through her writing. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Chopin describes the slaves working on the plantations. “It was an October afternoon; the sun was just sinking. Out in the still fields the negroes were picking cotton.” This relates to the time after Chopin’s death, when she had to take over the plantation for a year. She probably narrates this from her own account and experiences on the plantation after her husbands absence.
Overall, past events in Chopin’s life influenced her as an author. Her stories were inspired by many of the things she dealt with through her life. Some things that inspired her writing were; her life during the Civil War, the death of her father and husband, growing up surrounded by women, and her life in the south. Chopin clearly illustrated the imbalance between women and mean through her writing. Also, she strongly emphasized her stories around the basis of a society ruled by men. As a writer, Chopin was able to connect her past events in her life, to those of the characters in her stories.
