Kate Chopin again writes another short story with a way of getting the attention of the reader in a short period of time. “A Pair of Silk Stockings” is based in early to mid 1900's in a average town. Shops, a theater and such lies in the center of town. The author tells of a widowed mother that is not so well off, that discovers a sum of money and is taken away in her own shopping spree and perhaps her own dreams.
Mrs. Sommers is a middle aged timid mother of a handful of children, and is apparently not well to do anymore after her husband’s death; Not that she probably ever was, but more so than her luck would have it now. She is small framed with tattered old clothes, as if she hasn’t been able to purchase
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Her children is the only thing that has consumed her mind in several years until the unexpected sum of cash shows up. Even before Mrs. Mallard starts upon her shopping spree, she prioritizes what to buy in her mind for her children, a dollar...(321). She knows exactly what to buy and how much to spend on each since she knows the value of a bargain.
During her spree, she is lost in her own world and purchases items for herself instead of her children. Her purchases included a new pair of silk stockings, fitted gloves, new boots and two high priced magazines. Next, she is drawn to a restaurant that she has only dreamily strolled by admiring everything about it, only to go inside for a quick bite, which is typically out of the question for her. After her snack, she attends a play with other “well to do” women who are only there to kill time, eat candy and display their gaudy attire. She now, stands waiting for a cable car hoping that her dream will never come to an end. Almost lost in the moment, she stares at the man sitting opposite her on the cable car hoping that this ride would never end. Quite possibly, she was thinking of how life would be with the stranger who sat across from her. She relived the years that have all but passed her.
Eventually, Mrs. Sommers’ trip does end but with no regrets. She has finally pampered herself
First, numerous people especially women in the early 1900s fall into others’ expectations upon and before their marriage. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings” and “A Shameful Affair”, two of their main characters are women, and they both fall into societal expectations about them where they later lose their freedom. For example, in “A Pair of Silk Stocking”, Chopin targets the social expectation upon one’s marriage where she describes the usual mother’s responsibilities by saying “A dollar or two should be added to the price usually paid for Janie’s shoes, which would insure their lasting an appreciable time longer than they usually did” () As Chopin utilizes imagery, this infers an image of what Mrs. Sommers plans to do as a mother, who she carefully plan her money to buy new clothes for her children. Moreover, the word “insures” means to arrange compensation for damage that is done to the event, whereas the word “appreciable” means large enough to be noticed. Yet, both connotes a stable lasting which further reveal that one of the mother’s roles that is expected by the society is to know how use the money wisely for their children without falling in debt. Thus, the responsibilities of a mother have overloaded her where she later turn in self-indulgent. Likewise, Chopin not only portrays how women fall into others’ expectations upon their marriage yet they also fall into it before their marriage. In the short story “A Shameful Affair”, the author describes the primary character as Mildred Kraummer, who she falls in love with the one of the farmhands. While Mildred meets him fishing, they accidentally give a kiss where the author narrates “He kissed her lips… Shame
The Loss of Freedom “A Pair of Silk Stockings” and “A Wagner Montee” In the stories of “A pair of silk stockings” and A Wagner Montee” the theme of loss freedom is shown through their past, present and their emotional reactions leads one to shelter themselves from the harsh realities of the real world for the main characters. In “A Pair of Silk Stockings” the main character Mrs. Summers is held captive in a shallow everyday obligation to the nurturing of her children, creating very little time for herself. This can be seen when “The neighbors” said that “She had no time--no second of time to devote to the past.”
Mallard is unsatisfied with the limitations of her marriage, however, like Desiree, she is submissive and believes that the end of her duties as a wife will come at the death of her husband and her freedom will be given to her. Also, she experiences little or no feelings because of her marriage. This is shown when Mrs. Mallard, after hearing of her husband’s death, cries, but ironically she senses a moment of euphoric pleasure at the awaiting freedom in her remaining life. “She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.” Mrs. Millard is now aware of things that were not noticeable before such as: the beginning of spring, patches of blue sky through clouds, the twittering of sparrows and the smelling of the pending rain, which may signify the nature of her freedom. Mrs. Mallard would now be able to live her life outside the home and find her identity.
Kate Chopin is known for being criticized for empowering the subject of female sexuality and independence. In Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour”, it is placed in a time where men were known as being the head of the household while women were only in charge of raising the children and caring for the home. In the 1890s, women didn’t have so much power to themselves compared to today’s society where female empowerment is frequently encouraged. Chopin’s story narrates a sequence of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions that goes within the motion of the story. As she overcomes the sudden death of her husband, her emotion of grief soon turns into the sudden feeling of freedom, later on emerging into a strong independent woman.
Both A Pair of Silk Stockings and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, were written from a third person point of view, making the story less subjective and more objective. As a result the reader is unable to put him or herself into the story. The narrative structures of A Pair of Silk Stockings and The Story of an Hour differ in that the setting, the time and overall story plots are completely different. There is one similarity that sticks out, both protagonists are selfish. There is really strong symbolism and imagery in both stories which puts the reader inside the story.
She initially laments his passing but then, "She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" Mrs. Mallard feels liberated and alleviated from this occurrence and is presently a free lady. Starting now and into the foreseeable future, she will just know satisfaction and contentment. "There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence."
Even though she is married to Tom, his wealth is not enough to satisfy her. When she sees the shirts she is sad because Tom does not have the luxury of owning such a large collection of clothing. She is blinded by wealth and always seeks more than she has. She cannot fully appreciate what she has because her dream is to always have more, and she will only be happy once she has the best, an unattainable goal that is there to tantalize.
1. Why does Sommers discuss the intricate and intimate connections between herself, her daughters and her parents on pages 293-295? Why does she look at her family? She says that “Love (as well as writing) involves a radical loss of certainty” (295). How does that “loss of certainty” apply to writing as well as relationships in Sommers’ experience?
Kate Chopin wrote her short story “A Pair of Silk Stocking” to show the stereotypical thing women had to do in the 1800’s. Mrs. Sommers has devoted herself to take care of her kids and husband before of thinking of what she wants. She also thinks about what new clothing she ca make her kids when she finds fifteen dollars. But when she goes to spend the money she expected to spend it on her kids but she came along a pair of silk stockings, she ends up buying them for herself. By the end of the story she has spent all the money on herself.
Without doubt, A Pair of Silk Stockings and A Wagner Matinee gives insight on the sacrifices women are expected to make for their families. Both Chopin and Cather had felt repressed greatly by the standards of motherhood and domesticity created by
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin is a short yet complex story, describing Mrs Mallard’s feelings. It focuses on the unfolding emotional state of Mrs Mallard after the news of her husbands death, and has overflowing symbolism and imagery. It is an impressive literary piece that touches the readers’ feelings and mind and allows the reader to have a connection to Mrs Mallard’s emotional process. Although the story is short, it is complete with each word carrying deep sense and meaning. It is written in the 19th century, a time that had highly restrictive gender roles that forbade women to live as they saw fit. Mrs Mallard experiences something not everyone during this time has the luck to have; the happiness of freedom that the reader only
Immortality in The Hours Novels and films each have their own strengths when telling a story. While books can characterize a character by providing their inner thoughts and intimately describe each detail of the setting, films can clearly portray a scene and add aesthetics such as music and color. In 2002, Stephen Daldry adapted the 1998 novel The Hours by Michael Cunningham into a movie also titled The Hours. The story has the same themes and plot elements; however, the director takes some creative license in order to add music, change dialogue, and adjust the details to create his vision of Cunningham’s work.
The short story “A Pair of Silk Stockings” written by Kate Chopin in 1897, describes a day in the life of a woman that gets lost in a shopping binge and creates a new identity through her consumption. This question this paper pursues is what kind of identity she creates and how she does it. Without money, Mrs Sommers’ change of identity would not be possible. She finds “herself the unexpected possessor of fifteen dollars” (Chopin 500), which was a huge amount of money at that time.
In "The Story of an Hour" and "A pair of silk stocking" Chopin illustrates how women face the consequences of never acquiring happiness in their lives if they follow the ways society expects them too.
The short stories, "The Story of an Hour" and "A Pair of Silk Stockings" were both written in the 1800 's. The stories are both written by Kate Chopin, a female author. The period in which these stories were written gave impact on other female writers to produce stories too. The literary devices Chopin uses in both these stories show how educated female writers were at the time. The way the author, Kate Chopin, uses many literary devices in her works, "The Story of an Hour" and "A Pair of Silk Stockings", such as location, imagery and characterization.