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DP: Kate Chopin: Kate Chopin Home

A guide to provide context and support for a study of Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin

1850-1904

Pronounced "SHOW-pan"

Kate Chopin, the writer

Kate Chopin wrote short stories for magazines and liked to write a story "all at once" in the busy dining area of her home. She was well-regarded but not famous during her lifetime; it was years before critics truly came to understand what she had accomplished.

Famous Novels:

  • The Awakening
  • The Fault

Famous Short Stories:

  • "The Story of an Hour"
  • "The Storm"
  • "Desiree's Baby"
  • "A Pair of Silk Stockings"
  • "A Respectable Woman"
  • "Anthenaise"

Reviews during her lifetime

Kate Chopin in pictures

One of her homes in New Orleans shortly after marriage

Kate's home after her husband died, back in St. Louis, Missouri

Kate with her children, 1877

Kate Chopin, date unknown, possibly 1890s

 

Biography

Bio Highlights

  • Born Katherine O'Flaherty
  • 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri
  • Father was Irish, Mother was French Creole
  • Bilingual (English/French)
  • Father killed in a train accident when she was 5
  • Lived during Civil War - family sided with Confederates 
  • Family owned slaves
  • Married at age 19 and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Had 6 children
  • 12 years into marriage, husband died of malaria (aka "swamp fever")
  • Died of brain hemorrhage (stroke) at age 54

Short Stories, read-aloud