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Unveiling Kate Chopin
This is the true, unvarnished life story of the girl who grew up to write The Awakening , a masterpiece published 100 years ago. With its portrayal of a woman whose sexual desires take her outside marriage, it rocked American literature's cozy conception of womanhood.
In Unveiling Kate Chopin Emily Toth, the foremost authority on Chopin's life and works, creates a sharply revealing portrait of a modern woman in a Victorian world. Born in St. Louis in 1850, Kate O'Flaherty was raised by wealthy, feisty widows and educated by brilliant nuns. She endured a mysterious “outrage” committed against her by Union soldiers in her teens and suffered what moderns now call a “loss of voice.” But she survived to become a lively, dangerously clever social observer.
She had the talent and then the life experiences to become a writer. Her Louisiana-born husband, Oscar Chopin, had grown up in France and did not restrict her. In New Orleans (where she gossiped with the painter Edgar Degas) and then in rural Louisiana (where the neighbors hated her), Kate produced six children in nine years. Yet she retained her individuality and her wicked sense of humor. After her husband's sudden death, Kate's affair with another woman's husband was a village scandal―but following the lessons of the French women who raised her, she knew when to leave.
After the death of her mother, Kate reinvented herself as the author of engaging short stories set in Louisiana. Many had unusual social messages. “In Sabine” opposed domestic violence. “At the 'Cadian Ball” supported sexual expression for women. “Odalie Misses Mass” suggested that interracial friendships between African American and white women were possible. She condemned the idle rich and celebrated single mothers. To promote her own career, she created the first salon in St. Louis and became the first woman in the city to become a professional fiction writer. Although she claimed to be un-serious about her craft, newly discovered manuscripts, which Toth mines for the insights they offer, reveal her as a dedicated artist who wanted to reach her readers' hearts.
Toth portrays Kate as a bright, ambitious woman who ruffled staid souls, and when she published The Awakening , her foes pounced. Many reviews of the novel were uncomprehending, many were vicious, and her next book was canceled. Her family suffered; her health declined; and Kate died in 1904, silenced ahead of her time. Now, a century later, Toth sees Kate as a woman of unique wit and astonishing talent and as the daring author who wrote the most radical, notorious American novel of the late-nineteenth century.
In Unveiling Kate Chopin Emily Toth, the foremost authority on Chopin's life and works, creates a sharply revealing portrait of a modern woman in a Victorian world. Born in St. Louis in 1850, Kate O'Flaherty was raised by wealthy, feisty widows and educated by brilliant nuns. She endured a mysterious “outrage” committed against her by Union soldiers in her teens and suffered what moderns now call a “loss of voice.” But she survived to become a lively, dangerously clever social observer.
She had the talent and then the life experiences to become a writer. Her Louisiana-born husband, Oscar Chopin, had grown up in France and did not restrict her. In New Orleans (where she gossiped with the painter Edgar Degas) and then in rural Louisiana (where the neighbors hated her), Kate produced six children in nine years. Yet she retained her individuality and her wicked sense of humor. After her husband's sudden death, Kate's affair with another woman's husband was a village scandal―but following the lessons of the French women who raised her, she knew when to leave.
After the death of her mother, Kate reinvented herself as the author of engaging short stories set in Louisiana. Many had unusual social messages. “In Sabine” opposed domestic violence. “At the 'Cadian Ball” supported sexual expression for women. “Odalie Misses Mass” suggested that interracial friendships between African American and white women were possible. She condemned the idle rich and celebrated single mothers. To promote her own career, she created the first salon in St. Louis and became the first woman in the city to become a professional fiction writer. Although she claimed to be un-serious about her craft, newly discovered manuscripts, which Toth mines for the insights they offer, reveal her as a dedicated artist who wanted to reach her readers' hearts.
Toth portrays Kate as a bright, ambitious woman who ruffled staid souls, and when she published The Awakening , her foes pounced. Many reviews of the novel were uncomprehending, many were vicious, and her next book was canceled. Her family suffered; her health declined; and Kate died in 1904, silenced ahead of her time. Now, a century later, Toth sees Kate as a woman of unique wit and astonishing talent and as the daring author who wrote the most radical, notorious American novel of the late-nineteenth century.
324 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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February 19, 2022*read for women in lit!
February 7, 2017
“The male critics and gatekeepers who controlled editing and publishing would never accept her vision of women’s ambitions and passions, nor did they even notice her celebration of women’s friendships. None of them noticed Edna’s learning about herself, gaining trust in her own voice, in a world of women. Scarcely anyone praised Kate Chopin for writing with intelligence and maturity about a fascinating subject she had been studying all her life: how women think.” – Unveiling Kate Chopin
The first time I read The Awakening I hated everything about the main character. She was selfish and privileged, and deserved absolutely no sympathy, especially as a mother and wife. I remember vehemently arguing this case before my fellow undergraduate classmates. At 20 years old, it was all so clear. A few years later, during my graduate studies, and having recently given birth, well, things weren’t as lucent. I have reread Chopin’s, The Awakening, so many times throughout my 46 years of living, and let me tell you, every reading gets me in my feels. There are times I am sympathetic to Edna, and there are times I just want to shake her and tell her to snap out of it.
Having read Emily Toth’s, Unveiling Kate Chopin, was definitely helpful in painting a fuller picture of the author, as well as her poignant and layered novel. Unveiling Kate Chopin is, not only, an in-depth biography, but also an examination of the novel as it relates to the time period for which it was written. If you are a fan of Chopin, and/or the novel, it is definitely worth the read, and serves as a great companion piece to, The Awakening.
The first time I read The Awakening I hated everything about the main character. She was selfish and privileged, and deserved absolutely no sympathy, especially as a mother and wife. I remember vehemently arguing this case before my fellow undergraduate classmates. At 20 years old, it was all so clear. A few years later, during my graduate studies, and having recently given birth, well, things weren’t as lucent. I have reread Chopin’s, The Awakening, so many times throughout my 46 years of living, and let me tell you, every reading gets me in my feels. There are times I am sympathetic to Edna, and there are times I just want to shake her and tell her to snap out of it.
Having read Emily Toth’s, Unveiling Kate Chopin, was definitely helpful in painting a fuller picture of the author, as well as her poignant and layered novel. Unveiling Kate Chopin is, not only, an in-depth biography, but also an examination of the novel as it relates to the time period for which it was written. If you are a fan of Chopin, and/or the novel, it is definitely worth the read, and serves as a great companion piece to, The Awakening.
July 26, 2023
As far as biographies go, this one is very engaging and lively. I really enjoyed the author tying Kate Chopin's real-life events and people into her later works.
I saw one review of this book that called it pure speculation, and I do want to address that. It's true that this biography goes beyond the dry facts and into the possibilities, but only because the strictly fact-based biographies have already been written, several of them by the same author. We are at a point where we know the names, dates, and events that have proof - and we will most likely remain at this point unless some lost artifacts are discovered down the road. I do appreciate the author's willingness to speculate in a very logical manner, tying certain historical clues that would be lost to us (linguistically and culturally) to potential scenarios of what might have occurred. I think there is definitely a place for biographies like this right next to the ones that are strictly facts.
I saw one review of this book that called it pure speculation, and I do want to address that. It's true that this biography goes beyond the dry facts and into the possibilities, but only because the strictly fact-based biographies have already been written, several of them by the same author. We are at a point where we know the names, dates, and events that have proof - and we will most likely remain at this point unless some lost artifacts are discovered down the road. I do appreciate the author's willingness to speculate in a very logical manner, tying certain historical clues that would be lost to us (linguistically and culturally) to potential scenarios of what might have occurred. I think there is definitely a place for biographies like this right next to the ones that are strictly facts.
July 17, 2018
Very detailed, but highly readable biography of Kate Chopin. Well-researched, and gives a lot of insight not only into Kate's life, but provides an analysis of her work. A must for anyone who would like to learn more about this enigmatic, ahead-of-her-time author.
June 21, 2022
Did not finish. Conjecture.
April 8, 2017
While reading about Kate Chopin's life, you'll understand better her short stories and The Awakening. Emily Toth presents the stories that are related to Kate's life, and these stories may not be the most famous of her writings. The book also contains passages where her work is analyzed from a literary point of view.
I read „Unveiling Kate Chopin ” like a biography, because I wanted to understand better the woman behind the lines and the background in which she wrote. She was a woman ahead her time, a truly pioneer who wrote about things considered taboo at a time when women were not even allowed to vote.
The book is written in a manner which does not bore you, on the contrary, Emily Toth knows how to present Kate's life as in a novel (with an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement of the plot) and keeps your attention awake to see what happens next. Every chapter begins with a summary of most important known facts that are relevant for the current topic. Thus, the chapters can be read individually, as separate stories.
I read „Unveiling Kate Chopin ” like a biography, because I wanted to understand better the woman behind the lines and the background in which she wrote. She was a woman ahead her time, a truly pioneer who wrote about things considered taboo at a time when women were not even allowed to vote.
The book is written in a manner which does not bore you, on the contrary, Emily Toth knows how to present Kate's life as in a novel (with an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement of the plot) and keeps your attention awake to see what happens next. Every chapter begins with a summary of most important known facts that are relevant for the current topic. Thus, the chapters can be read individually, as separate stories.
February 17, 2015
This book swept me away to this other wonderful world. The setting was brilliantly set. I could totally see it in my mind. But the characters were definitely my favorite part. They are all so colorful, interesting, exciting, and hilarious. The main character is just perfect. The plot moved fast enough that I couldn't stop reading lest I miss something, but the author still took the time to flesh out the details. The details are what really make or break a story.
August 13, 2008
An excellent biography of a woman writer of the late 1800's. I enjoyed it.
June 20, 2010
Good review of Kate's life and the atitudes of her time.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews