CHAPTER!
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The subject of this thesis is four selected short stories written by Ka
which were published in the 1890s and 1960s after the rediscovery of her wo
Chopin is an American author who was born Katherine O'Flaherty in
Missouri, who was married to Oscar Chopin and then had several children.
marriage, Kate Chopin settled in Louisiana with her new family where mo
fiction took place. Kate Chopin had written about ninety five short stories in h
some of them are assumed to be her well-known short stories such as "Desire
"A Respectable Woman", "The Story of an Hour", and "The Storm" and tw
which is one of them is considered as her masterpiece titled The Awakening.
were published by some important national and regional magazines and n
such as Vogue, Century and others. Her writings focused on female chara
Acadian, Cajun and Creole background and with the theme surrounding wom
Kate Chopin had given a lot of contributions to the American literature with
in fiction. Some of her works are now still become the texts discussed in
studies and literature. (Chopin in Lauter eta!., 1994, p. 635).
Women's lives are surrounded by various problems. They sometimes e
gender issues, race discrimination, harassment or even abuse in the society.
women also experience these kinds of problem in the narrower space such
marriages. In some cases, they are often being treated unfair by their own husb
are supposed to be lovable companions and give comfort and protection to t
Women experience depression or frustration not only through obvious phys
but also through mental pressure. Therefore, the issue of women's problem
relationships with men especially with their husbands becomes the interest for
to be analyzed. Women usually have some expectations and desires relate
problems in relationships with men. Some of them want to be free from the
their husbands while others want to be loved, accepted and protected and in s
they try to preserve their marriages and put their families as their priorities.
The short stories selected in this thesis are chosen because they are tal
the lives of women and their relationships with their husbands. Family proble
focusing on the relationships between husbands and wives will be inclu
analysis in this study because it will show the portraits of the female character
female characters portray the truth condition of women who have expec
desires as human beings apart from their status as wives which are sometime
and unacceptable.
The four short stories selected in this thesis are easy to find in print
and assumed to be some of Kate Chopin's well-known short stories among
also have the same relation in characters and theme. Four short stories titled
Baby", "A Respectable Woman", "The Story of an Hour", and "The Storm
Chopin are chosen to be analyzed. In these four short stories, there ar
problems related to women's lives
and
relationships with
husbands
miscegenation, racism, oppression and affair. Therefore, each of the female c
portrayed having certain expectation and
desire related to the relationshi
husband in the each story that becomes the issue of this thesis to analyze.
Therefore, this topic is interested to be analyzed as an analysis becaus
the point of how the female characters are portrayed with their own expect
desires related to relationships with their husbands. The main characters in
stories and the general theme will be the focus in this thesis. The charac
important roles as figures or subjects who represent or portray the condition
while the theme is the main point or general idea of the short stories that t
wants to show. Therefore character and theme are the prominent elements sh
the selected short stories and will be the focus in this thesis.
1.2 Problem Formulation
The problem formulation of this paper is how the female characters are
through their relationships with their husbands in the four selected short storie
the general theme of the selected short stories is.
1.3 Scope and Limitation
The scope of this thesis is four selected short stories titled "Desiree's
Respectable Woman", "The Story of an Hour", and "The Storm" from about n
short stories which were written by Kate Chopin. Therefore, the limitation
short stories is done because of the lack of time and availability of the short sto
As the main consideration to be deep and focus in the analysis, the
limit the analysis to the main female character and the relationship with he
from each of the short stories and the general theme found in the selected sh
There are four main female characters that will be analyzed according to the
stories. They are Desiree from "Desiree's Baby'', Mrs. Baroda from "A R
Woman", Mrs. Louise Mallard from "The Story of an Hour", and Calixta
Storm".
1.4 Goal and Function
The goal of this study is to find out the portraits of the female charac
to relationships with their husbands and also to find out the general theme of t
short stories.
The function of this study is to give insight into Kate Chopin's short s
in this thesis and to present critical portraits of the female characters from t
short stories, especially their relationships with their husbands and to see t
theme of the selected works.
1.5 Research Methods
In doing this thesis, the first thing to do is to find and select the
starting the analysis. Then close reading to the short stories are done to selec
stories to be analyzed. The system of the analysis will be based on the year
were written; therefore the analysis will be categorized into four parts. Sta
"Desiree's Baby" (1892), then "A Respectable Woman" (1894), next is "The
Hour" (1894) and the last will be "The Storm" (1898).
After the short stories are selected and found the problem to be ana
some information and supporting data related to the short stories are collecte
to the library and by browsing on the internet.