Daughter of Thomas and Eliza
(Faris) O'Flaherty, a wealthy
Roman Catholic family in St.
Louis.
 Graduated from the
Academy of the Sacred Heart
in 1868
 June 9, 1870, married Oscar
Chopin, a French Creole
businessman from Louisiana.
 During the next nine years, in
New Orleans, Chopin bore six
children and fulfilled heavy
social obligations as the wife
of a seemingly successful New
Orleans cotton broker.
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In1879 Oscar's business
failed and the family
moved from New Orleans
to Cloutierville
Plantation store and a farm
owned by Oscar's family.
On December 10, 1882,
Oscar died, leaving Kate a
thirty-two-year-old widow
with six children and limited
financial resources.
In 1884 she moved her
family back to St. Louis,
where she lived the rest of
her life.
Heavily influenced by
Guy de Maupassant
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Wrote several short
stories, including “The Story
of an Hour” (1894), on
several taboo topics such
as:

 Interracial
relationships
 Divorce
 Questioning woman’s
place in society
Wrote the novel, The
Awakening (1899), which
dared to allow the
protagonist, Edna
Pontellier, to take control
of her own life without
criticizing her for doing so.

"I would give up the unessential; I would give my
money, I would give my life for my children; but I
wouldn’t give myself." Edna Pontellier in The
Awakening.
The Awakening was highly
criticized and condemned
for her depiction of Edna
Pontillier
 Her short stories began to
be recognized in the
1920’s.
 Her novels, including The
Awakening, were not
recognized as significant
works until the 1950’s.
 Chopin’s works are
regularly used in classes all
over the world.

Chopin’s Louisiana home
burned down in 2008.
What was the role
of women around
1900?
 What personal
factors influenced
Chopin’s writing?
 In your opinion,
what influence will
Chopin’s personal
factors have on
the story?
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Glaspell never liked to
be controlled or
limited in her options.
 She rebelled against
society’s expectations
by going to Drake
University, graduating
in 1899, instead of
waiting passively for a
husband.
 Married George Cram
Cook in 1914 and
moved together to
Greenwich Village to
be among other
authors and artists.

Glaspell and Cook
founded the
Provincetown Players in
Provincetown, Cape
Cod, Maine in 1916.
 Dedicated to producing
innovative plays by
American playwrights
and opposed artistic
compromises required
by other commercially
successful theatres.
 1931 – Won a Pulitzer
Prize for “Alison’s House,”
a play loosely based on
the life of Emily
Dickenson.

Provincetown Players Theatre
produced 11 plays between
1916 and 1922, including more
plays by women than any
other theatre.
 “Trifles” originally produced
here.
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Primarily known
for writing “Trifles,”
a play about two
women's secret
discovery of how
a wife's husband
was murdered, in
1916.
“Trifles” was
rewritten as a
short story, “A Jury
of Her Peers.”
Glaspell actually
wrote over fifty
short stories, nine
novels, fourteen
plays, and one
biography.
Brooke Evans was
made into a
movie.
In relation to the section read, what do
you think is a jury of peers?
 Who do you think is being judged and
why?
 Who are the peers?
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I decline to accept the end of man…I believe that man will
not merely endure. He will prevail. He is immortal, not because
he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but
because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and
sacrifice and endurance.
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Great grandfather,
William Falkner, “Old
Colonel,” Civil War
colonel, best selling
writer of White Rose of
Memphis, lawyer,
politician died in a duel
on the streets of Ripley,
MS 8 years before
William Faulkner was
born.
1918: Wanted to follow
in his great
grandfather’s footsteps
and join the U.S. Air
Force, but couldn’t
because of his height –
5’6”
Actually born “Falkner.”
Changed name to
sound British, faked a
British accent, lied about
his birth date and birth
place so he could enter
the RAF (Royal Air Force
of Canada).
 Before he finished
training, the war ended.
 Purchased a
Lieutenant’s dress
uniform and a set of
wings for pocket even
though he probably
never flew.
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As a youth, dated Estelle
Oldham. Lightheartedly
accepted a marriage
proposal from another
suitor, though she thought
he was moving away.
He sent an engagement
ring soon after and she was
expected by her parents to
marry him. Married April
1918
April 1929, her and her
husband were divorced. In
June, Estelle and William
were married.
Came with two children
from previous marriage.
Had one living child, Jill
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1949 - William Faulkner receives
the Nobel Peace Prize for
Intruders in the Dust (1948)
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First story to be published
in national magazine –
1930. Most frequently
anthologized
1920’s – 1940’s:
Faulkner’s strongest
writing period.
The Sound and the Fury 1929
As I Lay Dying – 1930
Absalom, Absalm – 1936
Go Down Moses – 1942
Often was outspoken
and wrote about
southern life and the
history of black-white
relationships
What were the
southern traditions
in Faulkner’s time?
 What do these
traditions say
about the kinds of
male-female
relationships in
American society
of the period?
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