Kate Chopin’s
“The Story of an Hour”
“The Story of an Hour”
 “The Story of an Hour” is one of Kate
Chopin’s famous short stories.
 Vogue magazine first published the story
in its December 6, 1894 issue under the
title, “The Dream of an Hour”.
 On January 5, 1895, Sue V. Moore, a
journalist and friend of Chopin, reprinted
the story in St. Louis Life, a newspaper in
which Moore was the editor.
“The Story of an Hour”
 Over the years, the story was republished
again and again under the title,
“The Story of an Hour”.
 The story observes the classical unities
of time, place, and action. These unities
dictate that the events in a short story
should take place:
(1) in a single day
(2) in a single location as part of
(3) a single story line with no subplots.
The Unities
 French classical writers, interpreting
guidelines established by Aristotle for
stage dramas, formulated the unities.
Over the centuries, many writers began
to ignore them, but many playwrights and
authors of short stories continued to use
them.
 Kate Chopin’s mother and grandmother
were of French descent, and Kate was
fluent in French.
Kate Chopin’s
The Awakening
Historical
and
Background Information
Essential Questions
How does literature help
us understand ourselves
and others?
How has writing become
a communication tool
across the ages?
Standards: ELACC11
Take Notes on the Historical and
Background Information of
The Awakening.
Major Works Data
Sheet
CHS Teacher Page
*Form Number 12
*AP The Awakening
Life
 Birth: Born Katherine O’Flaherty on
February 8, 1850/1851 in St. Louis, MO
 Father: Thomas
(emigrated from Ireland; died in a railroad
accident when she was 5)
 Mother: Eliza (of French descent-23 years
younger than Kate’s father)
 Religion: Catholic
 Slave owners who supported Confederacy
Family
Life
Siblings:
2 brothers;1sister
George (from her father’s
first marriage-his 1st wife died during
childbirth; Confederate soldier who
died in the Civil War)
*Thomas, Jr.
(died in a buggy accident)
*Jane (died the year after
her father was killed)
Education
 Well acquainted with French language and culture;
tutored by her great-grandmother Madame Charleville
in speaking and writing in French
*(French later influenced her fiction writing, including
The Awakening)
 Attended and graduated from the Academy of the
Sacred Heart in 1868 (rigorous curriculum but trained
young ladies for marriage, motherhood, modesty, and
submissiveness)
Strong maternal background (raised by her mother and
grandmother after her father died)
 Played the piano
Family Life
 Marriage:
*married Oscar
Chopin, the son
of a plantation
owner from
Louisiana (for
12 years), on
June 9, 1870
*He was 6 years
older.
*White supremacist
Children (6)
5 sons and 1
daughter
Lived in France
for a short time
to escape post
Civil War in
America
*War in France
*Lived in
Louisiana
Career, Jobs, and Family Life
 Oscar Chopin studied
banking in
preparation for a
career as a cotton
factor, an agent for
cotton growers and
buyers.
 The failure of crops
and the yellow-fever
epidemic caused the
business to struggle.
As a result, the
Chopin family
moved to
Cloutierville, LA.
Life in Cloutierville
Kate bore her
6th child.
Place where
Oscar died of
malaria in
December 1882
Where Kate
had an affair
Life in St. Louis
Kate returned
to live in St.
Louis; within a
year, her
mother died.
Became a
published
author
(Wrote about
controversial
topics such as:
diseases,
racism, and
adultery.)
Chopin’s Works
She became a published author by the age of
39.
Her poems and short stories were published
in magazines.
“Emancipation: A Life of Fable”
(her first surviving short story)
At Fault (her first novel; could not find a
publisher for it, so she privately printed it;
not as successful as The Awakening)
First published book was a collection of
stories titled Bayou Folks.
Chopin’s Works
She admired Guy de Maupassant
(the writer of “The Necklace”).
She translated a number of his stories from
French into English.
The failure of At Fault and the inspiration of
Maupassant persuaded her to concentrate on
writing short fiction during the 1890’s.
Published a collection of stories titled A
Night in Acadie in 1897.
Death
Died in
St. Louis of
brain
hemorrhage
44 years old
The Awakening
 Chopin’s second novel
 Published in 1899
 What she observed and experienced when living
in New Orleans was included in the book.
 Many speculate that the book is based on Kate’s
own marriage.
 The book received many unfavorable reviews
and was not in circulation for 50 years after its
publication. Thought of to be: “sickening”,
“selfish”, and “not a healthy book”.
 It was her last published book.
The Awakening Genre
Genre·fiction (literary realism)
Characteristics: novel of intellectual,
spiritual or moral evolution; shares
elements of and is heavily influenced
by the local color genre (fiction and
poetry focusing on the characters,
dialect, customs, and other features
particular to the region)
Chopin was interested in capturing
realistic consequences of social
conventions that limited the rights of
certain groups within a society.
Historical Contexts
 I. Civil War (Her family owned slaves; half-brother George was killed
while serving as a Confederate soldier in Civil War.)
 II. Treatment of Women during this time (relational beings-wives and
mothers rather than individuals)
 III. Life in Europe (Civil War in France)
 IV. Life in New Orleans (Creole lifestyle-rich in music, sinful reputation,
partied on the Sabbath Day; fond of drinking, gambling, lotteries, and
dancing)
 V. Treatment of Blacks after the Civil War (quadroon women)
 VI. Religion -differences in values between Catholic French Creoles and
Presbyterians; Protestants split most denominations into northern and
southern branches (northern criticism of the south over slavery)
The Awakening
Consider a
statement by
writer Nancy
Walker as you
read Kate
Chopin’s The
Awakening.
 “Each reader of the
Awakening must decide
whether to view Edna
Pontellier’s experience
as positive or negativeor both. Of what does
her “awakening”
consist? How does one
interpret the ending? Is
Edna doomed or freed?
In the [book], Kate
Chopin has provided a
complex story that
admits of no easy
answers but is sure to
raise some questions.”
Chapter 1
Take your
books out.
Grand Isle, Louisiana
(where the Chopins spent summers)
Literary Devices in Chapter 1
Term
Definition
Term # in
Glossary
allusion
a direct or indirect
reference to
something which is
presumably
commonly known,
such an event, book,
myth, place or work
or art. They can be
historical, literary,
religious, topical, or
mythical.
21
imagery
the sensory details
used to describe,
arouse emotion, or
represent
abstractions.
217
foreshadowing
hints of what is to
come in the action of
a story.
198
symbol/symbolism anything that
represents itself and
stands for something
362
Key Literary Devices in Chapter 1
 Symbolism/foreshadowing: green and yellow
parrot repeating over and over, “Go away!
Go away! For God’s sake!”
 Symbolism:wedding rings
 Imagery: Local Color (mysterious and
exotic; resort South of New Orleans; Creole
lady in white vs. Catholic lady in black)
 Foreshadowing: Edna’s interaction with
Robert; Mr. Pontellier’s reaction to Edna;
Zampa
Key Literary Devices in Chapter 1
 Allusions:
 Grand Isle: is a town in Jefferson Parish, LA
located on an island; the island is at the mouth of
Barataria Bay where it meets the Gulf of Mexico.
 Zampa: opera 1st performed in Paris on May 3,
1831; the opera concerns Zampa, an immoral
pirate whose wicked career ends when he is
dragged to his death in the sea by a marble statue
of a lady he had once betrayed.
 Cheniere Caminada: popular vacation resort in LA
Gulf of Mexico; hit and destroyed by hurricane in
1893
Grand Isle
Grand Isle
Chêniére Caminda
Chêniére
Caminda

One such newspaper read:
 The population of Cheniere Caminada island is 1471. Of these 696
only are now living; 779 are dead. Historic Cheniere Caminada is no
more. The first effects of the storm were felt between 4 and 5 p.m.
on Sunday. Everyone apprehended that something terrible was about
to happen. … There was one avenue of safety, and that was to seek
the upper stories of the houses, but even that chance for escape
was lost when the wind and waves combined shook the frail
habitations, which rocked to and fro and creaked and groaned under
the repeated attacks of the furious elements. Soon the houses were
being demolished, wrecked and carried away. The wind shifted to
the southeast, and for hours shrieked with redoubled fury. Above
the thundering voice of the hurricane could be heard the despairing
cries, the groans and the frantic appeals for help of the unfortunate
victims. (65)
 Mass graves had to be dug for people as well as livestock, and the
relief effort from New Orleans and surrounding areas proceeded as
quickly as possible.
 Fifty-four miles from New Orleans and surrounded by water, help
for Cheniere Caminada was hampered by the distance and water that
made it such an effective hideaway for Edna Pontellier and Kate
Chopin.
Chêniére Caminda
 Destroyed by Hurricane in 1893
 More than 800 people died
Chêniére Caminda
 ttp://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Cheniere+Caminada+The+A
wakening&view=detail&id=B814E956FA976178C545FF6E568A6C56
9249B99E
Local Color features in Chapter1
 New Orleans and Creole trappings
 Yellow and green parrot who speaks French,
Spanish, and unknown language
 Resort south of New Orleans
 Quadroon nurse (the offspring of a Mulatto and a
White; a person who is one-quarter Black)
 Creole lady in white shouting orders vs. Catholic
lady walking demurely (modestly/reserved) in
black telling her beads (prayer; Roman Catholic
devotion to the Virgin Mary)
AP Literature Important Dates
Quizzes/
Responses
“A” Day
“B” Day
The Awakening Quiz #1
(Chapters 1-10)
Thursday, September
11th
Friday, September 12h
The Awakening Quiz #2
(Chapters 11-20)
Friday, September 19th
Thursday, September 18th
The Awakening Quiz #3
(Chapters 21-30)
Thursday, September
25th
Friday, September 26th
The Awakening Quiz #4
(Chapters 31-39)
Wednesday, October 1st
Tuesday, September 30th
Major Works Data Sheet
Tuesday, October 7th
Monday, October 6th
The Awakening Essay
Thursday, October 9th
Friday, October 10th
Major Works Data Sheet
Select Group
Members.
tuesday 9/11/01 by Lucille Clifton
Thunder and lightning and our world
is another place no day
will ever be the same no blood
untouched
they know this storm in otherwheres
israel ireland palestine
but God has blessed America
we sing
and God has blessed America
to learn that no one is exempt
the world is one all fear
is one all life all death