Topic: Feminism and desire for freedom in Kate Chopin short stories, “Madame Celestin’s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour.”
The research question: How do Kat Chopin’s writings reflect the earliest attempts of women to oppose the patriarchy and how do 19th-century feminism of Kate Chopin differ from its contemporary forms?
Sub questions:
a- How does Chopin criticize the matrimonial constitution?
b- What changes does Chopin desire to see in her society?
c- What reasons make Kate Chopin’s characters struggle for their rights.
d- How did works of other writers of her time influence Kate Chopin and her writing?
e- How does Kate Chopin’s writing reflect feminist theories of her time as well as the theory of patriarchy?
f- How do ideas of Kate Chopin differ from the ones presented in contemporary feminism?

This paper will focus on two of Kate Chopin´s short stories; “Madame Celestin´s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour” that share many similarities. Protagonists in both short stories are women, both desire individual freedom and independence from their patriarchal society and social norms. However, even though Madame Celestin and Mrs. Mallard both desired freedom but in a different way. For Madame Celestin, her husband was a violent drunk man who left her with two children for more than six months. Thus, divorce was one possibility for her to get her freedom. Asking for the divorce was not a good idea for her family and friends and even the church as Madame Celestin explains in the short story. For Louise Mallard, she had a stable and normal life with her husband until his death. When Mrs. Mallard was informed by her sister about her husband´s death in an accident, she wept on her sister´s shoulders. But after a while and in less than an hour, Louise Mallard realizes how she was unsatisfied of her husband´s oppression and manipulation. She realizes that she no longer needs to live for anyone but herself. Thus, maybe the growing of awareness of freedom that Louise will have after her husband´s death leads to the tragic ending. Mrs. Mallard dies of a heart attack after she saw her husband in front of her alive.
We believe that the traditional feminism, the feminism of the 19th-century French literature, and the theory of patriarchy are appropriate theoretical frameworks for this research. They take a significant place in Chopin’s short stories “Madame Celestin’s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour.” Historically speaking, early signs of feminism started to appear in literature in the second part of the 19th century. Women’s opposition to patriarchy was clearly recognizable in works of such authors as Flaubert and Maupassant. By the end of the century, feminism began to spread in America. These tendencies, as well as a probable influence of French writers, made Kate Chopin present her anti-patriarchal ideas in short stories, such as “Madame Celestin’s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour.”
However, the views of Kate Chopin significantly differ from the modern militant feminism as well as from radical ideas inherent to some of her contemporaries. Kate Chopin may be considered as a mild and wise voice that questioned women’s rights in the American society in a rather restrained manner. Therefore, there is a possibility to state that Kate Chopin is primarily the opposer to the injustice of entirely patriarchal order, while full-fledged feminism theories are not her primary areas of concern. There is a difference between appealing to start a fierce struggle for equality and depicting strong woman characters that oppose the affairs which can be evaluated as injustice regardless of any theoretical framework.

Literary Review

Call, Tanner. Patriarchy & Feminism in the Early 20th Century: Finding Middle Ground Through Kate Chopin. BYU English Symposium, 2017.
This article analyzes the impact of early feminist ideas on the writings of Kate Chopin. In addition, the emphasis is put on the restrained approach of the author to the analyzed problem. According to Tanner Call, Kate Chopin has managed to develop characters who did not entirely reject the social norms of their time, but were ready to stand for some essential for their gender rights (Call). In other words, this article views Kate Chpoin not merely as a radical feminist writer but as a rather restrained woman who addresses relevant social issues.

Golgotha Press. The Life and Times of Kate Chopin. BookCaps, 2012.
This book elaborates on the times of Kate Chopin, the notion of patriarchy, and its reflection in works of the analyzed author. The author of the book focuses on the life of Kate Chopin and establishes the events in her stories “Madame Celestin’s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour” were significantly influenced by her experience of encounters with the patriarchy (Golgotha Press). The book is relevant regarding the investigation of Kate Chopin’s personal motives that stood behind her writings.

McElroy, Wendy. Individualist Feminism of the Nineteenth Century: Collected Writings and Biographical Profiles. McFarland, 2012.
This book focuses on the earliest forms of feminism. It compares this phenomenon in the 19th century to its contemporary state. This work gives an opportunity to compare early feminism to its modern state and to establish the place of Kate Chopin in this phenomenon. This woman is defined as one of the most progressive, yet restrained opposers to the patriarchy.

Pruitt, Jennifer. Victims of Patriarchy: Failed Masculinity in Nineteenth-century American Literature. University of Central Oklahoma, 2012.
This book focuses on the ideas of overwhelming patriarchy in America of the 19th century and the opposition to this phenomenon reflected in the literature of that time. The analyzed book touches upon the concepts that lie in the basis of the story “Madam Celestin’s Divorce” because it fis based exactly on the problem of male domination and patriarchy.

Rizky, Johan. The Images of Wife and Mother in Kate Chopin’s Narratives. A Feminist Reading Journal, vol. 8, no. 1, 2008, pp. 38-50.
The analyzed article observes Kate Chopin and her writings from a rather radical feminist point of view. The characters from “Madame Celestin’s Divorce” and “The Story of an Hour” are observed as strong feminist symbols rather than restrained women who stand for their essential rights (Rizky). This book shows that Kate Chopin and her images can acquire different interpretations regarding the chosen framework.

Worton, M. Reading Kate Chopin Through Contemporary French Feminist Theory’ in
The Cambridge Companion to Kate Chopin. Cambridge University Press, 2008, pp. 105-117.
This work compares anti-patriarchal views of Kate Chopin to contemporary French feminist theories. In addition, the author elaborates on the influence of such French writers as Flaubert and Maupassant on Kate Chopin. M. Worton indicates the similarity between feminist characters from the analyzed stories and some specific images from French literature, such as the one of Emma Bovary from Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary.” Those characters struggle for their indepenance without starting the open confrontation with the entire society.