In this indispensable volume, fourteen intellectually compelling essays consider Kate Chopin's life and art from a variety of critical perspectives—biographical, New Historicist, materialist, poststructuralist, feminist—with several of the pieces focusing on Chopin's classic novel, The Awakening.

Many of the pieces focus on Chopin's classic novel, The Awakening. Essays by Deborah E. Barker, Dorothy H. Jacobs, and Martha Fodaski Black examine aspects of confinement and liberation in Chopin's portrayal of the novel's protagonist, Edna Pontellier. Drawing on Chopin's connections to Greek tragedy, Baudelaire, Ibsen, and Shaw, these essays offer intriguing glimpses of Chopin's literary and political sophistication. Essays by John Carlos Rowe and Doris Davis focus on Chopin's awareness of the role of women, particularly those in the leisured class, in the economic structure of American society. Barbara C. Ewell, Katherine Joslin, and Lynda S. Boren, in individual essays, discuss the influence of the romantic tradition on Chopin's work. The book's final essays consider some of Chopin's lesser-known fiction. Sara deSaussure Davis deciphers the mythical structure of the story collection A Vocation and a Voice, Anne M

In this indispensable volume, fourteen intellectually compelling essays consider Kate Chopin’s life and art from a variety of critical perspectives—biographical, New Historicist, materialist, poststructuralist, feminist—with several of the pieces focusing on Chopin’s classic novel, The Awakening. “ A worthwhile collection of essays offering usefully eclectic critical perspectives of Chopin and her work.”—Mississippi Quarterly

In 1969, Per Seyersted gave the world the first collected works of Kate Chopin. Seyersted's presentation of Chopin's writings and biographical and bibliographical information led to the rediscovery and celebration of this turn-of-the-century author. Newsweek hailed the two-volume opus -- "In story after story and in all her novels, Kate Chopin's oracular feminism and prophetic psychology almost outweigh her estimable literary talents. Her revival is both interesting and timely." Now for the first time, Seyersted'sComplete Works is available in a single-volume paperback. It is the first and only paperback edition of Chopin's total oeuvre. Containing twenty poems, ninety-six stories, two novels, and thirteen essays -- in short, everything Chopin wrote except several additional poems and three unfinished children's stories -- as well as Seyersted's original revelatory introduction and Edmund Wilson's foreword, this anthology is both a historical and a literary achievement. It is ideal for anyone who wishes to explore the pleasures of reading this highly acclaimed author.

At Fault (1890) is a novel by American author Kate Chopin. Published at the author’s expense, At Fault is the undervalued debut of a pioneering feminist and gifted writer who sought to portray the experiences of Southern women struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic hardship. Thérèse Lafirme is a Creole widow whose husband’s death has made the Place-du-Bois plantation on the Cane River in northwestern Louisiana her sole responsibility. Struggling to survive in a region that, following the fall of the Confederacy, has failed to recover from the devastation of defeat, Lafirme agrees to sell her land’s timber rights to a recently divorced businessman named David Hosmer. As the two begin to fall in love, Hosmer’s sawmill causes tension in an agrarian community unaccustomed to modern industry. Hosmer proposes to Thérèse, she is forced to consider the prospect of marriage against the opinion her community as well as her own moral and religious values, to set her personal desires aside in order to appease tradition. When Fanny, Hosmer’s alcoholic ex-wife, re-enters the picture, trouble ensues that threatens to ruin Lafirme’s reputation as an honest, hardworking woman. At Fault, like much of Chopin’s work, went largely unnoticed upon publication, but has since garnered critical acclaim as a work that explores the lived experiences of women and racial minorities during a period of political and economic upheaval. Both fictional and autobiographical—Chopin was a widow of French heritage who struggled to provide for her family following her husband’s death—At Fault is an underappreciated masterpiece of nineteenth-century literature. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Kate Chopin’s At Fault is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning novel is now a new, boldly reimagined film from producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Fantasia Barrino. A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by the society around her and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters directly to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women. She meets Shug Avery, her husband’s mistress and a jazz singer with a zest for life, and her stepson’s wife, Sofia, who challenges her to fight for independence. And though the many letters from Celie’s sister are hidden by her husband, Nettie’s unwavering support will prove to be the most breathtaking of all. The Color Purple has sold more than five million copies, inspired an Academy Award-nominated film starring Oprah Winfrey and directed by Steven Spielberg, and been adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Lauded as a literary masterpiece, this is the groundbreaking novel that placed Walker “in the company of Faulkner” (The Nation), and remains a wrenching—yet intensely uplifting—experience for new generations of readers. This ebook features a new introduction written by the author on the 25th anniversary of publication, and an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. The Color Purple is the 1st book in the Color Purple Collection, which also includes The Temple of My Familiar and Possessing the Secret of Joy.

Mrs. Louise Mallard, afflicted with a heart condition, reflects on the death of her husband from the safety of her locked room. Originally published in Vogue magazine, “The Story of an Hour” was retitled as “The Dream of an Hour,” when it was published amid much controversy under its new title a year later in St. Louis Life. “The Story of an Hour” was adapted to film in The Joy That Kills by director Tina Rathbone, which was part of a PBS anthology called American Playhouse. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

A Study Guide for Kate Chopin's "A Pair of Silk Stockings," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.