Biography of Kate Chopin

The next page 1 among the classics of American literature of the XIX century. This happened relatively recently - in the years of the XX century. In itself, the construction in such a high rank, retroactively, was not something exceptional for the United States. It is enough to recall the “discovery” of half a century previously unrecognized and forgotten by contemporaries German Melville, who has become one of the central figures not only in the literature of his time, but also throughout the development of American literature.

There are many other examples, especially with regard to ethnic literature, primarily the works of African-Americans, from the novels and stories of C. Chesnatt to the works of Zora Neil Hurston. Even cases of the allocation of “new” literary genres are known-new, of course, not for literature itself, but as the subject of literary and critical research-such as, for example, the autobiography of slaves, the list of which is rightly opened by the “autobiography” by Frederick Douglas, the work outstanding in their artistic merits, the power of persuasion and influence, the veracity of descriptions of the forced existence.

Similar radical reviews and changes in the “classic texts” corps, in all likelihood, have not yet completed, is almost impossible to imagine in relation to the literature of Russian, English or French. They are a living testimony of the youth of American literature, with which the insufficient reflection of its condition is directly associated, which did not allow special historical, socio-cultural, aesthetic, ideological and other conditions to perceive the literature created in its full volume.

The inadequacy of approaches inevitably gave rise to gaps, the deliverance from which was brought only by a change in the socio-cultural paradigm, which opened the opportunity to look into the past and find in it that the dominant tastes, aesthetic addictions or ideological prejudices made invisible. In the interpretation of the critics of the feminist direction, the initial oblivion and the subsequent triumphal return of Kate Chopin is an unconditional consequence, on the one hand, a patriarchal society, where all power belongs to a man, and the woman is assigned only to the “second”, a subordinate role and in her attempts to orbate independence and achieve an independent position and undermine moral duty and undermine morals Ustev, and on the other - the began the collapse of this society: having entered into disintegration, it forced to give up position, involuntarily "yielding" to the woman more and more rights.

Such an understanding of the issue still looks quite one -sided and simplified. The creative fate of Kate Chopin, as well as the fate of her literary heritage, was formed under the influence of a whole conglomerate of factors, among which there is a place and that are noted by critics of feminist, although it belongs to a far from a decisive role. And the restoration of the writer in the rights of the "classic" took place without their participation and was more likely to be the result of international scientific cooperation, brilliantly proved its fruitfulness.

Speaking about the revival of interest in the work of K. Chopin, perhaps, Cyril Arnavon should begin with the French researcher, who published in G. before the United States themselves, in addition to the lifetime reviews of her works, her name from time to time surfaced in various editions as a representative of the local coloring movement in the same section of her stories, however, her stories, however.

The study of her literary heritage was essentially not conducted. Only in the city of Rankin was a biography of K. Chopin, who later became the most important source for researchers of the writer's biography: first of all, her value was determined by the use of an extensive layer of materials unknown to the house, including the records of conversations with her relatives and people who personally knew Chopin, which made it possible to maintain many facts and information about her life and its environment, which otherwise could be lost forever.

The author, however, rarely made attempts to analyze her work at least in the most general terms. By that time, the writer's works, with the exception of several short stories that were part of various anthologies, had not been reprinted for a long time and became bibliographic rarity, which, of course, did not contribute to maintaining reader interest. An important line was the year when for the first time the “complete works” of Kate Chopin, which was two solid volumes, was published for the first time.

It was prepared by the Norwegian researcher with Per Seyersted and came out with E.'s preface by the appearance of about a dozen articles in the American scientific periodical for two decades, as well as small sections in general works dedicated to various aspects of her work. In essence, the reader for the first time got the opportunity to get acquainted with him so widely and comprehensively - the collected works included the entire artistic heritage of Chopin: two novels and over a hundred stories, the good half of which, scattered according to periodicals, remained inaccessible to the modern reader in two lifetime copyright collections came on forty -four stories, moreover, one of them was awarded one of them, in addition, it refers to G.

The short story was significantly replenished due to the inclusion of previously not published stories found among manuscripts in the writer's archive. In the same G., along with biographical information, in the book, much attention was paid to the consideration of her creative path, analyzing and evaluating her works, their perception by critics of different generations. According to the fair remark of the modern researcher of Chopin, Emily, he, “Priersteda, deserves gratitude from everyone who has ever discovered“ awakening ”.

He opened our eyes to Kate Chopin, she became - and continues to remain - one of the most read American authors of the XIX century. The Great River connected, thanks to the shipping, distant, inaccessible corners of the vast territory, separated by impassable thickets. Shipping laid the foundations of the prosperity of the genus, which, quickly giving up, gained a lot of weight and influence in society, not lost after the purchase of Louisiana Jefferson when it was divided into several states, one of which, lying on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, retained the original name.

The city grew rapidly, accepting all new waves of immigrants and those who, leaving the raised places in the east of the country, went in search of fortune to the West growing legends. A powerful tributary of immigrants contributed to the rapid Americanization of the city. One of these waves brought to St. Louis and the father of the future writer, who shortly before that decided to leave his native Ireland.

The zealous Catholic, he fluently owned French and knew several more European languages, so that there were not at least two important reasons, usually serving a stumbling block in mixed marriages. The house was spoke in French, and Kate initially mastered it, and then English, on which all her works were subsequently created. Business activity, however, served as an indirect reason for the unexpected death of T., he participated in the construction of the Pacific Railway and, together with other prominent citizens, was invited to the opening of its new site.

But the conceived celebrations ended with a disaster: during the passage of the first trial train, one of the bridges collapsed. The tragic death of the head of the family, although it did not undermine his well -being, for a long time immersed everyone in sorrow. She was only five years old at that time she had her affection for Father Kate - she transferred George to her consolidated older brother.

Among the books read in childhood and early youth - the "Tales" of the Brothers Grimm, the novels and poems V. Osten, Sh. She always preferred to read works of French and German authors in the original. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Kate was distinguished by unexpected musical abilities. She played well on the piano and, possessing magnificent musical memory, she could, after visiting the opera, "The next morning to play from memory the most she liked" 3; p.

A deep response was found in her soul performances by outstanding musicians. As shows, for example, her review about the game of the famous Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, she was most attracted to the naturalness of the expression, the absence of any posture, pretentiousness, emphasized work - quality, in the ballast of the most revered words in the artists.

This musician, she notes, does not “describe how this music acted on me. She seemed to be the height of artistic perfection, and, listening to him, I first wanted to be blind so that I could absorb all this and did not bother me and not distract the surrounding objects” 3; The years of the teachings of Kate Chopin account for a dark strip of civil war.

She was too small to find an independent look and position in relation to an event that split the American world in two, and the immediate environment, undoubtedly, laid out an imprint on her understanding of what was happening and her actions. Missouri, where St. Louis is located, was not free. There were about two thousand slaves in the city, slave auctions were periodically held.

The situation was heated to the limit; There were clashes between opponents and supporters of slavery, which ended by no means peacefully. The adherents of slavery from here was the publisher-abolitionist E. Lavjoy, shortly after moving to a small town in the neighborhood, killed by an angry crowd. Throughout the country, the case of Drede Scott, which the US Supreme Court refused to be recognized as free, although he lived for several years, who had lived a free state.As Kate was at that time at that time, it is unknown, but, it is likely that she did not see anything bad in him - because in their own house there were several slaves used as a home servant.

The obvious spleen sympathies of the family intensified with family ties with the creola Louisiana. With the outbreak of war, the half -brother of Kate, George, volunteered to the Army of the Confederation. It is not surprising that when the US flag was posted on the porch of their houses on the orders of the federal troops, the thirteen -year -old Kate tore it and refused to return it even under the threat of arrest.

This episode brought her the glory of the "smallest rebel." The dramatic events of that time, especially the death of George, caused a girl a deep emotional shock4. Kate with her exquisite manners, which could serve as a decoration of any aristocratic salon of secular entertainment, nevertheless, did not like and clearly burdened them, preferring noisy amusements among people whose “only talent is enclosed in their legs” 3; p.

Kate Chopin. A photograph of G. here in the city of Chopin entitled his "liberation" and accompanied the subtitle of the "parable of life." It narrates about the beautiful animal born in captivity, which lives in contentment and Hole, not realizing that he has taken the main value of life - freedom. Having once discovered an unlocked door, the beast at first does not show interest in it, then timidly, with an eye on the first steps, returning back.

And finally, a decisive jump leaves his shelter. He will find hunger, unknown, defenselessness at large. The accidentally opened door is still open, but the cell is still empty! Having completed the parable on a triumphant note, Chopin unequivocally revealed her understanding of life imperatives, unconsciously projecting the theme of many of her future works. It is impossible to say how much she correlated the situation with her own life.

But over time, her creative efforts will become the form in which she tried to overcome the barriers set by society on the way of self -realization of a woman as a person.

If Kate already decided to become a writer in the future, she did not give out her intentions. And her life soon received a completely different turn. Around the time, when her parable was written, she met a young Creole from Louisiana, Oscar Chopen, and in the city of moving to the New Orleans, Oscar took up the buying and selling cotton, and Kate entered the traditional role of his wife.

The death of her father made Oscar the owner of a huge plantation. Simona Lelri in the novel Beche-Stow. Together with the Earth, Dr. Chopin seemed to get his role - having abandoned his humane profession, he took up management. A man is cool and heartless, he did it with such cruelty that even overseers refused to fulfill his orders. Their duties were assigned to Oscar, but the fifteen -year -old teenager did not want to torment unrequited slaves who were “to relieve” by chains - he fled as he fled before, fleeing from her husband’s cruelty, his mother.

All this happened before his marriage, and Kate could not see it directly, although she probably heard a lot. A serious test was for Oscar a period of reconstruction. In Louisiana, where a fairly large number of "color" were in the governing bodies, this time was marked by the monstrous revelry of corruption and the incompetence of the administration. Oscar entered the "White League" created under the pretext of fighting them, the very name of which eloquently reveals its essence.

This armed organization was clearly racist in nature and set the goal of "the resistance of the coalition of the radical party took part and in the battle of September 4, when with the end of the reconstruction, black citizens were put to the place allotted by the White, this did not put the end of the abuse, but this did not bother anyone. A similar situation was observed throughout Louisiana, as, however, everywhere in the south.

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