Kate Chopin was born Katherine O’Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1851. Her background was a mixture of Creole, descended from French settlers, and Irish immigrants. She was well educated at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Louis and graduated 1868, following her father’s accidental death. In 1870, she married Oscar Chopin, and the new couple moved to Louisiana, which became the setting for many of her short stories. In New Orleans, she brings to life the Louisiana sett

room; his ugly bare feet… washing them in my tub, befo’ my very eyes,

ing, and the personalities of her characters, which are usually Creoles or Cajuns. Her themes center around the social, emotional, and sexual roles of women within those societies.

The end of the story, Athenaise, who realizes that she is carrying Cazeau’s child, also realizes that perhaps she does have strong feelings for him as her husband. She returns to her home with Cazeau and lives out a happy marriage. In this story, Chopin illustrates that happiness in a relationship can come only with maturity and with mutual respect. Cazeau knows that he cannot force Athenaise to love him, instead it takes Athenaise to discover what her heart truly wants.

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