Kate Chopin in the Twenty-first Century: New Critical Essays
- ISBN-10
- 1847186475
- ISBN-13
- 9781847186478
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2008
- Publisher
- Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Author
- Heather Ostman
Description
The essays in Kate Chopin in the Twenty-First Century update Chopin scholarship, creating pathways, both broad and narrow, for study in a new century. Given Chopinâ (TM)s atypical literary career and her frequent writing about unconventional themes for her timeâ "such as divorce, infidelity, and suicideâ "she may have approved such approaches as the essays here suggest. This collection of essays offers readers newer ways of thinking about Chopinâ (TM)s works. They break away from the familiar trends of the feminist considerations of her work, ranging from her short stories, to her lesser-known novel, At Fault, to her best-known work, The Awakening. Part one introduces interdisciplinary themes for reading â oecultureâ in Chopin, including urban living and theatre as a lens for viewing New Orleansâ (TM)s social and class stratifications; the importance of musicâ "a central interest of Chopinâ (TM)sâ "in her texts; and the cultural relevance of Vogue magazine, where eighteen of Chopinâ (TM)s stories were first published. Part two identifies important and overlapping concerns of religion, race, class, and gender within the contexts of selected short works. And part three offers fresh readings of The Awakening, using the lens of race, as well as the lens of class to reconsider protagonist Edna Pontellierâ (TM)s transformation and her dependency upon the â oerightsâ of privilege within a specific cultural context. Together, all of the essays in the collection, by both established and newer scholars, help to usher Chopinâ (TM)s work into the twenty-first century.
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Other editions
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- 2020-12-15
- 170 pages
- Ebook
- Cambridge Scholars Publishing