Kate Chopin The Silk Stocking Analysis

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In the story “The Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin, the main character is named Mrs. Sommers. For some reason, Chopin never gives Mrs. Sommers a first name. In this semi-ironic story, Mrs. Sommers is a young mother with four kids that keep her pretty occupied, but one day she receives a good amount of money. Her marriage is not explained in a lot of detail, but it hints that the marriage itself is quite weak. This story that Chopin writes at the surface can be taken as a busy mother taking a day for herself, but it has a way deeper meaning than just that. When an unhappy married woman struggling financially unexpectedly receives money, she self-indulges and finds self-indulgence.

In the beginning of the story, Mrs. Sommers becomes and “unexpected
Sommers’ marriage has had on her. When she first started on her trek to look for new clothes for her four children, she realised that she was so focused on feeding her kids, she forgot to eat (Chopin 1)! This shows how she was always focused on her kids and almost never on herself. But as we see later into the story, she completely forgets about her kids. “[...] with Mrs. Sommers next buying herself boots, gloves, high-priced magazines, an expensive lunch, and a ticket to a matinee-- is a masterful nod to the psychological accuracy of the woman in need” (Wagner-Martin 2). Mrs. Sommers at this point, has spent so much money on herself, it almost seems excessive. Sadly, it shows how long it has been since she has had a day to just spend the money in herself. “Desperate to bring some autonomy and beauty into her meager, overburdened existence, she rebels against the conditions under which she was laboring [...] that insists that one’s true worth is determined by the quantity and worth of one’s possessions and amusements” (Allen 5). If she were in her right mind and was in a pecuniary-rich marriage, she would have actually spent the money on her kids. But what Chopin is trying to emphasize is what a woman in need can do. Of course the action of self- indulgence lasts a little while, so eventually as the day comes to a close and she heads home from her outing “Mrs. Sommers would find her pleasure tinged with guilt when her children realised

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