Kate Chopin was a leading woman writer in her era. Her collection of short stories with embedded life lessons have touched upon the ideas of American Romanticism and American Realism. Chopin’s writings compare with those of American Romantics we have read in a great sense. All of the romantics express a celebration of the individual, as well as show a passion and a respect for nature. Also, Chopin shares the ideals of American Realism in that one can control their own lives, without anyone elses influences.

A Pair of Silk Stockings mainly demonstrates ideals found in American Realism. The fact that Mrs. Sommers initially had judicious ideas on how to spend the abundance of $15, and then went out and spent the money indulging herself on stockings, boots, gloves and an expensive lunch anyway, is an example of Realism. This is because Realism is all about people encouraging themselves and others towards self-development and self-improvement. Realists also believe that humans control their own destinies. In A Pair of Silk Stockings Mrs. Sommers tries to change her destiny and how she is perceived by others by dressing differently and acting accordingly with her new clothes. Seeing that she bought tight fitted gloves, we can determine that she wanted people to think that she was a ‘lady of leisure’ which we were told from the beginning that she was not. Mrs. Sommers was living in an environment that she didn’t want to be in, “The neighbors sometimes talked of certain “better days” that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers.” She tried to step out of her reality for a day and play a role in the life of a woman that she was not. This touches on the issue that some women aren’t satisfied with their lives and they think that by filling it with materialistic things they can improve it.

I don’t think that in A Pair of Silk Stockings there was any progression towards American Romanticism. This is because Romantics were sympathetic and willing to look back and remember their past. This excerpt says differently, “She had no time- no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes.”

In Chopin’s story Lilacs I believe that there are many examples of American Romanticism. Adrienne Farival is a performer from Paris who is driven to her childhood convent school each spring when she is approached with the scent of lilacs. Romanticism originated from those who rejected religious intellect and consisted of the people that desperately tried to break free of the strict religious traditions of early settlement. While reading Lilacs one can see that when Adrienne lives her risqué life in Paris she is subconsciously trying to break away from the religious aspect of her life. Also, I say that Lilacs entails more romantic ideals because when I read it I got more intense emotions than I did when I read A Pair of Silk Stockings, which was a very boring and cut and dry story to me. Romanticism is all about the emotions that you get and what those emotions make you think. That is exactly what happend when i read Lilacs.

Both of these short stories have messages about people dealing with dual personalities. The personalities Chopin writes about both have two very extreme sides to their character. One side is a modest, conservative, traditional side, and the other is an extravagant and unorthodox side. As a reader of Chopin’s work I have inferred that maybe this is how she viewed the world at that time. She saw average women who were suffering with boring lives at that time in history so she wrote short stories to encourage woman that they can lead whatever life they want to lead and act however they please.

I enjoy Kate Chopin’s short stories. They are very brief and to the point. They convey messages that are extremely relevant to today’s world. Also, the two stories I read and most of her others focus on the lives of women. This is very important since she was writing in an era of male domination in the writing world. I admire Kate Chopin for being so extreme and different. I like how she doesn’t have one set style of writing and that she in unpredictable in her thoughts, this makes her a very interesting writer.

“She stopped, as she had always done, to pluck lilacs in her path.” This quote is what draws my attention to this particular writer/story. In a short story full of drama, chaos, and unexpected twists, Chopin still manages to catch your breath with a single sentence, more than with a thickening plot. The beauty that nature takes in this story is so intriguing. The presence of a lilac illustrates the main characters (Adrienne’s) motives, decisions, emotions, and deep thoughts. This makes Chopin a great story teller because she can spin an entire story from the beauty found in a flower.