Disturbers of the peace: Representations of women in the stories of Kate Chopin

Beyond the Victorian and Southern myths of women existed other levels of female autonomy and strength. In the stories of Kate Chopin, women characters perform social roles as wives, mothers, and hostesses; in addition, they live out other layers of existence in which they have greater control and freedom. Some, like Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, find an "inward life which questions." Others, like the protagonists of "The Kiss," "The Respectable Woman," "Lady of Bayou St. John," "At the 'Cadian Ball," "The Storm," and "Athenaise," find an outer life characterized by intrigue and manipulation. Chopin's women characters enact a stratified female consciousness that begins with manipulation and ends with a failed attempt at independent survival.