Analysis Of Kate Chopins Two Portraits - 946 Words

Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"Two Portraits†, tells about a woman named Alberta. The first story is about Alberta the Wanton, who is a captivating prostitute that is going on a downward spiral towards aging and alcoholism. In the second story, Alberta is a nun who is the most saintly of all the women in the convent. Chopin incorporates many features like dimensionalism and environment to draw a contrast between the two Albertas. As it is the authors intention to examine contrary states of innocence and experience to show the ways that society divides women rather than uniting them. When examining the differences between the two Albertas, its important to examine each of their environments growing up. Like so many women, Alberta the†¦show more content†¦This leads her to enter a convent where she practices her external senses to feel elements of the spiritual world: â€Å"Her ears seem to hear sounds that reach no other ears; and what her eyes see, only God a nd herself know† (Chopin 16). While they both achieve it in different ways, both Albertas reach happiness through love; â€Å"Wonton† finds love through loving herself and her own body, while â€Å"The Nun† finds her love through god. Interestingly, it can be argued that inevitable objectification by a patriarchal world deprives both women in a certain sense. For the first Alberta, her social position makes it her obligation to please men by using her beauty to attract them. This creates an insecurity inside her that makes it impossible for her to build a sense of self that she could be proud of. While for the second Alberta she became a nun to escape the constraints that a patriarchal society aims to keep women. As a nun, Alberta becomes a figure of feminine purity, joining a community of women that is the only socially acceptable way to escape a male-dominated society at the time. When reading the story it could be obvious to say that Chopin is aiming the two portraits to represent two sides of human nature, the good and the bad. But maybe they are simply the roles women play when they are not married to a man in early 19th century. It is important to realize that each portrait starts off with the same paragraph, starting with line â€Å"Alberta havingShow MoreRelatedResearch Paper on Kate Chopin and Her Works2380 Words   |  10 Pages Kate Chopin is best known for her novel, The Awakening, published in 1899. After its publication, The Awakening created such uproar that its author was alienated from certain social circles in St. Louis. The novel also contributed to rejections of Chopins later stories including, The Story of An Hour and The Storm. The heavy criticism that she endured for the novel hindered her writing. The male dominated world was simply not ready for such an honest exploration of female independence, a frankRead MoreAn Analysis Of Armand Aubigny s Desiree s Baby 1538 Words   |  7 PagesArmand Aubigny’s Pride in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† by Kate Chopin Through history, we have always yearned independence and equality as human beings. Undoubtedly, Kate Chopin is an extraordinary example She has landed a commendable place among American writers worthy of recognition. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850, Kate was raised by strong women who taught her the value of an education. Her family gave her a revolutionary vision and a feminist personality, but it was her talented and passionate skillsRead MoreChopin VS Thurber and Relationships2545 Words   |  11 PagesIn the stories â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber (Clugston, sec. h1.1) and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin (Clugston, sec. h2.1) escapism is a similar theme with in both these stories, yet there is a slight variance in how each of these authors place these characters into their escape from reality, relationships, and everyday chaos. In each of these stories the author shows the characters escaping the realities of the relationship, one through Walter Mitts’ daydreams, and theRead MoreCalculus Oaper13589 Words   |  55 Pagesclosely associated with the infant bond that genuinely satisfying sex relations are likely to be structured primarily around nurturance? I Biologically men have only one innate orientation--a sexual one that draws them to women--while women have two innate orientations, sexual toward men and reproductive toward their young.(1)    I was a woman terribly vulnerable, critical using femaleness as a sort of standard of yardstick to measure and discard men. Yes--something like that. I was an Anna who