Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin (1850–1904) was an American proto-feminist writer who specialized in tales about women who rebelled, in a hundred small ways, against Victorian ideals of domesticity. Her best-known work, The Awakening, was widely considered Chopin’s masterpiece, but was subject to harsh criticism at the time of its publication for its frank approach to sexual themes. It was rediscovered in the 1960s and has since become a standard of American literature, appreciated for its sophistication and artistry.