The Plot of the story

The story's main character is Mrs. Sommers, a wife and mother.Her husband is never mentioned; he might be dead, or the couple might be divorced. In the first sentence, Chopin reveals that Mrs. Sommers has acquired an unexpected $15.00. How she came to possess it is never revealed. She plans carefully how to spend it. When she stops for a snack she sees a pair of silk stockings and can't resist buying them.  The purchase of the silk stockings leads to more frivolous purchases. She goes to the shoe department and buys herself some boots. She purchases gloves, magazines, and an expensive, satisfying meal. Finally, she treats herself to a play at the theatre, where she sits next to some upper-class women. Once the play is over, she realizes that she must go home. She makes her way to the cable car, but wishes it would never stop. This indicates her lack of desire to return home.

The setting of the story

The story takes place in an unnamed city--a city large enough to have a department store, a fashionable restaurant, a theatre, and a cable car--probably in the early 1890s.

American author Kate Chopin (1850–1904) wrote two published novels and about a hundred short stories in the 1890s. Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana and most of her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women.

Her short stories were well received in her own time and were published by some of America's most prestigious magazines—Vogue, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Young People, Youth's Companion, and the Century. A few stories were syndicated by the American Press Association. Her stories appeared also in her two published collections,Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897), both of which received good reviews from critics across the country. About a third of her stories are children's stories—those published in or submitted to children's magazines or those similar in subject or theme to those that were. By the late 1890s Kate Chopin was well known among American readers of magazine fiction.

I've read the story "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin for the first time. I must admit that my expectations about the plot of the story were correct. This story shows the importance of a woman having her own identity. I feel sorry for Mrs. Sommers. She desires freedom and pleasure for herself.

Hello everybody and welcome to my blog!Finally I've managed to create my own blog. It was not so difficult, though it took some time. This type of work is new for me but i believe it will be very productive! For my project I've chosen the  story "A Pair of Silver Stockings" by Kate Chopin.