Introduction
The short story “Regret” by Chopin is one of the most famous works of the 20th century. Chopin is famous for her short stories and the novels which she had focused on the sensitive issues in the society including women and their lives during the 20th and 19th century ( Crowley , 2015). In many of her works, Chopin has focused on the personalities of women, and the oppression women were undergoing in the society during the 20th century ( Koloski , 2015). She views women as independent personalities with personal needs, based on many of her works which focused on women and their personalities, she has been considered as a forerunner of the feminist movement in the 20th-century literature ( Ostman & O’Donoghue , 2015). In the short story “Regret,” Chopin presents a woman who struggles to accept her own decision for being a strong independent woman who does not need a man and the desire to have a family. While making decisions can sometimes be driven by pride and strong ambitions, individual choices can always come with regrets at the end. Using her unique style, Chopin explores the themes of feminism and gender conformity as well as a unique plot and characterization to display her work and to show that despite being independent and strong, women still need a happy marriage, love, and children to be happy and reach their self-actualization.
Plot Summary
Chopin presents her plot in a unique way by utilizing exposition, development of events, climax and denouement. Chopin begins the story with an exposition where the main character, Mamzelle Aurlie is presented to the reader with the description of her personality. To the reader, Mamzelle is introduced to the reader as a strong independent woman who has unique personalities unique from that which would be seen in women in the 20th century. Mamzelle is a woman with an extreme personality and is not interested in men nor having children. At the start, Chopin presents Mamzelle as a woman who is happy with her life alone without children and a man and all she has is her farm and a dog. This can be confirmed by the statement; “she had never thought of marrying, she had never been in love, she had received a proposal, which she had promptly declined” ( Chopin, 201 9).
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The plot then proceeds to the development of events which starts when a woman visits Mamzelle with her children and requests her to take care of them for some days. Even though Mamzelle is not used to children and gets annoyed at them, she gradually gets used to their presence and even begins to love them. This is confirmed by the statement, “I’d rather manage a dozen of plantation than for children, it’s terrassent, don’t talk to me about children” ( Chopin, 201 9). Here, the author presents the conflict in the decision of Mamzelle to stay alone without children and a man. Climax reaches when the mother of the children takes them home. Here, the maternal instincts of Mamzelle get, and she regrets not having a family and children of her own. The author uses the denouement in the plot to reach a conclusion when Mamzelle is undergoing tension and feeling of anxiety inside her. She seems to be regretting her earlier decision not to have a family.
Theme analysis
The Theme of Gender conformity and Feminism
Chopin through her short story present a theme of revolt to conform to gender requirement in the society. It is the expectation that a woman will leave her parents, get married to a man and the two live together and have children. This is the norm not only in the 20th and 19th centuries but is also still the expectation in the 21st century. When a woman decided to take a different direction for not getting married, it was seen as a sign of revolt against gender conformity. The expectation was that every woman was to conform to the societal requirements for marriage and family. In the story, Chopin presents Mamzelle as a character who has failed to conform to gender expectations. She is presented as someone who is strong and does not need a man for love or any help. She is contented by her life of staying alone, and thus she is not interested in marriage or having a family. Her hatred for men and family is seen from the statement, “she had never thought of marrying, she had never been in love, she had received a proposal, which she had promptly declined” ( Chopin, 201 9). Here, the author presents Mamzelle as someone who is going against gender expectations during the 19th and 20th century. Women were to get married and have children, and that was a common culture. However, Mamzelle decides to take a different direction, to rebel against the gender requirement. She is not interested in any man or even having children.
Chopin demonstrates that Mamzelle is a unique woman with a strong personality, a woman who can go against the gendered expectations that the society has always labeled against woman and who are expected to conform. She tries to show that women can also live and be independent on their own and not necessarily on men as it was the expectation during these days. At first, she hates children and family, a move that is against the expectation that a woman should love children and her family. The author, however, takes the reader to a climax by introducing a conflict in the emotions and feelings of Mamzelle. Once Odile comes for her children who Mamzelle had started loving, she realizes her maternal instinct and feels regrets that she decided not to have a family. Here, the author tries to demonstrate that even though people may refuse to conform to certain societal expectations, such decisions usually come back to haunt in the future. Mamzelle decided to reject the expected societal norm and to stand out as a real feminist, a woman who can become independent like a man. She is a real feminist and a voice that women can be strong and depend on themselves just like men. However, in deciding to go against societal expectations about gender, one must make decisions with cautions or else such decisions can lead to regrets at the end.
Character Analysis
The main character in the story is Mamzelle, the feminist woman who stands out to be strong and to resist the gendered expectations in the society. She is introduced as a character with the features of a man rather than a woman. This is confirmed by the statement, “she wore man’s hat about the firm, and an old blue army overcoat when it was cold, and sometimes top-boots” ( Chopin, 201 9). Chopin presents Mamzelle as a woman of determination and someone who makes bold decisions regardless of what society holds about gender expectations. Despite marriage being an expectation for women in the 20th century, she stands out sharply against that notion and goes her way. However, she is also presented as a character who have conflicts with her own decision. After having made a decision not to have a family, she comes out to develop inner conflict and regret about her decision.
Conclusion
Chopin uses a unique style and vivid description to present her story in a way that appeals to the reader. Her plot follows a systematic design that captures the attention of the reader and brings in every aspect of the story into reality. Through the theme of gender conformity and feminism, Chopin demonstrates how strong women can stand out to be different from what society expects of the female gender. However, she creates a climax by taking the reader to the conflict that could arise on individual decisions that are against the expectations of society. Throughout the story, Mamzelle has been presented as a character with a strong personality and an independent woman who can stand out as a feminist.
References
Regret by Kate Chopin. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.englishlibrary.org/story_regret.html
Crowley, J. W. (2015). Kate Chopin, Frédéric Chopin, and the Music of the Future. American Literary Realism , 47 (2), 95-116.
Koloski, B. (2015). Chopin’s Enlightened Men. In Kate Chopin in Context (pp. 15-27). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Ostman, H., & O’Donoghue, K. (2015). Introduction: Kate Chopin in Context: New Approaches. In Kate Chopin in Context (pp. 1-11). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
