Adapted from Wikipedia:Kate Chopin (née O’Flaherty, 1850-1904) was an American short story writer and novelist. She was married at age 20, moved from her birthplace of St. Louis to New Orleans, and had her six children by age 28. In 1882, after her husband’s business failures and death, she moved with her children back to St. Louis to live with her mother. The next year, her mother died. Her obstetrician and family friend, Dr. Frederick Kolbenheyer, recommended that she direct her “extraordinary energy” into writing for its therapeutic effect and to generate some income. She was widely published in literary magazines, but some of her stories were criticized on moral grounds. She is sometimes regarded as a seminal feminist writer.
