The+Awakening-Chopins+Life

T. McClanahan, J. Aranda, J. M. Flores, C. Strawn
 * one of five children, but her two sisters died in infancy, and her two brothers died in their twenties
 * father died when she was only five
 * surrounded intelligent, independent women growing up
 * never truly experienced the patriarchal characteristics of society in her youth
 * raised in an atmosphere of female freedom and sexual awareness that was seen in her literary works
 * when she married, she completed the responsibilities expected of her as a mother and husband, but also had a wide range of "unconventional freedoms" such as smoking, solitary walks, and intellectual independence ("The Awakening Study Guide: Context")
 * admired and supported by her husband
 * wanted other women to have the freedom that she had
 * was depressed at times after her husband died, and wrote of suicide as an intelligent escape for inescapable solitude

KateChopin.org: The Kate Chopin International Society  Retrieved 18 Dec. 2007

"Kate Chopin: A Woman Ahead of Her Time"  Retrieved 20 Dec. 2006

"The Awakening Study Guide: Context" __SparkNotes__ 2006  Retrieved 20 Dec. 2006