- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Jun 03, 2017 10:58 am
#35651
Passage Discussion
The passage discusses the evolution of Kate Chopin’s literary style by focusing on its formative
relationship to several phases of nineteenth-century women’s fiction.
Paragraph 1 Overview
The first paragraph introduces Kate Chopin and describes the literary milieu in which she grew
up. Pay attention to the viewpoint expressed by the sentimental novelists (lines 4-9) and notate the
date (1850s): they employed elevated, romantic language to portray women whose sole concern
was to establish their social positions through marriage. The reference to local colorists at the end
of the paragraph (line 12) prefigures a more detailed discussion of their role in the development of
Chopin’s literary style.
Paragraph 2 Overview
The second paragraph describes the local colorists, who published stories about regional life in
the 1870s and 1880s at a time when “women’s culture” began to dissolve (notate the date and the
viewpoint). Note how the author likens the local colorists to anthropologists observing the world
with almost scientific detachment while also mourning the past. Given the importance test-makers
attribute to analogies, metaphors, and other figures of speech, make sure to highlight this comparison
and use it to your advantage in summarizing the local colorists’ viewpoint.
Paragraph 3 Overview
The third paragraph examines the relationship between Kate Chopin’s writing and that of the local
colorists. Chopin adopted their detached narrative style in order to describe extreme psychological
states in an uninflected manner, but did not feel a kinship with their subject matter, choosing instead
to tell stories of loneliness, isolation, and frustration. Since the primary focus of the passage is
Chopin herself, it is important to fully understand the differences and similarities between her and
the local colorists, and expect to be tested on that understanding.
Paragraph 4 Overview
The final paragraph begins by making one last point of distinction between Chopin and the local
colorists (they were nostalgic for the past; she was not), before describing in detail the works of
the New Women. Notate the new viewpoint and the date—1890s. The New Women writers were
different from both the sentimental novelists and the local colorists: they modified the sentimental
novel by introducing interludes of fantasy and dreams, and replaced the “crisply plotted stories” of
the local colorists with impressionistic methods. In The Awakening, Chopin embraced these methods
even more fully.
Summary
The author traces the evolution of Kate Chopin’s literary style in the context of three phases of
nineteenth-century women’s fiction: the sentimental novelists, the local colorists, and the New
Women. The presentation style mixes a variety of viewpoints, and this “compare-and-contrast”
format generates greater complexity in the passage. To combat this, always make sure to carefully
track each viewpoint within the passage and match each viewpoint with the appropriate date.
Here is a summary of the various viewpoints expressed throughout the passage and their relationship
to the literary evolution of Kate Chopin:
Viewpoint: Sentimental novelists
Structure: 1st paragraph
Argument: Used romantic language to portray women seeking to establish their social positions through marriage.
Relationship to Chopin: Chopin grew up with the sentimental novelists, but did not adopt their style or subject matter.
Viewpoint: Local colorists
Structure: 2nd and 3rd paragraphs
Argument: Published stories about regional life, narrated with detachment and mournful of the past.
Relationship to Chopin: Chopin adopted their detached narrative style, but not their subject matter. Instead of sharing the local colorists’ nostalgia for the past, Chopin focused on telling stories of loneliness and isolation.
Viewpoint: New Women writers
Structure: 4th paragraph
Argument: Used fantasy, parable, and impressionistic methods in order to explore hitherto unrecorded aspects of female consciousness.
Relationship to Chopin: In The Awakening, Chopin embraced the impressionistic approach of the New Women even more fully than they had in their own work.
The passage discusses the evolution of Kate Chopin’s literary style by focusing on its formative
relationship to several phases of nineteenth-century women’s fiction.
Paragraph 1 Overview
The first paragraph introduces Kate Chopin and describes the literary milieu in which she grew
up. Pay attention to the viewpoint expressed by the sentimental novelists (lines 4-9) and notate the
date (1850s): they employed elevated, romantic language to portray women whose sole concern
was to establish their social positions through marriage. The reference to local colorists at the end
of the paragraph (line 12) prefigures a more detailed discussion of their role in the development of
Chopin’s literary style.
Paragraph 2 Overview
The second paragraph describes the local colorists, who published stories about regional life in
the 1870s and 1880s at a time when “women’s culture” began to dissolve (notate the date and the
viewpoint). Note how the author likens the local colorists to anthropologists observing the world
with almost scientific detachment while also mourning the past. Given the importance test-makers
attribute to analogies, metaphors, and other figures of speech, make sure to highlight this comparison
and use it to your advantage in summarizing the local colorists’ viewpoint.
Paragraph 3 Overview
The third paragraph examines the relationship between Kate Chopin’s writing and that of the local
colorists. Chopin adopted their detached narrative style in order to describe extreme psychological
states in an uninflected manner, but did not feel a kinship with their subject matter, choosing instead
to tell stories of loneliness, isolation, and frustration. Since the primary focus of the passage is
Chopin herself, it is important to fully understand the differences and similarities between her and
the local colorists, and expect to be tested on that understanding.
Paragraph 4 Overview
The final paragraph begins by making one last point of distinction between Chopin and the local
colorists (they were nostalgic for the past; she was not), before describing in detail the works of
the New Women. Notate the new viewpoint and the date—1890s. The New Women writers were
different from both the sentimental novelists and the local colorists: they modified the sentimental
novel by introducing interludes of fantasy and dreams, and replaced the “crisply plotted stories” of
the local colorists with impressionistic methods. In The Awakening, Chopin embraced these methods
even more fully.
Summary
The author traces the evolution of Kate Chopin’s literary style in the context of three phases of
nineteenth-century women’s fiction: the sentimental novelists, the local colorists, and the New
Women. The presentation style mixes a variety of viewpoints, and this “compare-and-contrast”
format generates greater complexity in the passage. To combat this, always make sure to carefully
track each viewpoint within the passage and match each viewpoint with the appropriate date.
Here is a summary of the various viewpoints expressed throughout the passage and their relationship
to the literary evolution of Kate Chopin:
Viewpoint: Sentimental novelists
Structure: 1st paragraph
Argument: Used romantic language to portray women seeking to establish their social positions through marriage.
Relationship to Chopin: Chopin grew up with the sentimental novelists, but did not adopt their style or subject matter.
Viewpoint: Local colorists
Structure: 2nd and 3rd paragraphs
Argument: Published stories about regional life, narrated with detachment and mournful of the past.
Relationship to Chopin: Chopin adopted their detached narrative style, but not their subject matter. Instead of sharing the local colorists’ nostalgia for the past, Chopin focused on telling stories of loneliness and isolation.
Viewpoint: New Women writers
Structure: 4th paragraph
Argument: Used fantasy, parable, and impressionistic methods in order to explore hitherto unrecorded aspects of female consciousness.
Relationship to Chopin: In The Awakening, Chopin embraced the impressionistic approach of the New Women even more fully than they had in their own work.