i have just finished reading "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin and i do not get what the story is about.
can someone explain what the story is about?
A housewife and mom came into some unexpected money ("$15"), probably the equivalent of about $250 today. Suddenly, she's making plans for how to spend that money wisely, mostly on her children -- mend their clothes and save for better quality shoes, etc.
Then there's this paragraph: "The neighbors sometimes talked of certain 'better days' that little Mrs. Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs. Sommers. She herself indulged in no such morbid retrospection. She had no time -- no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily to-morrow never comes."
Apparently, before she was married to Mr. Sommers, she came from a family in which people didn't have to worry about not having enough money. Once she married him and had several children, however, money became tight and she had to plan and scrimp and budget to make the family's money stretch.
Now -- what happened to her once she laid her hands on those silk stockings in the store?
http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=ChoSilk.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
she starts off by buying a pair of silk stockings and then buys shoes and then gloves...and she ends up spending the money on herself...
what would the theme of the story be though?
A good way to think of the theme of a story is to ask yourself this: "What is the hidden message (or lesson) that the author wants me to understand?"
It seems hard to come up with a theme for this story and i am usually good at figuring out themes of stories
Read the last couple of lines. Doesn't she want this unaccustomed luxury and pleasure to go on forever?
oh ok...thank you very much
Certainly! "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin is a short story that explores the theme of indulgence and self-gratification. The story follows Mrs. Sommers, a modest and frugal woman who unexpectedly finds herself with fifteen dollars in hand. The story is primarily about how Mrs. Sommers spends this money and the temporary escape from her everyday life that it provides.
To gain a better understanding of the story, it would be helpful to analyze its key elements:
1. Characterization: Pay attention to Mrs. Sommers' personality traits, her desires, and how her character evolves throughout the story.
2. Plot: Examine the sequence of events that unfold after Mrs. Sommers receives the fifteen dollars. Observe how her choices and actions drive the plot forward.
3. Setting: Consider the environment and time period the story takes place in. In this case, it is an urban setting typical of the late 19th century.
4. Symbolism: Notice the significance of the silk stockings mentioned in the title. They act as a symbol of luxury and a departure from Mrs. Sommers' ordinary life.
By examining these aspects, you'll be able to analyze the story for its underlying themes and gain a better understanding of what "A Pair of Silk Stockings" is about.