A Pair of Silk Stockings
by Kate Chopin
No. 66 Penguin Little Black Classics published 26 February 2015
This was an impulse purchase I made in Foyles Grand Central and for the princely sum of 80p I came away with this 56 page bind up of five of Chopin's short stories.
Kate Chopin is a new author for me. She was born in 1850, St. Louis USA and died in the same city 54 years later. Her work was first published in magazines including Vogue and Penguin describe her as one of America's most daring writers.
In Desiree's Baby, Chopin tackles race in a most shocking and brutal way.
Miss McEnders makes a moral stand against illegitimacy yet finds herself the one shamed.
The Story of an Hour is a short tale on the freedom death can provide.
Neg Creol tells us of Chicot who cares for, as best he can, a cantankerous elderly lady in New Orleans.
A Pair of Silk Stockings is the final story and my favourite. Mrs. Sommers finds herself in possession of $15 - and the predicament of how to spend it for the benefit of her family. She was kept awake with thoughts of shoes and shirtwaists, patching and darning but, on the very day of her enterprise, a faintness came over her and she ended up taking a seat at a counter, her hand coming into contact with the softest material she had ever held. Silk stockings...and reduced to only $1.98! It is the start of the most frivolous day Mrs. Sommers ever had and I was delighted for her.
These stories are wonderfully crafted with each word perfectly selected. This Little Black Classic has opened my eyes to the beauty of the short story so for that and for the introduction to Kate Chopin, thank you Penguin.
Miss McEnders makes a moral stand against illegitimacy yet finds herself the one shamed.
The Story of an Hour is a short tale on the freedom death can provide.
Neg Creol tells us of Chicot who cares for, as best he can, a cantankerous elderly lady in New Orleans.
A Pair of Silk Stockings is the final story and my favourite. Mrs. Sommers finds herself in possession of $15 - and the predicament of how to spend it for the benefit of her family. She was kept awake with thoughts of shoes and shirtwaists, patching and darning but, on the very day of her enterprise, a faintness came over her and she ended up taking a seat at a counter, her hand coming into contact with the softest material she had ever held. Silk stockings...and reduced to only $1.98! It is the start of the most frivolous day Mrs. Sommers ever had and I was delighted for her.
These stories are wonderfully crafted with each word perfectly selected. This Little Black Classic has opened my eyes to the beauty of the short story so for that and for the introduction to Kate Chopin, thank you Penguin.
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