Kate Chopin began to write fiction in 1884. Chopin is seen as a woman in advance of her era. Her literary work deserves special critical consideration. She is skillful in areas such as: symbolism, irony, and style. Critics view her writings with a diverse viewpoint. .
In "The Story of an Hour- and " Ripe Figs- Kate Chopin uses symbolism. "The Story of an Hour- tells of a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who is afflicted with heart trouble and is told false news of her husband's death. Said of Mrs. Mallard when told of husband's death: .
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same with a paralyzed inability to except its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her. (13).
Mrs. Mallard spent that time in hr room by her window. In this time Chopin describes the weather in great detail. She uses the season to create specific implications. She is essentially saying spring is renewal. Chopin tells of the sky, the trees, the rain, the twittering sparrows- not necessary in a story where a woman has heard of her husbands death that grieves, recovers, then dies later when he reappears. She uses spring, which is considered the season of renewal to demonstrate how Mrs. Mallard feels:.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. (14) .
Mrs. Mallard died soon after her husband appeared alive an hour later. She died of heart disease, "-of joy that kills."" (14) In Chopin's story "Ripe Figs- she tells of a mother, Maman-Nainaine, and her daughter Babette. Maman-Nainaine tells Babette she can go visit her cousins down on Bayou-Lafourche when the figs were ripe.
