Analysis of “Regret” by Kate Chopin

When It Is too Late European and American women in the nineteenth century lived in an age roleized by sexual practice inequality (Bomarito and Hunter, pars. 1). Womens role in a society was limited to be wives and mothers. hardly as time went on, things began to change. Women started to have the right of higher upbringing and working (Bomarito and Hunter, pars. 5). They became more independent in their lives without the need of men to support. only the question is that was this change good for women or not? The American origin Kate Chopin gave an example of those independent women in her short story Regret.In the story, a woman called Mamzelle Aurelie lived alone in her enkindle. She has never got married and never had children. But one day the silence in Aurelies life was broken as she carried the burden of looking later her neighbors four children for two weeks. One efficacy ask how could she manage to take care of these children since she never had one? In the story Chopi n describes the difficulties Aurelie faced and how she finally managed to deal with the children, also how she felt after the children leftover her alone.In Regret, Chopin uses this description to explore the change in Mamzelle Aurelies shell before and after the arrival of the children and her tribulation at the past. At the commence of the story, Chopin describes Mamzelle Aurelie in masculine terms. She was unmarried and never thought of getting married. She was a middle-aged woman with a rugged appearance. She wore a mans hat just about the farm, and an old blue army overcoat when it was cold, and sometimes topboots (Chopin 1). She was strong and suitable in her every day life.She had a determined eye (Chopin 1), and she lived kind of alone except for her dog Panto. She even ran her own farm and administer her workers. That shows how independent and hardened woman she was. All this description appeared in Aurelies quality before the arrival of her neighbors children. Aft er the arrival of the children, Aurelie became aware of the missing adjourn of her character which is womanhood. Those children had arose this suppressed character in Aurelie. At the beginning she did not know how to deal with these children.She treated them as if they were another variety of her farm animal. But soon she realized that midget children are not little pigs (Chopin 2). Taking care of the children required the awaken of feminine and maternal aspects in Aurelies nature that were dormant. Therefore she brought out her white aprons (Chopin 2) and got down her sewing-basket(Chopin 2) to mend the childrens clothes. She washed their feet before bed. Told them stories, and even let the youngest sleep with her. At the end of the story, the children had to go back home and leave Mamezlle Aurelie alone again.After they had awaken her maternal instinct, they left her in a great sadness and regret. The red sunset and the blue-gray nightfall had together flung a purple mist acro ss the fields and passage that hid it from her view (Chopin 3). She realized that the void left by the children could not be filled by her own at the age of fifty. She felt regret for banning herself from a great happiness she might have through this because she wanted her independence or because she did not find a adjust love.Now after discovering all these things, she let her head fall down upon her crumpled arm, and began to cry (Chopin 3). In the short story Regret, the change in Mamzelle Aurelies character caused her sadness and regret. In her past life, she hid some good aspects of her characterbeyond herappearance. She seemed to be strong and appeared in mans style. But when the children had entered her life, soft sides in her character appeared. At that period , she starts doing things she had never done before.She took care of the children, and washed-out most of her time with them as if she were their mother. In those two weeks, her kind fondness andmaternityinstincts revealed. And when the children left her, she realized how much time of her life she had indolent without being a mother andbanning herself from this kind of happiness. Works Cited firsthand Chopin, Kate. Regret. New York The coulomb Company, 1895. Secondary Bomarito, Jessica, and Jeffrey W. Hunter, ed. Women in the 19th Century Introduction. Feminism in Literature. Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 2005. eNotes. com.