Kate Chopin Journal Posting - Part 1

Rich Hoggan
English 48B
Kate Chopin Journal - Part 1

Kate Chopin might have written about romance and "adultery" but she wrote with the undertones of creativity, namely musical creativity. It wouldn't seem that far off that Chopin would add such undertones seeing as how they are very similar to her undertones of romance. The ability to create, to perform with an instrument, to write music is enough to incite the same feelings as entering into a romance. In fact it could even be considered a romance that we musicians enter into with music.

The following passage demonstrates the prescribed undertones, "Edna was what she herself called very fond of music. Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind…The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down Mrs. Pontellier's spinal column. It was not the first time she had heard an artist at the piano. Perhaps it was the first time she was ready, perhaps the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth" (554). Breaking this quote down, we first read that music evoked pictures in Edna's mind. When music becomes emotional, it's not uncommon for music to take listeners on a journey.

More importantly, the key word in this passage is "truth." I consider this the keyword of the passage because there is an inherent truth in music. But music can be considered permanently truthful -- innocent. This is especially true in the addition of lyrics to music. We can hear such examples in urban rap music where the lyrics tell the story of life on the streets. And it's in such lyrics that there is an undeniable truth that can not be taken away. Similarly, while Mr. Ponteller has ended up "marrying" his job if you will, it would appear that Mrs. Pontellier lost the truth in her marriage forcing her to obtain truth from another source.

Taken from the Kate Chopin website, one production company mentions "…and incorporates music and movement to do justice to a story that begins in a workman's heart, then radiates with seismic repercussions into the world around her" (katechopin.org). This quote encompasses the story quite well in that Mrs. Pontellier seems to keep her feelings to herself for the most part. At the beginning of the story she did happen to cry but it is obvious that she is not very outward about her feelings. This is another obviousness that Mrs. Pontellier is a musician because our emotions seem to be displayed far better in music than by other sources.

To conclude, Chopin's touching on music brings a whole new level of understanding to her writing -- it allows us to understand how she tied romance, emotion, and truth together. Because the truth wasn't immediately present at the beginning of the story, Chopin's tie-in of music allows us to understand that truth must always be present as it is with music. The truth that Mrs. Pontellier might have been in love with her husband but secretly -- passionately -- experiences romance with Robert is a prime example. Love, romance, truth, passion, emotion, each has taken up the verses and choruses of music, but each has also been the undertone of Chopin's work.