This heightened her awareness of female
roles in society and allowed her to be spared of the general
submission of women to men (Skaggs 2). She used these influences to
shape her views on woman's role in society and infused those ideals
in her writing.
ne that was
fairly unconventional. Oscar respected Kate as a unique and curious
woman and allowed her enormous freedom in her endeavors (39). Yet,
Kate ha
being the wife
of a Creole cotton broker and take care for their six children
(Skaggs 3). Like Kate's father, Oscar also died a sudden death in
1883. The tremendous grief she felt for his loss seemed to stay with
her through most of her life and was a great influence on her writing
(Seyersted 46).
insatiable reader, she needed to provide for her large family,
and she was encouraged by her family doctor to pursue her passion of
writing as a relief from her loss
Her writing resembled
the local
color movement's
characteristics in that she focused on characters from her part of
the country and portrayed them through the social and physical
settings in which they lived
It ended her career as a writer permanently
That voice gave
an important view of the female role in society and contributed to
the beginning of the later feminist movements.
"unless one’s inner person is integral with one’s outer
roles and relationships, a fully satisfying life cannot be achieved