lost in the city
... considered caretakers of the home. They wore an excessive amount of clothing and never exposed themselves in public or otherwise. If a woman was caught exposing herself in public, would be shunned and looked down upon. Loyalty and commitment to the family was very important during this time. Regardless of their family problems, they were expected to endure and stay faithful. [ In fact, ] " the nineteenth century's message of the supremacy of motherhood was so strong and so intense that it was absorbed into the systems of it's women - even women like Edna [ ,a character in Chopin's book, ] who were not maternally inclined." ( ? ) You could almost say that women were considered symbols of everything that is pure in the society in which they lived. Anything short of that was considered unacceptable. Because of the time that Chopin lived in: " The Appearance in print of her most recent work had brought her harsh criticism and condemnation, as well as ostracism from many of those who had always formed a close-knit world of St. Louis society" ( Cully , vii ). Her book was seen as a vile and disgusting piece of literature. One critic of that time stated : "One cannot refrain from regret that so beautiful a style and so much refinement of taste have been spent by Miss Chopin on an essentially vulgar story."( ? ). Most critics and readers of that era felt the same way as this critic did. People were not willing to put up with what they felt was a trashy novel. Thusly, it was banned for approximately 50 years. All of her colleagues shunned her and put her on a black list of sorts for writers. Her friends did not acknowledge her existence and she became an outcast in society. In 1904, Chopi...