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The short story, "Regret," by Kate Chopin is about a childless spinster who accepts the responsibility of caring for a neighbor's four young children while their mother is away. The main idea of the story is that even though independent people like Mamzelle Aur'elie become used to living alone, they still need affection and human intimacy. Mamzelle Aur'elie is depicted as a woman with masculine traits and a somewhat military demeanor. Her "good strong figure," clothed in "man's hat, ... army coat, and topboots" contribute to her masculine image (461). And like a man she manages her own farm and keeps a gun "with which she shot chicken hawks" (461). Mamzelle Aur'elie's masculine traits combined with the facts that "[S]he had never been in love" (461), and at the age of fifty " had not yet lived to regret" not marrying, raises questions about her sexual orientation (461). Perhaps Mamzelle Aur'elie is a lesbian. The probable setting of the story is rural Louisiana in the late nineteenth century. The mores of this society would have made it difficult for her to carry on an intimate relationship with another woman or to raise a child of her own out of wedlock. With no desire to marry, and other options closed to her, she remains alone. Kate Chopin contrasts Mamzelle Aur'elie's solitary life and independence to the more ordinary situation of Oldie, the neighbor who brings her four children to stay with Mamzelle Aur'elie. Oldie is a wife and mother who is almost overwhelmed by family obligations. When she comes to Mamzelle Aur'elies, she is carrying her youngest child in her arms and dragging a second by "an unwilling hand" (461).
Approximate Word count = 1046
Approximate Pages = 4.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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