Research Project: Literary Analysis

Kate Chopin started her career as a fiction writer in the year 1888. Chopin successfully wrote many short stories and for over the next fifteen years published over one hundred stories, essays, and sketches in literary magazines. Her poems, short stories, and novels allowed Kate to share her feelings and beliefs. Kate Chopin wrote life as she saw it.  Her writing was shaped by her true life events, like loss of family members, constant moves, her writing career, and her thoughts on society. During the winter of 1898 Kate Chopin turned to poetry. She wrote many poems about love, nature, and sexuality but only one was published. Three months after “The Awakening” the poem “I Opened All the Portals Wide” by Kate Chopin, was published in July of 1899 in The Century Magazine. A year after the death of her husband Oscar, Kate moved back to St. Louis with her children and lived with her mother Eliza. Her mother died not far after the death of her husband. Chopin was believed to be depressed. She was encouraged to write to help her find comfort. I believe that the poem was written about her mother Eliza. The poem starts with the line “I opened all the portals high”. The word portals mean a gateway which leads me to believe that Kate may be referring to a gateway to heaven. The next line reads “To swallows on the wing”. Swallows are thought to be carriers of the soul from earth to heaven. The bird symbolizes her mother. Then it says “It matters not what now betide: I've had the taste, the touch, the breath, the scent and song of spring.” The swallow is the harbinger of the spring season. It appears every spring to announce its arrival. The bird brings the season of spring. The swallow and spring represent Eliza. Kate is saying that it does not matter what becomes of her. She’s going to be fine. She’s had the taste, the touch, the breath, the scent and song of her mother. Then it says “Oh, fair, sweet spring! Abide with me, in joy the whole time long; bring all thy life, thy light, with thee”. Fair is used as describing something as beyond good. The author is saying her mother was a wonderful person. The word abide in this poem means to remain or continue. Kate wants her mother to stay with her. She enjoyed the time they had together while her mother was still alive. When it says “bring all thy life, thy light, with thee”, I think she means for her mother to take Kate with her to heaven. The poem ends with “I fain would keep thy taste, thy touch, thy scent, 0 spring! thy song”.  In this last line of the poem, Kate is indicating that she loves her mother and will never forget her. It is not a known fact that this poem was written about her mother but I strongly believe that Kate Chopin wrote this short poem about her mother when she was grieving from her loss.