[Short Story] Mother’s Fantasy in "A Pair of Silk Stockings"

“A Pair of Silk Stockings” was written by Kate Chopin in 1896 during a period of intense feminist activity in the United States. It explores the theme of a woman searching for a balance between responsibility for family and personal satisfaction. Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Sommers, a thrifty and unselfish mother who knows the value of bargains. However, by the end of the story, having been subdued by the intensity of materialism due to the possession of an unexpected fortune, she is transformed into an egocentric woman who spends lavishly on extravagant objects. Mrs. Sommers then enjoys her experience with this vast sum of money, which includes splurging on a pair of silk stockings, having gloves fitted in a department store, buying an expensive pair of boots and also buying glossy magazines. She also goes to a nice restaurant to have a meal, and then goes to the theater. Mrs. Sommers takes in the entire experience of the theater, the play, the people, the surroundings etc. She then waits for a cable car home, where she is studied by a man, who seems to understand that she wants to stay in this day forever. Narrator describes “…..Poignant wish, a powerful longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere, but go on and on with her forever.”  (Chopin line 53-54)

In this case Mrs. Sommers wanted to get away from her family and think of herself for once, to experience her life before she had kids or got married. As written in the story  “…between getting the children fed and the place righted, and preparing herself for the shopping bout, she had actually forgotten to eat any luncheon at all!” (Chopin line 35). She dreams about giving her children the best things. By doing so, sometimes she forgets about herself. It wasn't about the things she bought, but more about her getting away. There seems to be a taboo about being honest when it comes to someone’s family life. Everyone talks about how children are so fulfilling and bring meaning to their parents lives. Kids cost money and time and that can wear a person down. It's tough having a family and any person would be lying if they said they never wanted to break away from their family and try to enjoy a time before they gained all the extra responsibility a family brings.  

The story also implies that she hadn't felt important since her marriage and popping out of her children and has probably been living in poverty since about that time as well. As proven in

“It seemed to her a very large amount of money, and the way in which it stuffed and bulged her worn old porte-monnaie gave her a feeling of importance such as she had not enjoyed for years.” (Chopin line 2-4)

There are a lot of symbols which portrays her desire to feel free. It includes silk stockings, magazines, luxury restaurant, and theater. Silk stockings represent luxury to Mrs. Sommers as well as pleasure as she looks at the various shades. Silk stockings is very soothing and very light than other stockings so that she can move freely. We could say that silk is also a symbol of beauty for women, especially in that era where every woman from high class usually wear silk things. When she wears it she doesn’t even know she has pretty legs. It is explaining that she doesn’t care whether she is beautiful or not, beside she is a mother she doesn’t have enough time to think about that. The expensive magazines that she buys reflect her willingness to enjoy her free time and for her it is something pleasant to do. The luxury restaurant that she enters, describes that she wants to skip her responsibility to be a chef at home. She wants to eat something delicious but she doesn’t have to make it on her own. So just going to wait for the food while someone cook it for her. The theater is another thing which explains that she wants to have free time by doing something pleasant and amusing.

 “she was not going through any acute mental process or reasoning with herself, nor was she striving to explain to her satisfaction the motive of her action. She was not thinking at all. She seemed for the time to be taking a rest from that laborious and fatiguing function and to have abandoned herself to some mechanical impulse that directed her actions and freed her of responsibility.” (Paul Negri 31-32). She was taking a break from constantly caring about her home life. In this new world of her own imagining, she was able to go out without worrying about the kid’s clothes, buying them shoes, or how to budget and compartmentalize everything. She never wanted to go back home. It's only natural that Mrs. Sommers would want to continue living in her fantasy life. There's less stress there, less things to have to be taken care of. It's going to end, of course, because that is how the real world works, but at least she was able to live in her fantasy world for the day. In this world she could pretend she was younger, unmarried. This was a time before Mrs. Sommers.