In “A Pair Of Silk Stockings” written by Kate Chopin, we watch a mother unsure of what to do after receiving fifteen dollars. Her first thought was to use the money for her children, “She would buy so and so many yards of percale for new shirt waists for the boys and Janie and Mag” before ultimately deciding on putting the idea off until she came up with the utmost responsible decision. While at a store, her hands dragged across something that felt marvelous on her fingertips. It was soft, beautiful and tasteful. A pair of silk stockings, something she had never owned. This compelling temptation forwarded her to make this unexpected purchase, and she was lured to put them on right away. As she slipped the leggings on, she felt a succumbing gratitude overcome her. Mrs. Sommers was a hardworking mom with multiple children, for whom, “The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty.” These silk stockings provided her an escape from her leisure, to taste youth and freedom once more. With this, she spent the most of her money enjoying other luxuries such as a Theatre that played a sorrowful and absorbing tale along with a fancy restaurant in which she would have never dared to go in had she not obtained that money.
Throughout this story, Chopin uses the silk stockings as a symbol of escape from societal depictions and their harming nature. The traditional ways of parenting, using Mrs. Sommers as a strong example, left many mothers to pull the immense weight of bearing and raising children on her own. She also uses this great imagery of depicting Mrs. Sommers as a girl rather than a woman to enhance the emotion of independence and attempts to harmonize with her unacknowledged past: “…a young girl who stood behind the counter asked her if she wished to examine their line of silk hosiery. She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate view of purchasing it,” further presenting the powerful effect a simple pair of tights had on her. It’s saddening yet so beautiful how, for just a moment, she was able to let her inner child explore such a delicacy.
As I read this short story, I immediately thought of my own mom and her hardships she faced while raising six girls. From what I observed at a young age, it didn’t seem easy in the slightest. Of course, we weren’t able to fully comprehend the duties of raising such hectic children, but we could distinguish bad days and good days and loved her all throughout. Growing up, we were always told to do the things we loved and never let anyone stray us from our passions, yet, we rarely saw our own mom do those very things. As the years went on, we frequently would ask our mom why she became a mom and what she liked to do growing up. She explained to us truthfully that her only desire, since youth, was to be a mother. As a kid, she’d only play with baby dolls and care for them as though they were her own babies. She never had a hint of hesitation when dreaming of her future. She made sure that we knew that we were her blessings. Set up in foster care for the majority of her life, my mom knew all too well that being a parent wasn’t always something everyone can flourish in. Because of this, her dream of being a mother only grew deeper.
For Mrs. Sommers, it is unclear as to what led her to feel such restraint and if she ever had the assistance she needed as a mom. We don’t really get any information about her husband, as he isn’t mentioned at all throughout the story, but what we do hear about are the neighbors and their talk of “better days” for Mrs. Sommers. With some analysis, it’s clear that her past seemed brighter than the life she now has. “She herself indulged in no such morbid retrospection. She had no time—no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim, gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily to-morrow never comes.” Mrs. Sommers’s belief to not dwell on the past could be the cause of her own feeling of suffocation as a parent. Because of this, she relies on materialistic luxury to soothe this untamed and unspoken feeling. If she had support, things could have possibly been different for her. Nonetheless, the fifteen dollars surely lasted for no longer than that day and she would have to tread back home to her self-sacrificing responsibilities.
Not every parent has the opportunity to indulge in the things they enjoy or desire to gain their independence, hence the simplistic purchasing of stockings was a revelation for the restless mother. “A Pair Of Silk Stockings” represents the need for an outlet, parent or not, to retain your independence and identity. Chopin opens the reader’s eyes to the necessary recognition of one’s desires and unlocking them before clinging onto a pair of stockings for momentary comfort. The pair of silk stockings for my own mom was, shockingly, her own children. What is your form of silk stockings? Is it enough for you?
Get the story! “A Pair of Silk Stockings” is included in Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories, which you can check out at BMCC’s Library, the New York Public Library, or the Queens Public Library. You can also read the story online or download it as an ebook from Project Gutenberg, which has digitized an edition of The Awakening and Selected Short Stories that includes the story.
About the author This review is by Janiah.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
