The Kate Chopin House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Kate Chopin House
Front view of the house shortly after the fire
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Prior to the post-1950s celebration of Kate Chopin's writing, this home was known as the Alexis Cloutier House. It is believed that Alexis Cloutier had the home built in the early 1800s, a time when he owned a large portion of the land that is known today as Cloutiervillle. The house is an example of Louisiana Raised Cottage Style and was constructed by enslaved laborers.
Kate Chopin and her husband Oscar moved to Cloutierville in 1880 after living in St. Louis and New Orleans. Following her husband’s death in 1882, Chopin returned to St. Louis, where she began to write most of her work. Her time in Cloutierville inspired many of the short stories in her short story collection Bayou Folk, as well as her two novels, At Fault and The Awakening. Chopin’s early work was well-received for capturing the history and culture of the Cane River Area. Despite her initial success, the publication of The Awakening in 1899 led to her career diminishing. It wasn’t until the 1950s, well after Chopin’s death, that The Awakening was acknowledged as an important text for the woman’s movement. Today, The Awakening is frequently included in college-level curriculums.
The Kate Chopin House later became known as the Bayou Folk Museum and provided visitors with many important artifacts of the early Cloutierville. However, in October 2008, an electrical fire ravaged the historic home. Some of the artifacts were saved, including the original book Bayou Folk and bricks made by enslaved persons at nearby plantations.
Sources
Kate Chopin House (Alexis Cloutier House), National Park Service. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/caneriver/cho.htm.
Kate Chopin House, NPS Gallery. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/93001601_text.
Reid-Jhirad, Anna. Kate Chopin A Re-Awakening, PBS. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://www.pbs.org/katechopin/program.html.
Fire Destroys Kate Chopin House In Natchitoches Parish, KTBS3. October 1st 2020. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://www.ktbs.com/news/fire-destroys-kate-chopin-house-in-natchitoches-parish/article_02364c04-9df3-50ef-8528-70a475297edf.html.
Kate Chopin House, July 18th 2019. Accessed November 11th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/kate-chopin-house.htm.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/caneriver/cho.htm
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/kate-chopin-house.htm