The depiction of male characters in selected short fiction of Kate Chopin

The purpose of this study is to analyze the male characters in certain short stories by Kate Chopin in order to broaden the scholarly view of Chopin as a writer of humanity and not only a writer of women's issues. This thesis analyzes the husbands in "A Point at Issue!" and "Her Letters," the male character lovers in "Ti Demon" and "A Vocation and a Voice,'' the sons in "Madame Martel's Christmas Eve" and "The Godmother," and the independent men in "Dr. Chevalier's Lie" and "An Idle Fellow." Each analyses offers proof that Chopin's male characters, as well as her female characters, are full, rich, and truthful. This study argues that with each character analyzed, Chopin moves beyond gender constraints into the realm of universal human experience.