Kate Chopin Collapses at World’s Fair

Kate Chopin, daughter of a prominent French family and at the time local author, collapsed at the St. Louis 1904 World’s Fair on August 20, 1904.  Madame Chopin was only 54 years old and suffered a brain hemorrhage or aneurism.  She died at her home on McPherson Avenue on August 22, 1904.

Kate Chopin was born Kate O’Flaherty in St. Louis, MO on February 8, 1850.  Her father was a successful businessman.  Her mother Eliza Faris was a prominent member of the French community.  St. Louis was originally a French colony and capital of Upper Louisiana.  The French community was very powerful through the founding of St. Louis in 1764 to the end of the Nineteenth Century.

Kate Chopin married Oscar Chopin in 1870 and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana.  She had six children in the following eight years.  Unfortunately, Oscar Chopin died in 1882.  Madame Chopin ran his business for two years before selling it and moving back to St. Louis.

Mrs.  O’Flaherty wanted her daughter to move back home.  Madame Chopin and her mother lived together with the six Chopin children.  Mrs. O’Flaherty died unexpectedly in 1885, which sent Madame Chopin into a deep depression.

Her parent’s fortune left her comfortably off but she was struggling to deal with the death of both her husband and mother.  A family friend and physician suggested that Madame Chopin begin writing as a form of therapy.

Kate Chopin had some talent as a writer.  She was able to publish a number of short stories.  Many of the stories were published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  At the time of her death, she was primarily known locally as an author of short stories.

Sometime after 1895, Madame Chopin moved into a home on McPherson Avenue.  Today, it is on the National Registry of Historic Place.  Known as the Kate Chopin House, it is privately owned.

On Saturday, August 20, 1904, Madame Chopin was visiting the World’s Fair, when she collapses.  Madame Chopin was taken to her McPherson home, where she passed away on Monday, August 22, 1904 due to bleeding on her brain.

The Wednesday, August 24, 1904 edition of the St. Louis Republic newspaper carried a story about Madame Chopin’s burial in Calvary Cemetery.  Several of her son’s friends served as pall bearers.

After her death, several of Madame Chopin’s works were published.  These works such as the novel The Awakening have led to her national reputation as an author.  Many feminists have praised the novel as an early works of feminism.  Some critics have questioned her non-judgmental portrayal of issues such as adultery.

Like many artists, Madame Chopin enjoyed a more prominent place in literature after she died than when she was still alive.  St. Louis greatly shaped that legacy.  She remains one of the more prominent citizens in the city’s history.

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