1. “A Pair of Silk Stockings”
By Kate Chopin

2. The Importance of Fashion…
“If I were shabby, no one would have me: A woman is asked out as much for her clothes as for herself. The clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: They don’t make success, but they are a part of it.” –Lily Bart in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth
…In your own opinion, how true is this statement today?

3. Why Silk? Nylon was not yet invented in the 1890’s
Women wore thick, cotton stockings
Silk stockings were ranked as pure luxury

4. Context for the Story Setting: 1890’s, Victorian America
Women in the US were strongly discouraged from working outside the home
Women were not allowed to vote and generally were not encouraged to pursue higher education
Women who asserted and expressed themselves were told that their behavior was unnatural
15 dollars was the sum equivalent to a generous weekly salary in the 1890s

5. About the Author: Kate Chopin
Often wrote about the difficulty and injustices of domestic life as a woman
Had a happy marriage with her husband Oscar
Oscar’s position as a store owner enabled her to meet many poor women like Mrs. Sommers
Literary pioneer who revealed the constraints and confines of marriage and motherhood
Devastated for years after Oscar’s death, leaving her to care for her 6 children alone

6. How will Mrs. Sommers spend her 15 dollars?