Sadness In Kate Chopins The Locket

Sadness in Kate Chopin’s

“The Locket”

Kate Chopin’s “The Locket” is a short story only four pages long and broken into two sections, but filled with sadness. There are many factors in the story, from beginning to end, that display sad and sorrow that Kate Choplin, again and again, nailed home with imagery of the setting and personal experiences of the main characters Edmond and Octavie.

Sadness appears right from the start in the first section with a gloomy setting of a war being waged and Edmond and the rest of the Confederate forces, he belonged to, attire. Stating, their gray uniforms were worn beyond the point of shabbiness (1). More sadness is evident as you finish the first section; because all the forces that Edmond belonged to including himself all end up dead after battle.

The most powerful display of sadness is the emotional downward spiral of the two main characters Edmond and Octavie. Edmond displays sadness while waiting to

enter battle and knowing would could ultimately happen in battle and that being death. As he reads a letter given to him by Octavie, The letter had made Edmond heart sick and home sick (1). Octavie displays a lot of sadness in the second section of the story. After learning of the death of Edmond, A spasm of resistance and rebellion seized over her (4). She even verbally expresses her feelings, “I shall grow old and quiet sad like poor Aunt Tavie” (4).

All of these displays of sadness continued throughout the story even though a setting change in the second section would indicate happiness. The peace and beauty of a spring day had descended upon the earth like a benediction