Kate Chopin was born as Catherine O' Flaherty on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up speaking both English and French, and the Creole culture is clearly visible in her work. She attended a Catholic boarding school and graduated at the top of her class. Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870 and had six children. Her husband admired her intelligence and independence, and they lived happily together in New Orleans, Louisiana. Unlike Edna, Chopin fulfilled her role as a mother and wife with pleasure. She didn't, however, totally conform to society's expectations of her. Unlike most women, Chopin would roll and smoke cigars. In addition, when she became tired of her matrimonial duties, Chopin would travel to Grand Isle, which can be seen in The Awakening. In 1879, the family moved to Cloutierville, Louisiana because Oscar's cotton brokerage failed. Neighbors reported that Chopin would ride through the middle of town on horseback, which defied all social standards of the time. However, her husband died in 1882, leading her to move back to St. Louis with her children. In 1889, Chopin began writing fiction stories as a way of expressing her nonconformist views on women's rights, sex, and marriage. Chopin was a successful writer, but The Awakening ultimately ruined her career because so many readers viewed it as shocking, scandalous, and morally unacceptable. Due to the negative feedback she received for The Awakening, Chopin only published three more short stories before her death on August 22, 1904. Unlike most fiction writers, Chopin didn't write a large quantity of stories. Most of her works are short stories, with the exceptions of The Awakening and one other novel.