Tactile Pleasures and Female Subjectivity in Kate Chopin’s A Pair of Silk Stockings

Abstract

This paper analyzes Kate Chopin’s novella A Pair of Silk Stockings using a dual perspective of sensory criticism and haptic aesthetics to shift the attention from the usual readings based on themes of consumerism and mother-daughter conflict. The paper proposes that the use of a sensorial lens to investigate the experiences of women in Kate Chopin’s literature would enable us to gain a more detailed appreciation of the nature of female subjectivity as portrayed in her writing. Using the concept of embodied perception in a detailed analysis of tactile encounters experienced by the character Mrs. Sommers, this paper attempts to illustrate how tactile pleasures enable her brief moments of embodied agency where she transcends her designated social roles.