Goldsmith 1
Aretha Goldsmith
October 1, 2012
English 1301
Essay 3
Within A Pair of Silk Stockings
Over the years the roles of women and their places in society have changed according to
the times. In the eyes of some, women have become more evolved. They have taken a more
hands on approach to dealing with and becoming a more conspicuous force in a man’s world.
However, although women’s roles have changed, one genetically coded aspect of women has
seemed to remain the same. There are a vast majority of women that long to connect with their
inner femininity, and through it, express their confidence as women. Through carefully reading
and analyzing story of Mrs. Sommers, in “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” it’s evident that Katherine
Chopin uses several illustrations to depict two distinct aspects of a woman’s psyche. Chopin
looks at the mental process of a dedicated and devoted mother, and of a woman that is longing to
re-connect with her inner self and in doing so, Chopin uses symbolism to link the explicit
feminine connotation of a pair of black silk stockings, as well as other items strongly associated
with feminine meaning, to Mrs. Sommers’ masked inner femininity and prestigious self-poise at
the expense of fifteen dollars.
Early on in the story, Chopin introduces her readers to the opposite side of Mrs. Sommers
by giving us examples of how thrifty she is:
Mrs. Sommers was one who knew the value of bargains; who could stand for hours
making her way inch by inch toward the desired object that was selling below cost. She
could elbow her way if need be; she had learned to clutch a piece of goods and hold it
Goldsmith 2
and stick to it with persistence and determination till her turn came to be served, no
matter when it came.
Chopin reinforces Mrs. Sommers’ character as one who does not spend foolishly when we read
of how she contemplates spending her newly acquired money on her children:
The question of investment was one that occupied her greatly. For a day or two she
walked about apparently in a dreamy state, but really absorbed in speculation and
calculation. . . . But it was during the still hours of the night when she lay awake
revolving plans in her mind that she seemed to see her way clearly toward a proper and
judicious use of the money.
As we meet Mrs. Sommers, she is pictured as both practical and logical, wanting to use her
money in a thrifty way often associated with the good mother and housekeeper. In fact “The
vision of her little brood looking fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives excited her and
made her restless and wakeful with anticipation.” Chopin shows us that she is not a frivolous
woman who would absently spend money on luxury items, but instead one who makes careful
financial choices.
It’s not until Mrs. Sommers is about her day aimlessly shopping for a way to legitimately
invest her fifteen dollars that Chopin shows us Mrs. Sommers’ apparent alter ego. Once asked
by the girl behind the department store counter if she’d like to examine the line of hosiery, Mrs.
Sommers’ pyche is coaxed and changed by the touch of silk stockings:
She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate
view of purchasing it.… Feeling the soft, sheeny luxurious things—with both hands now,
holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her
fingers. She was not going through any acute mental process or reasoning with herself,
Goldsmith 3
nor was she striving to explain to her satisfaction the motive of her action. She was not
thinking at all. She seemed…to be taking a rest…and abandoned herself to some
mechanical impulse that directed her actions and freed her of responsibility.
The stockings, described as “serpent-like” become symbolic of the temptation for things
generally beyond her means. Additionally, the “mechanical impulse” they have implies a
genetic action, showing Chopin’s assumption of a subconscious drive for luxury in this woman
who has for so long shunned any indulgence. The accidental and innocent touch of a pile of silk
stockings, transforms Mrs. Sommers from that of a selfless dedicated mother, to a sensually
seduced misstress and sends her on a much-desired day of self-indulgence.
The very moment Mrs. Sommers utters the words, “Do you think there are any eightsand-a-half among these,” we are able to distinguish exactly when she becomes engaged and
compelled to full fill her hidden appetite to once again feel like a desired and prestigious woman.
After purchasing the pair of black silk stockings, and hastily replacing her “cotton stockings for
the new ones,” Chopin links the elegance of the stockings with Mrs. Sommer’s initial contact
with her faded inner femininity and renewed self-confidence and sense of prestige: “How good
was the touch of the raw silk to her flesh!” There is even an image of how Mrs. Sommers seems
to toss away her old personality in exchange for this new one: “she…rolled the cotton stockings
together and thrust them into her bag.” Here, the old stockings, symbolic of her everyday life,
can be handled roughly and carelessly, and they are quickly hidden away.
Immediately after her transformation, she goes straight over to the shoe department and
takes a seat to be fitted. Chopin utilizes distinct words to let us know that Mrs. Somemrs makes
a conscious decision to indulge herself by buying a pair of shoes to go along with her new
stockings and her new attitude: Mrs. Sommers “was fastidious and didn’t mind the difference of
Goldsmith 4
a dollar or two more in the price so long as she got what she desired.” Once Mrs. Sommers picks
out the pair of boots of “excellent and stylish fit,” Chopin communicates affirmation of Mrs.
Sommers’ renewed state of being by showing us how “she held back her skirts and turned her
feet one way and her head another way,” then admiring her foot and ankle, in disbelief “that they
belong to her,” she is obviously flattered and overtaken by her rush of pleasing endorphins. The
stockings become an avenue for yet another purchase and illustrate a further change in Mrs.
Sommers’ feelings, moving her away from the woman at the first of the story who “during the
still hours of the night . . . lay awake revolving plans in her . . . toward a proper and judicious use
of the money.” By changing her stockings, she has symbolically changed her values, if even for
a short moment.
After purchasing her boots, Mrs. Sommers goes to be fitted for a pair of gloves, not a pair
of bargained or “cheap” gloves, but a pair of gloves that are expensive enough to be “fitted”
specifically to her hands and buttoned to secure the fit. Once more we are able to see how
Chopin uses the idea of “fitted” gloves in connection to feminine connotation. We are able to
make the connection by noticing how both Mrs. Sommers and the sales women lose themselves
for a second or two in admiration. The gloved hand was obviously very pleasing to look at.
It becomes apparent that Mrs. Sommers’ day of shopping has worked well for her inner being:
“Her stockings, and boots and well-fitting gloves had worked marvels in her bearing—had given
her a feeling of assurance, a sense of belonging to the well-dressed multitude.” All that this
woman had done is change her clothes, yet those clothes symbolize a change in her attitude
about herself; instead of focusing on her family, she is now focusing on herself.
She then uses some of the remainder of the money to buy herself two high-priced
magazines, not just any magazines, but magazines that “she had been accustomed to read in the
Goldsmith 5
days when she had been accustomed to other pleasant things.” Mrs. Sommers doesn’t stop there,
but decides to continue to feed her rush by treating herself to a lunch, “where her appearance
created no surprise” and then to a matinee where she fulfills “her next temptation.” Chopin
shows us how feeling sure of herself, gives Mrs. Sommers the confidence to converse and fit in
among “brilliantly dressed women” with a different respect for her mental state:
It is safe to say there was no one present who bore quite the attitude which Mrs. Sommers
did to her surroundings. She gathered in the whole—stage and players and people in one
wide impression, and absorbed it and enjoyed it.
By the end of Mrs. Sommers’ day, Chopin illustrates to her readers how Mrs. Sommers is
saddened by the fact that her day of euphoria has ended and more so, that she would love for the
day to continue: “The play is over, the music ceased….It was like a dream had ended.” Mrs.
Sommers is so distraught by this realization that even a man on the cable car is unable to
“decipher what he saw there.” If only he knew that there was a “poignat wish, a powerful
longing that the cable car would never stop anywhere, but go on and on with her forever.”
Throughout the story Chopin shows us how the femininity and self-confidence of Mrs.
Sommers’ character continues to be built up through the series of acts that are closely related to a
feminine association. Through these series of acts, Mrs. Sommers is rekindled with her previous
persona, so much to the point that, by the end of the story it is evident that she wants to remain
sustained in her own climax of personal bliss.
Chopin uses symbolism of the stockings, shoes, gloves, and afternoon out to sum up one
clear fact, that fact being that there is a real importance behind women connecting with and
listening to their inner-selves. She also paints the importance behind how self-confidence plays
a large role in how women ultimately see themselves. Chopin underlines the reality that
Goldsmith 6
something as small and irrelevant as a pair of silk stockings, a pair of new boots, or a pair of
fitted gloves, can channel the self-confidence of a woman and allow her to feel attractive and
confident, two very key traits to a healthy self-esteem. While Mrs. Sommers is clearly a woman
who values and loves her family, she has focused on them to the extent of ignoring herself. The
fifteen dollars that would have gone a long way to helping “little brood [look] fresh and dainty
and new for once in their lives,” she spent on herself and transformed for a day. She, like so
many mothers before her had continually and daily sacrificed to make sure her children had more
than she had. The silk stockings that started this all are a symbolic vacation for this working
woman—a vacation she would otherwise never have. Woman may continue to play the role of
many players in this society, but through it all it is imperative to never lose sight of, and always
remain connected to the very elements that make them not just mothers and wives, but
individuals, and this sometimes comes at an expense.
Goldsmith 7
Work Cited
Chopin, Katherine. “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” Classic Reader. Classic Reader, n.d.
Web. 02 Oct. 2012.