Kenneth Eble states: “…She set out to reveal the implacable truth about the submerged lives of women” (2). Speaking solely about Kate Chopin, this quote emphasizes Chopin's conflicts with her society. She used her writing as a technique to indirectly explain her life by telling her stories through the characters she created. Kate Chopin was one of the modern writers of her time, who wrote novels that focused on common social issues related to women. Her period was composed of other female authors who focused on the same central theme of the time: denouncing the injustice of patriarchal society, women's search for individuality and identity. In Chopin's novel, The Awakening, she incorporates the themes mentioned above to illustrate the truth of life as she understood it. A literary work approached by feminist criticism seeks to raise awareness of the importance and superior qualities of women. Literary women can discover their strengths or find their independence, thereby increasing their own recognition. Several critics consider Chopin to be one of the leading feminists of her time because she was willing to publish stories dealing with women becoming empowered, standing up for themselves, and novels exploring the difficulties they faced at the time. Chopin looked only at the issues and was not afraid to suggest that women wanted something they were not normally allowed to have: independence. Chopin's decision to focus on and highlight gender imbalances is heavily influenced by her upbringing, her feelings towards society and the times in which she lived. The way Chopin was raised and educated not only inspired her, but also helped her... ... middle of paper ...... she expressed her emotions and thoughts about life at that time. Authors like Chopin helped people understand what was happening in the 19th century. They were able to integrate the thoughts of women and the duties that society expected of them at the time. Although these authors were criticized because of what they wrote, they were honest in their opinions and views. According to the Los Angeles Sunday Times, Chopin “…wanted to preach the doctrine of the right of the individual to have what he wants, whether it is good for him or not” (4). The Los Angeles Sunday Times acknowledges that Chopin's goal was to vindicate women's rights, regardless of the consequences. Kate Chopin's upbringing, her views on society and the times she lived in are all incorporated into her novel The Awakening, which expresses the inequalities between men and women..