Symbols

Symbols are an integral part of the story “A Pair of Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin, as almost every item which helps develop the plot and take the story further has a symbolic function.

The silk stokings

First of all, the title –“A Pair of Silk Stockings” – is symbolic of the luxury and pleasures the woman has lost after entering married life. The stockings remind her of “better times” she experienced when she was unmarried and childless. 

Furthermore, the replacement of the cotton stockings – which symbolize the material limitations of married life and motherhood – with the silk stockings becomes a symbolic act of freedom.

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The lace and electric car

However, in the end, the “perfumed lace” of the woman sitting next to Mrs. Sommers in the theatre becomes a reminder that the protagonist is not truly a part of this higher society any longer.

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Moreover, here you can read about the following symbols:

• The porte­monnaie, shopping bag and money
• The gloves and boots