In this story by Kate Chopin, an impoverished mother comes into a windfall of fifteen dollars and excitedly plans how to spend it on clothes for her children so they look fresh and dainty and new for once in their lives. Later, at a department store, her hand rests on a discounted pair of silk stockings and their luxurious feel awakens something in her. She abandons her plans for children’s clothes, buys the stockings and goes on a self-indulgent spending spree for the rest of the day. Themes include poverty, social class, self-sacrifice vs. self-indulgence, selfhood, consumerism, impulse buying.
