Read the excerpt from the awakening, by kate chopin. he reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. if it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it? he himself had his hands full with his brokerage business. he could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying at home to see that no harm befell them. he talked in a monotonous, insistent way. how does the excerpt reflect its social and historical context? it illustrates the challenges of maintaining brokerage business in the 1800s. it illustrates the prevailing gender expectations within a marriage in the 1800s. it illustrates the hope that woman might work outside the home in the 1800s. it illustrates the need for domestic assistance for women in the 1800s.