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history and feminism of kate chopin
history and feminism of kate chopin
kate chopin- feminism writings
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Kate Chopin's Unorthodox Awakening
The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, was a book that was truly ahead
of its time. The author of the book was truly a genius in her right, but yet she
was seen as a scoundrel. At the time, it was "a world that values only her
performance as a mother, whose highest expectations for women are self sacrifice
and self-effacement." ( ? ) The people of that era were not ready to admit or
accept the simple but hidden feelings of intimacy or sexuality and the true
nature of womanhood. Kate Chopin's book portrayed a woman of that time in a
quite unorthodox way. In fact, [ When she wrote the book in 1899, she ]
"achieved what was to prove her literary masterpiece and her ultimate break with
popular taste" ( Cully, Intro. )
That book was written in 1899. During this era women were seen as very
proper and sophisticated individuals who were considered caretakers of the home.
They wore an excessive amount of clothing and never exposed themselves in public
or otherwise. If a woman was caught exposing herself in public, would be shunned
and looked down upon. Loyalty and commitment to the family was very important
during this time. Regardless of their family problems, they were expected to
endure and stay faithful. [ In fact, ] " the nineteenth century's message of the
supremacy of motherhood was so strong and so intense that it was absorbed into
the systems of it's women - even women like Edna [ ,a character in Chopin's book,
] who were not maternally inclined." ( ? ) You could almost say that women were
considered symbols of everything that is pure in the society in which they lived.
Anything short of that was considered unacceptable.
Because of the time that Chopin lived in: " The Appearance in print of
her most recent work had brought her harsh criticism and condemnation, as well
as ostracism from many of those who had always formed a close-knit world of St.
Louis society" ( Cully , vii ). Her book was seen as a vile and disgusting
piece of literature. One critic of that time stated : "One cannot refrain from
regret that so beautiful a style and so much refinement of taste have been spent
by Miss Chopin on an essentially vulgar story."( ? ). Most critics and readers
of that era felt the same way as this critic did. People were not willing to put
up with what they felt was a trashy novel.
Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman who throughout the novella tries to find herself. Edna begins the story in the role of the typical mother-woman distinctive of Creole society but as the novelette furthers so does the distance she puts between herself and society. Edna's search for independence and a way to stray from society's rules and ways of life is depicted through symbolism with birds, clothing, and Edna's process of learning to swim.
...is book expresses her ever-changing life and tough it was on the women of this time period.
The novel The Awakening is written by Kate Chopin in 1899 which shocked the readers with its honest treatment of female infidelity. Edna Pontellier is a married woman that is trapped in a stifling marriage. She then seeks to find the love and freedom that she desires with Robert Lebrun and Alcee Arobin. She broke her role of an ideal “mother woman” in her society and discover her true identity as being independent and passionate about what she desires.
...eristics of feminism but did not fully grasp them. They act as a perfect representation of women in the Middle Ages to Scholasticism period that went through social suppression by enlightening readers of the men’s misconduct against them. These two women started a movement that changed the course of history for humankind, even for being fictional and nonfictional pieces.
after her husband and children, they were treated as second class citizens with few rights.
In Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, written approximately one hundred years ago, the protagonist Edna Pontellier's fate is resolved when she 'deliberately swims out to her death in the gulf'(Public Opinion, np). Her own suicide is indeed considered as a small, almost nonexistent victory by many, nevertheless there are those who consider her death anything but insignificant. Taking into consideration that 'her inability to articulate her feelings and analyze her situation [unattainable happiness] results in her act of suicide...'(Muirhead, np) portrays Edna as being incapable of achieving a release from her restricted womanhood as imposed by society. Others state that the final scene of the novel entirely symbolizes and realizes Edna's victory on a 'society that sees their [women's] primary value in their biological functions as wives and mothers?(Kate Chopin, np).
In the novella The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier “becomes profoundly alienated from traditional roles required by family, country, church, or other social institutions and is unable to reconcile the desire for connection with others with the need for self-expression” (Bogard). The novella takes place in the South during the 1800’s when societal views and appearances meant everything. There were numerous rules and expectations that must be upheld by both men and women, and for independent, stubborn, and curious women such as Edna, this made life challenging. Edna expressed thoughts and goals far beyond her time that made her question her role in life and struggle to identify herself, which caused her to break societal conventions, damage her relationships, and ultimately lose everything.
In America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young
became more opinionated and she opened the eyes to other writers in this time period to express their true feelings. Without this push and brav...
Mark Twain writes this essay in order to shed light onto his belief that people’s thoughts and actions are influenced by those around them. His belief that people conform to the rest of society fuels his essay. This can be seen when Twain includes his idea that “It is our nature to conform; it is a force which not many can successfully resist” (718). Twain shows that people are beginning to conform without using their own minds to process their decision.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening should be seen as depicting the discontentment that comes from self-gratification rather than the glorification of delighting in one’s fantasies. Chopin describes the central idea of one who is seeking to please her personal needs and desires and, in the process, neglects to notice how her actions affect others. The protagonist, Edna, is not able to find peace or happiness in the accepted daily life that a woman of her era and social status should have. The fulfilling of her desires could essentially cause social ostracism for her, her husband, and her children, yet she is unable to find repose in living the typical social Victorian life. The final resolve of her “awakening” to her desires, her ultimate suicide, is not an honorable position that women should strive toward as a romantic ideal because her desires were hopeless in her situation. Through Edna’s striving for personal satisfaction, she loses the joys that daily life has to offer.
Hockey. A sport I have always loved ever since I was a kid. It was when my dad had taken me to an open ice skate when my hockey life began. I had my first pair of skates as a present when I was four years old. I never really knew of the sport at the time, but now I was able to expirence it. No one was present on the ice as I entered the rink. The cold of the ice ran down my back as I took my first steps on. The cold didn’t stop me though. As I stepped upon the ice, I had a feeling of relief. Hockey is what let me go fast. Always have I been the fastest kid in my class and hockey let me expand on what I loved to do. One stride at a time I went, until I was able to glide upon the ice. My blades of my skates sunk into the ice like a lion tearing at its prey. As the frost beat against my face, I soon realized that I was able to skate. Even though it was all fuzzy in my memory, I remember feeling all types of joy rush all throughout my body. It was the first sign of potential in hockey. It was a first omen.
Oedipus the King tells the tragic story of Oedipus and how Oedipus unwittingly fulfills his prophecy. Oedipus prophecy was that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Oedipus grew up in the kingdom of Corinth where he believed that he was the son of the Kings of Corinth; when Oedipus discovered that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus decides to leave Corinth and try to prevent the prophecy from happening. Unknowingly to him during his escape from his destiny, Oedipus murderers his father and eventually marries his mother and fulfils the prophecy. After reading Oedipus the King I believe that one of the main ideas of Oedipus the King is that Oedipus own tragic flaws lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy and his eventual downfall.
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
Oedipus the King by Sophocles has the ingredients necessary for a good Aristotelian tragedy. The play has the essential parts that form the plot, consisting of the peripeteia, anagnorisis and a catastrophe; which are all necessary for a good tragedy according to the Aristotelian notion. Oedipus is the perfect tragic protagonist, for his happiness changes to misery due to hamartia (an error). Oedipus also evokes both pity and fear in its audience, causing the audience to experience catharsis or a purging of emotion, which is the true test for any tragedy according to Aristotle.