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The Awakening of Feminism
In the novella The Awakening, the author Kate Chopin depicts the life of a female protagonist named Edna Pontellier. Edna, a wife, a mother and socialite, refuses her societal roles impressed upon her by her husband and peers. Two key female relationships in this story act as a catalyst to Edna Pontellier’s awakening. Edna’s dramatic discovery of self defines her character throughout the novella, detailing her feministic view on the societal roles of Creole women during the late nineteen hundreds. Edna chooses individuality by expressing her artistic interests and by exploring her sexuality. This newfound individuality frees her from her societal roles as a wife and a mother while her discovery of self and rebellion against conformity made Edna Pontellier a literary icon for feminist ideals.
“Mrs. Pontellier, though she married a Creole, was not thoroughly at home in the society of Creoles” (Chopin 10). Leonce Pontellier was by Creole standards a very attentive father and loving husband. “Mr. Pontellier was a great favorite, and ladies, men, children, even nurses, were always on hand to say goodbye to him” (p 8). Early in the novella it is established that Mr. Pontellier was considered by Creole society to be an excellent husband. Even “Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better” (p 9). Leonce provides a luxurious upperclass lifestyle for his wife and children. Typically in the late nineteen hundreds no woman would have the will to expect anything more. However it is more than often that Mr. Pontellier leaves his wife in solitude or in the company of others. Perhaps the moments absent of a patriarchal influence is how Edna Pontellier apprehended “the dual life - that ou...
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Conclusively, Chopin uses Edna’s relationships with Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz to contrast conformity with individuality and mindless captivity with the freedom of choice. The everyday lives of these two women enlighten Edna’s path of discovery as she awakens from the roles of wife and mother and takes control of her humanly desires inadvertently making Edna Pontellier a literary icon for feminist ideals.
Works Cited:
Chopin, Kate, and Margo Culley. The Awakening: An Authoritative Text, Biographical and Historical Contexts, Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. Print.
The Metaphorical Lesbian: Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, Elizabeth LeBlanc
Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature , Vol. 15, No. 2 (Autumn, 1996) , pp. 289-307
Published by: University of Tulsa
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/464138
The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers.
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Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening. In Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening, the reader is introduced into. a society that is strictly male-dominated where women fill in the stereotypical role of watching the children, cooking, cleaning and keeping up with appearances. Writers often highlight the values of a certain society by introducing a character who is alienated from their culture by a trait such as gender, race, or creed.
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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.
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening takes place in the late 19th century, in Grande Isle off the coast of Louisiana. The author writes about the main character, Edna Pontellier, to express her empowering quality of life. Edna is a working housewife,and yearns for social freedom. On a quest of self discovery, Edna meets Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, falls in and out of love,and eventually ends up taking her own life. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening shows how the main character Edna Pontellier has been trapped for so many years and has no freedom, yet Edna finally “awakens” after so long to her own power and her ability to be free.
In Kate Chopin's short story “The Awakening”, the voice of the story portrays a woman with sexual aspirations, and moral female social rules in search for independence and self discovery. The story is based on the 19th century woman. During this time women barely had any freedom, were not recognized within the society and had no choice but to me submissive to their husbands. The main character of the story named Edna is portrayed to be a happy woman because she has everything; a wealthy, attentive husband, and two children. Thoughtout the story the truth about Edna’s unhappiness is revealed. The voice of the story uses symbolism, irony, and figurative language to express Edna Pontellier’s feelings as she found her way to her happiness and freedom.
For the culture aspect, in the book you frequently learn about the creole culture. Chopin approaches this by writing about Mrs. Pontellier’s experience as she marries a Creole and is surrounded by people of that culture, however this was an entirely new way of living since both Mrs. Pontellier and Chopin came from different societies until their marriages. In Chopin’s life a source explains, “For the next decade, Chopin pursued the demanding social and domestic schedule of a Southern aristocrat, her recollections of which would later serve as material for her short stories.” (Encyclopedia of World Biography par. 3). In this time period, women are very domestic to their husbands and their only purpose is to submit to him and raise the children. Chopin gives many details on all the constraints that Edna had to