Freedom means to be able to do what one desires to do without being restricted from doing that action. In Kate Chopin’s book The Awakening, she displays how the protagonist, Edna, escapes from her relationship and society .She feels cornered by society and she is not satisfied with her relationship. Mr.Pontellier Edna’s husband does not treat her with respect, but as if she is a child. Edna is trying to get out of the relationship because she wants to be treated equally (Chopin). During the 1800s, oppression of women was beginning to happen more frequently with women not taking anymore of the unfair rights and actions toward women. Edna uses others distractions or hobbies to feel free away from everything else in her life. Throughout The Awakening, Edna’s obsession with water, playing music and just flat out leaving her family despite her children are her actions toward freedom. She finds these activities soothing and comfortable ,she is feel when she is around doing these things she can't be judged or told what to do. With her obsession with water it is a Her transcendalistic obsession with water and nature sooths her and releases the toxins from her life. With music being an interest of her, she plays it a lot throughout the book too, which is a symbol of something she does to escape from society. But all of these actions by Edna result in her suicide ,which is a way of freeing herself from everything that is constricting her in her life. Edna’s longing for freedom inspires many of her actions throughout The Awakening. Edna’s first action that starts off her route to freedom from her relationship is when she fell in love with Robert. Edna had already married a man that she had not loved but he has not been treating her a... ... middle of paper ... ...American history and Edna even though that she is just a fictional character had stopped sitting around a just took the mental abuse from her relationship. The movement finally felt its impact when the nineteenth amendment finally was ratified. The nineteenth amendment states that anyone has the right to vote as long as they are of age and registered. Edna is showing that she wants to be treated normally and with respect just as Robert treats her, Robert not literally but in a way could be symbolized as the nineteenth amendment for Edna to get out of her marriage with Mr.Pontellier. Works Cited http://departments.knox.edu/engdept/commonroom/Volume_Three/number_one/mbird/print.html http://islamicvoice.com/islamicvoice/treat-your-spouse-the-way-you-would-like-to-be-treated/ “The Awakening” http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/rightsforwomen/additionalresources.html
The passage of The Awakening which truly marks Edna Pontellier’s new manner of thought regarding her life revolves around her remembrance of a day of her childhood in Kentucky. She describes the scene to Madame Ratigonelle as the two women sit on the beach one summer day. The passage opens with a description of the sea and the sky on that particular day. This day and its components are expressed in lethargic terms such as “idly” and “motionless” and suggested a scene of calm sleep. Such a depiction establishes an image of serenity and tranquility, in other words the calm before the storm which derives from Edna’s “awakening.”
In The Awakening, Edna is constrained culturally by the gender roles of 1890’s New Orleans, and throughout the book, she makes advances towards becoming free of these gender roles, and consequently, her constraints. Chopin writes, “Even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life—that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions” (Chopin 18). The excerpt above is a direct example of Edna’s dual life. The duality of Edna’s life is extremely constraining because the gender roles of being a woman in southern society in 1890 force her into submission: she has to carry herself a certain way on the outside, or risk being excluded from “polite society”. Edna is aware of this, and in result, her inner personality is much more stifled in relative to her outward personality. Throughout the book, the way people view her changes greatly, as her deviant inward personality starts to triumph over
Kate Chopin's The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother living in the upper crust of New Orleans in the 1890s. It depicts her journey as her standing shifts from one of entrapment to one of empowerment. As the story begins, Edna is blessed with wealth and the pleasure of an affluent lifestyle. She is a woman of leisure, excepting only in social obligations. This endowment, however, is hindered greatly by her gender.
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.
In the first passage, Edna is clearly set apart from what appears to be the status quo of female behavior in her society. She is not a mother-woman. The term, mother-woman is a reductive one which implies a singular purpose or value. The mother-woman is a mother; being one defines and regulates every aspect of her life. They “…esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels.” Chopin’s use of religious words and imagery is interesting; it certainly alludes to Victorian ideals of womanhood in which the woman is a vessel of purity and piousness. Viewing women as angels or pure, infallible beings elevates them, but also robs them somewhat of their humanity. In addition to this, it places restraining and unnecessary imperatives on their behavior, and encourages them to strive for the unattainable-a pursuit that will probably leave them feeling inadequate. The mother-women are described generally, however, in this passage, and seem entirely one-dimensional. Also, they possess an almost absurd and quality, “fluttering” about after their children, perceiving “imaginary” dangers everywhere. Chopin deals with the mother-women more complexly later through the character of Madame Ratignolle.
She desperately wanted a voice and independence. Edna’s realization of her situation occurred progressively. It was a journey in which she slowly discovered what she was lacking emotionally. Edna’s first major disappointment in the novel was after her husband, Leonce Pontellier, lashed out at her and criticized her as a mother after she insisted her child was not sick. This sparked a realization in Edna that made here realize she was unhappy with her marriage. This was a triggering event in her self discovery. This event sparked a change in her behavior. She began disobeying her husband and she began interacting inappropriately with for a married woman. Edna increasingly flirted with Robert LeBrun and almost instantly became attracted to him. These feelings only grew with each interaction. Moreover, when it was revealed to Edna that Robert would be leaving for Mexico she was deeply hurt not only because he didn’t tell her, but she was also losing his company. Although Edna’s and Robert’s relationship may have only appeared as friendship to others, they both secretly desired a romantic relationship. Edna was not sure why she was feeling the way she was “She could only realize that she herself-her present self-was in some way different from the other self. That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored
"How do you honor the deepest truth you know?" --Ram Das In order to honor one's deepest truth, one must first discover what that truth is and then apply that truth to everyday life. The life of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening signifies the search, discovery, and application of an individual's deepest truth. Edna, a wealthy New Orleans housewife, at first attempts to find the deepest truth about herself by conforming to society's norms. She marries a well-respected man, Leonce, and bears him children. However, Edna discovers that she wants more out of life; something about her marriage is not allowing her to achieve fulfillment. Through her relationships, confrontations, and conflicts with other characters, Edna discovers that her deepest truth is her need for independence from those that hold her back and she honors her deepest truth by exerting the power of her individuality. However, Edna's search for and exertion of independence drastically contrasts the expected role of a nineteenth century woman in Louisiana and this fact eventually causes the entrapment which leads to Edna's suicide. Edna cannot have the things she wants (independence and freedom), and she cannot want the things she has (respectability, children, and a good home) and she must find a way to escape this predicament. Chopin, by demonstrating Edna's awakening, attempts to wake her own society up to the beauty of an independent woman. However, Louisiana was not very receptive, just as Edna's culture does not accept Edna's change.
At first Edna only misses Robert greatly and wonders why he never writes her like he promised he would. She does get to read letters in which Robert has sent others instead of her.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a story about a well to do young woman, Edna Pontellier, who lives with her family in Louisiana during the late 1890’s. Set in a variety of scenes, it follows Edna as she engages on a personal journey of increasing autonomy, continually seeking both greater happiness and greater personal independence in the hope of leading a more meaningful and fulfilling life. In so doing, the novel portrays societal expectations for women in the post-war South during the late 1800’s, and shows the difficulties they faced if they refused to conform. The place of women in society can be seen in the way that the women in the novel act and speak, particularly in regards to their husbands and children, but also to others in general.
In the novel, Mademoiselle Riesz states, “The artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and defies,” (Chopin). In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier exhibits the unconventional woman and possesses the artist’s rebellious soul. She sacrifices her position as being a wife and mother to her children, in pursuit of her happiness. With the overbearing burden of upholding society’s idealized image of women, Edna repels the illusions by being a free woman. By her being free, it allows her to discover the world around her and unleash her curiosity. Kate Chopin illustrates through Edna that limits are nonexistent. Chopin also makes clear that the only way freedom can be truly achieved is through death. Although there were limited opportunities for women to express themselves, it takes courage to sacrifice oneself for the sake of being true to who they are.
In the 1800s, the number one priority of a woman was their children and husband. Women were used to worshiping their kids and catering to their husbands (Chopin 16). For Edna it was different, yes she loved her husband and children dearly but she felt much oppressed by them. In The Awakening the first look at Edna’s oppression is the night when Leonce comes from Klein’s Hotel and he starts telling Edna all sorts of stories, but Edna is only half awake so she barely pays attention, and Leonce thought it was very discouraging for his wife the sole object of his existence showed little interest in things concerning him (Cho...
Besides having unconventional views of motherhood, Edna shows her modernity as she diverges from societal standards especially that of marriage. Throughout the novel, Edna goes against the societal norm of being dependent upon her husband, Mr. Pontellier. One example of this, as discussed before was her defiance to become the mother her husband expected of her. In addition to this, once home in New Orleans, Edna also refused to answer her husbands calls from important investors claiming that she, “simply felt like going out”. In these ways, Edna demonstrates a disregard for the respect woman previously were obligated to present to their significant others. However, not only did Edna refuse to follow under her husband’s direction, she also
In this book, the audience follows a Victorian Era New Orleans resident, Edna. Nevertheless, throughout the story we see that Edna is struggling between two desires; the desire to be loved and the desire to be free and independent of men. This conflict of desires illuminates the meaning of the work to show that in that time period, a woman’s independence or love both come at a price, and that they were mutually exclusive.
Edna is a woman that has overcome many obstacles in her lifetime, but when she decides that she needs more than just her husband in her life, Edna’s life will
Society keeps order, allows for advancement, and gives humanity a good face. It also imposes morals, roles, and limits a person's potential development. If someone wishes to reach beyond what society expects of them, they must cast aside social restrictions. Edna Pontellier, in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, feels the urge to cast off the veil society burdens her with and live as she chooses to. The driving factor behind her desire to awaken is her lack of sexual fulfillment. She lives her life following conduct becoming of a woman who marries into the Creole elite of New Orleans. While her husband, Léonce, adores her, she does not truly love him and their relationship appears platonic. Robert, a young paramour, woos Edna and she finds herself with wants and desires. Edna later experiments with a known womanizer named Alceé, and uncovers more passions. While Edna fails to fully come into her own in society, she awakens her sexuality through her experiences with the aforementioned men.