Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, transcends societal structures and expectations. It deals with the day-to-day realities that a woman must face if she is to progress to full maturation and become at peace with herself and the world. Set in turn-of-the-century Creole New Orleans, it addresses the relentless strength and courage required for a woman to remain true to her convictions. Most studies of The Awakening focus on Edna Pontellier's newly emerged awareness and struggle against the societal forces that repress her. However, they ignore the weaknesses in Edna that prevented her from achieving the personal autonomy that she glimpsed during her periods of "awakening." The character of Edna Pontellier, therefore, is also an insightful study of the weaknesses that prevent a woman of any era from progressing toward self actualization.
Chopin herself had traveled this road and acquired certain insights during her "pursuit of solitude, independence and an identity apart from her children and apart from the men who always admired her." She acknowledged that in her writing she "drew on real life for most of her inspiration" (Toth 114).
The author's personal experiences and astute observations are reflected in the themes of The Awakening. Kate Chopin was not only a well adjusted woman, but also a very independent one. Having been raised in an all female household, Chopin acquired a strong sense of female independence during her youth. She overcame much sadness in her early life, having lost her father in a train accident when she was six and all four siblings before she turned twenty one. She had a happy marriage with Oscar Chopin, and was the mother of six children. During her residence in Cloutierville...
... middle of paper ...
...ticism. Ed. Margo Culley. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1994.
Dawson, Hugh J. "Kate Chopin's The Awakening: A Dissenting Opinion." American Literary Realism 26.2 (1994):1 18.
Gordon, Michael. The American Family in Social Historical Perspective. N.Y.: St. Martin's, 1973.
Leder, Priscilla. "An American Dilemma: Cultural Conflicts in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." Southern Studies 22.1 (1983) : 97 104.
Roscher, Marina L. "The Suicide of Edna Pontellier: An Ambiguous Ending?" Southern Studies 23.3 (1984) : 289 97.
Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race and Region in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart, and Kate Chopin. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1989.
Toth, Emily. "A New Biographical Approach." The Awakening: An Authoritative Text Biographical and Historical Contexts Criticism. Ed. Margo Culley. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1994. 113 119.
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.
Works Cited Franklin, R. F. "The Awakening and the Failure of the Psyche. " American Literature 56 (Summer 1984): 510-526. Platizky, R. "Chopin's Awakening. " Explicator 53 (Winter 1995): 99-102. Seyersted, P. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography.
Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." The Norton Anthology of American Literature.. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York: Norton, 2012. 561-652. Print.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 3-109.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Anthology of American Literature. Volume II: Realism to the Present. Ed. George McMichael. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. 697-771.
She pursued activities that would allow her to become more individualistic, such as painting or art. Chopin decides to have Mrs.Pontellier’s character explore art, so she can address Mrs.Pontellier’s relationship with herself and her struggle to become an expressive artist. Throughout this short period Mrs.Pontellier constantly visits an accomplished female artist, Mademoiselle Reisz, who has abandoned the suppressive ideals of her time. Mademoiselle Reisz remarks, “I do not know you well enough to say. I do not know your talent or your temperament. To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts-absolute gifts-which have not been acquired by one’s own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul”(Pg.63). Chopin includes this, to show how Mrs.Pontellier is becoming ambitious and developing personal goals and interests. The significance of this pursuit of creativity is to reveal the importance of becoming her true self, in order to produce her own signature art. The underlying message is that to be an artist, one must have their own style, perspectives, opinions, and self assertiveness. Mrs.Pontellier however, is stuck between being a devoted mother and wife, or an artist who defies the standards upon her. Alongside this, Chopin conveys that with the absence of her husband, she has the opportunity to reflect on who she
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. 535-625. Print.
Cambridge UP, 1988. Papke, Mary E. Verging on the Abyss: The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1990. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography.
Harris, Sharon M. "Kate Chopin." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-5. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Skaggs, Peggy. "Three Tragic Figures in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." Louisiana Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South 4 (1974): 345-64.
Print. The. Elfenbein, Anna Shannon. "Kate Chopin's The Awakening: An Assault on American Racial and Sexual Mythology." Southern Studies 26.4 (Winter 1987): 304-312. Rpt.
Kate Chopin was a woman and a writer far ahead of her time. She was a realistic fiction writer and one of the leaders and inspirational people in feminism. Her life was tragic and full of irregular events. In fact, this unusual life had an enormous effect on her writings and career. She depicted the lifestyle of her time in her works. In most of her stories, people would find an expansion of her life’s events. In her two stories “The Storm” and “The Story of One Hour” and some of her other works she denoted a lot of her life’s events. Kate Chopin is one of those writers who were influenced by their life and surrounded environment in their fiction writing, and this was very clear in most of her works.
Works Cited Chopin, Kate. A. The Awakening. New York: Avon, 1972. Print.
How Chopin was raised and educated not only inspired her but it also assisted her wi...
Social expectations of women affected Edna and other individuals in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, struggles throughout the novel in order to become independent and avoid her roles as mother and housewife in American Victorian society in 1899. This was because women during the 19th century were limited by what society demanded of them, to be the ideal housewives who would take care of their families. However, Edna tries to overcome these obstacles by exploring other options, such as having secret relationships with Robert and Arobin. Although Edna seeks to be independent throughout the novel, in the end she has been awakened but has not achieved independence.