Edna, the Anti-Mother-Woman in Chopin’s The Awakening
In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-
women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy
to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings,
when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious
brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshipped
their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface
themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels.
(29)
She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and
emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken
the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own,
and she entertained the conviction that she had a right to them
and that they concerned no one but herself. Edna had once told
Madame Ratignolle that she would never sacrifice herself for her
children, or for any one. Then had followed a rather heated
argument; the two women did not appear to understand each other
or to be talking the same language.
“I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would
give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself. I
can’t make it more clear; it’s something which I am beginning to
comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.” (69-70)
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.
Edna’s Fall from Grace in The Awakening. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells of Edna Pontellier's struggle with fate. Edna Pontellier awakens from a slumber only to find that her life is displeasing, but these displeasing thoughts are not new to Edna. The actions taken by Edna Pontellier in the novel The Awakening clearly determine that she is not stable.
The Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; in spite of the expectations society has for her. The book follows Edna Pontellier as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy filling the role that society has created for her. She did not believe that she could break from this pattern because of the pressures of society. As a result she ends up taking her own life. However, readers should not sympathize with her for taking her own life.
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, Chopin sets up two characters main characters and a subsidiary female character to serve as foils to Edna. The main characters are Adele Ratignolle, "the bygone heroine of romance" (888), and Mademoiselle Reisz, the musician who devoted her life to music, rather than a man. Edna falls somewhere in between the two, but distinctly recoils with disgust from the type of life her friend Adele leads: "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman." Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, the two important female principle characters, provide the two different identities Edna associates with. Adele serves as the perfect "mother-woman" in The Awakening, being both married and pregnant, but Edna does not follow Adele's footsteps. For Edna, Adele appears unable to perceive herself as an individual human being. She possesses no sense of herself beyond her role as wife and mother, and therefore Adele exists only in relation to her family, not in relation to herself or the world. Edna desires individuality, and the identity of a mother-woman does not provide that. In contrast to Adele Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Reisz offers Edna an alternative to the role of being yet another mother-woman. Mademoiselle Reisz has in abundance the autonomy that Adele completely lacks. However, Reisz's life lacks love, while Adele abounds in it. Mademoiselle Reisz's loneliness makes clear that an adequate life cannot build altogether upon autonomy. Although she has a secure sense of her own individuality and autonomy, her life lacks love, friendship, or warmth. Later in the novel we are introduced to another character, her name is Mariequita. Mariequita is described as an exotic black-eyed Spanish girl, whom Edna looks upon with affectionate curiosity. Unlike the finely polished heroine, Mariequita walks on "broad and coarse" bare feet, which she does not "strive to hide". This strikes Edna with a refreshing sense of admiration. To her, the girl's soiled feet symbolize naked freedom, unconstrained by the apparel of civilization. Thus, Edna finds her rather beautiful. Mariequita is more like an unrefined version of Edna, that is, her instinctual self. At times, Mariequita ventures to express the thoughts that are secretly buried in Edna's unconscious.
When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.
Could the actions of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening ever be justified? This question could be argued from two different perspectives. The social view of The Awakening would accuse Edna Pontellier of being selfish and unjustified in her actions. Yet, in terms of the story's romanticism, Edna was in many ways an admirable character. She liberated herself from her restraints and achieved nearly all that she desired. Chopin could have written this novel to glorify a woman in revolt against conventions of the period. Yet, since the social standpoint is more factual and straightforward, it is the basis of this paper. Therefore, no, her affairs, treatment of her family and lovers, and suicide were completely unwarranted. She was not denied love or support by any of those close to her. Ultimately Edna Pontellier was simply selfish.
Although characters’ personalities are described vividly in The Awakening through action, dialogue, and descriptions of clothing, little is presented of the characters physically. While Edna is alone in Madame Antoine’s house, resting, two moments occur in which specific aspects of her body are highlighted. Prior to this scene, it is known only that she is considered pretty and that her hair and eyes are a similar yellow-brown color. At Madame Antoine’s house, however, where Edna loses sense of time while resting, first her arms and then her teeth demonstrate her peculiar strengths.
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.
In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the setting is in the late 1800s on Grand Isle in Louisiana. The main character of the story is Edna Pontellier who is not a Creole. Other important characters are Adele Ratignolle, Mr. Ratgnolle, Robert Lebrun, and Leonce Pontellier who are all Creole's. In the Creole society the men are dominant. Seldom do the Creole's accept outsiders to their social circle, and women are expected to provide well-kept homes and have many children. Edna and Adele are friends who are very different because of their the way they were brought up and they way they treat their husbands. Adele is a loyal wife who always obeys her husband's commands. Edna is a woman who strays from her husband and does not obey her husband's commands. Kate Chopin uses Adele to emphasize the differences between her and Edna.
The Exxon Valdez and the BP oil spill were caused by different disasters but had just as great of effects. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill began to reek havoc on the Pacific Ocean. The oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, left from Valdez, Alaska and was headed for Los Angeles, California. The tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska. After six hours of being grounded, the Exxon Valdez spilled about 10.9 million gallons of oil (53 million gallons aboard). The BP oil spill occurred a little differently. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded and caused the largest marine oil spill in history. The platform sank about 5,000 feet underwater. The BP oil spill poured 4.2 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. These oil spills are largely compared but were cause by completely different events. They had similar effects/damage, however.
The majority of prisoners incarcerated in America are non-violent offenders. This is due mainly to mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which is a method of prosecution that gives offenders a set amount of prison time for a crime they commit if it falls under one of these laws, regardless of their individual case analysis. These laws began in the 1980s, when the use of illegal drugs was hitting an all time high (Conyers 379). The United States began enacting legislature that called for minimum sentencing in an effort to combat this “war on drugs.” Many of these laws give long sentences to first time offenders (Conyers). The “three strikes” law states that people convicted of drug crimes on three separate occasions can face life in prison. These laws were passed for political gain, as the American public was swept into the belief that the laws would do nothing other than help end the rampant drug crimes in the country. The laws are still in effect today, and have not succeeded to discourage people from using drugs. Almost fifty percent...
The most perfect woman in Edna’s eyes is Adele Ratignolle. Edna calls her “the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm” because she flawlessly fits the description of a mother-wife. Edna decides her goal is to become as most like Adele as possible while in Grand Isle. A perfect woman, such as Adele, is defined with “womanly grace and charm”. These two qualities describe an inspirational mother-wife, such as Adele; however, not every woman has mastered these qualities. Edna is one of the women who venerate Adele for her natural abilities to be a flawless mother-wife. Chopin chose “grace and charm” as the ideals of women to illustrate that a woman must be very elegant but also have charisma and warmth. A woman must be the perfect balance of a wife and a mother. As the perfect woman, it is preposterous to Edna that Adele would not be “adore[d]” by everyone, especially her husband. Edna directly connects the adoration of her husband with her ability to fill the role of a perfect woman. Since Adele fits this role perfectly, Edna assumes if her husband does not love her, then there must be something wrong with him. Her husband would be “a brute, deserving of death by slow torture”
McNamara, Robert Hartmann. "Homelessness." Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues. Ed. Michael Shally-Jensen. Vol. 3: Family and Society. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. 1024-1031. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 May 2014. .
...is to understand the factors that lead people into homelessness, that keep them homeless, and how they can recover from homelessness. Advocates for the homeless have proposed policies range from taking preventative measures, such as making housing and health care affordable, to policies that deal with individuals that are already homeless, such as rapid rehousing and redefining what it means to be homeless. Although many of the experts disagree on how the homeless epidemic should be handled, many acknowledge that the federal government plays an inexpendable role in helping the homeless. Homelessness is, obviously, a complex issue, but like all difficult issues it must be undertaken. It has become clear that homelessness is not something that will eradicate itself given time, homelessness will continue to grow and evolve unless an outside force stops it in its tracks.
The many causes of the homelessness issue has arisen from global conflict, unemployment increase, education tuition costs rising, and the increase of poverty. Homelessness is affecting all ages, ethnicities, and religions striking in both urban and rural communities. “Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars.”