Elaine Showalter On The Awakening

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Critical Analysis: Elaine Showalter on The Awakening In Elaine Showalter’s essay on The Awakening, she illustrates choices women writers faced; either of the narrative of conformity of being a housewife or not conforming of being an artist, but living a single life. At the time when Kate Chopin wrote this novel, was not a common choice. Artwork by women was outside the norm and was often banned, as was her work for this time. Many people considered Edna’s choices in The Awakening to be trying to influence women to breaking the family unit. Nineteenth-century women accepted the idea of passionlessness created sexual solidarity among women; it allowed women to consider their love relationships with one another of higher character …show more content…

The crashing of the waves are likely the contrast of values raining down upon her soul. Showalter believes water represents the fluidity of human spirit and the blood, milk, and tears of feminism (Showalter 219). Agreeing with Showalter this to me also symbolizes the washing of all bad that many women do for their homes, a good cleanse of former views tied to patriarchal ways, and a celebration for liberated feminine thought. This makes me think of a rebirth of sorts from the unholy and unkempt to renewed fluidity and a wave of fresh, light, and foamy new …show more content…

Her twenty-ninth birthday party is a salient example from the text. My party has come and gone bye a few years back. The author describes her focus on minor transgressions like the Madame who shows at the last moment or the disagreeable remarks made at her expense in French, also the opulence and luxury displayed and all the while so very alone but surrounded by many friends. The text describes her as having “an acute longing for the unattainable” (Showalter 219) and I understand that she wants the power and glory of the riches without the trappings and all of the lady-like ways. Hers is an existence of indulgence, magnifying as her choices which do not match up with that of someone who is connected to wealthy society and a lady. However, this likely distance from others can bring her creativity which in many ways is an

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