In the Awakening Edna goes through several transformations, and slowly becomes a different person than she once was. For most of her adult life she was a stay at home mother, and lived a conservative lifestyle. Eventually Edna started to grow bored and tired of this lifestyle; she wanted to follow her passions and sexual desires. This lead to a very common ethical confrontation between herself and her family. This confrontation leaves Edna depressed and hopeless. Edna understands her obligation to her family but also feels that her happiness is as equally as important. As the reader it is easy to look at your morals and dismiss Edna as selfish, but ethically, her staying with someone she does not love is just as wrong. “But the thought of him …show more content…
was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her.” In this passage the narrator is describing Edna’s feelings towards Robert. Now, is not ethically wrong to be married to someone, when another man can make her feel so much stronger about him then her own husband? It would not be fair to Edna or her husband Leonce to stay together. If the reader does not look at this confrontation ethically her or she might use their morals to evaluate Edna, which is wrong when reading fiction. I had to change my approach when first reading this because I based my opinions off what I believe and not necessarily the ethics behind the work. Sartoris is placed in a bad position between choosing loyalty to his family or choosing his own morals.
He knows what is father is doing is completely wrong and wants him to stop. He just does not know if he should let someone know what he is doing, who could actually stop him and put him in jail. “He went down the hill, toward the dark woods within which the liquid silver voices of the birds called unceasing- the rapid and urgent beating of the urgent and quiring heart of the late spring night. He did not look back” After Sartoris went through his confrontation he was a different person. He kept going and did not look back. He did something he had been thinking of for a long time, and seems proud of himself in the saddest way though. Sartoris’s father has tried to instill family morals into him by saying blood over everything which to a point can be true, but is that ethically what is always best? It has always seemed like no matter what you are supposed to help your family, but that may not always be the best way to look at things. It is not Sartoris’s fault that his father is insane, so why should he be automatically tied to him, or even have to be around him? When reading this short story I had to step back and look at the bigger picture of it all, because initially I believed Sartoris has an obligation to the people who had taken care of him his whole life. But it is not fair for him to have to live his life on the run, keeping his horrible father out of trouble. Ethically Sartoris has the right to not live in that manner even if that means being the reason your father goes to jail. What his father is doing to not only the people of the stuff he burns but to his own family is far worse and
wrong. Richard is faced with a major ethical dilemma and confrontation. He no longer loves his wife Joan but does not understand why. It is nothing she has done and they even get along still, but for some reason he can not find love with her. Because of this Richard cheated on Joan and has decided to move out and separate from her. He choose to do this all by himself because he is lost and does not know how he feels or what he even wants anymore. He does not understand why things in life are the way they are. It seems like he still wants to love his wife but he just cannot. As a reader it can be hard to see where Richard is coming from because we are not given a lot information about Richard’s feelings and information on their marriage. We also obviously do not see Joan’s view either, because the story is told through Richard. This makes his whole confrontation ambiguous and uncertain, this effect on the reader helps he or she relate to what Richards feels. He does not even know what is wrong so why should the reader? In each of these three stories the protagonist is faced with a similar dilemma concerning their family. Every character has the desire to leave their family for some reason or another. Leaving your family for any reason is a hard thing to do and is usually considered morally wrong, but sometimes it may be the right thing to do. In any relationship in life there should be a mutual respect for one another and there should be the same amount of give as their is take. So if one person is not committed to the relationship why should they stay together? It is not fair to the other person in the relationship who does put forth the effort or the other person who is being used for the others person personal gain. Everyone is entitled to happiness and should be able to pressure that right. Even if that means leaving their family, and there is always a right way to do things. All the characters also seem to fail to these things in a well of manner. Edna acts foolish and treats her own children like her husband. “In someway you seem to me like a child, Edna! You seem to act without a certain amount of reflection which is necessary in this life.” She does not understand how her actions affect the people around her. Sartoris waits too long to tell someone about his father and not that it is really his fault, but he ends up getting his father killed instead of being taken to jail. Richard cheats on his wife instead of confessing to her and instead of trying to deal with his problems. When you are faced with ethical dilemmas in life it is important to deal with and to try your best to understand them, because there is not an exact answer usually.
In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is a selfish character. She wishes to live her life the way she wants without anyone interfering. She did not start selfish, but grew selfish as her hidden desires were awakened. Her selfishness comes from her complete disregard for anyone’s happiness besides her own. Edna refuses to attend her sister’s wedding, describing the event as lamentable. Even if Edna did not want to attend, a wedding is for the bride and groom’s happiness. She is unable to compromise any of her own desires for the happiness of others. Edna’s own marriage was an act of rebellion for marrying outside of what was expected, and came with the titles of wife and mother. Edna abandoned her relationship without trying to resolve any difficulties with her husband before satisfying her needs. She does not discuss with him her unhappiness or seek his approval before moving to the pigeon house. She develops her relationship with Arobin only to fulfill her own physical needs.
In The Awakening, the male characters attempt to exert control over the character of Edna. None of the men understand her need for independence. Edna thinks she will find true love with Robert but realizes that he will never understand her needs to be an independent woman. Edna's father and husband control her and they feel she has a specific duty as a woman. Alcee Arobin, also attempts to control Edna in his own way. Edna knows she wants freedom. She realizes this at the beginning of the book. "Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her (Pg. 642). Throughout The Awakening she is trying to gain that independence that she wants so bad.
Essentially, Edna is not able to fulfill any of the roles that are presented by Chopin in the novel: mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend, artist, lover to either man, and finally the traditional role of a woman in society. She does not quite fit into any niche, and thus her suicide at the end of the novel is the only way for Edna’s story to end. Chopin must have Edna die, as she cannot survive in this restrained society in which she does not belong to. The idea of giving yourself completely to serve another, Edna declares “that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, or for any one” (47). However, her awakening is also a realization of her underprivileged position in a male dominated society. The first sign that Edna is becoming comfortable with herself, and beginning to loosen the constrictions of not being an individual is when she asks Robert, her husband, to retrieve her shawl: "When he returned with the shawl she took it and kept it in her hand. She did not put it around her" (30). Edna is trying to establish herself as an artist in a society where there is no tradition of women as creative beings. For any woman to suggest a desire for a role outside the domestic sphere, as more than a mother or housewife, was perceived as
The Awakening sheds light on the desire among many women to be independent. Throughout the novel Edna conducts herself in a way that was disavowed by many and comes to the realization that her gender prevented her from pursuing what she believed would be an enjoyable life. As the story progresses Edna continues to trade her family obligations for her own personal pleasures. This behavior would not have been accepted and many even criticize the novel for even speaking about such activities. Kate Chopin essentially wrote about everything a women couldn’t do. Moreover, it also highlights the point that a man is able to do everything Edna did, but without the same
In Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, the reader immediately notices the sexual undertones of Mrs. Mallard and Robert’s relationship and the strained relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. There are always going to be women who do not want the routine “married with children” lifestyle, unfortunately in Edna’s time period that was the primary role of women. Had she been living in today perhaps she would have been without a husband and children, possibly totally devoted to a career in the arts and totally single. Back to her reality though: I believe she is unsure if she wants that one true love (supposedly Robert) or if she just wants anyone who will pay her a little attention and is fun (supposedly Alcee Arobin). Edna wants to be Wild and Free, not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but she needs to recognize it for what it is because she is really fooling herself.
Individual will is a force that is significant, and yet can be manipulated by a more powerful source. In the Victorian Age setting within The Awakening by Kate Chopin, men have been manipulated by society. They are forced to reflect their norms on women. These norms have been caused repressive and manipulative behavior within men. Edna Pontellier, protagonist of the novel, confronts several men who confront her yearning for individualism. Each male plays a role ordained by society and as a result they develop characteristics that promote specific, yet conflicting images to the reader.
...tionship she had until she was left with literally no reason to live. Throughout the novella, she breaks social conventions, which damages her reputation and her relationships with her friends, husband, and children. Through Edna’s thoughts and actions, numerous gender issues and expectations are displayed within The Awakening because she serves as a direct representation of feminist ideals, social changes, and a revolution to come.
In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the principal character, Edna decides to kill herself rather than to live a lie. It seemed to Kate that the time of her own death was the only thing remaining under her control since society had already decided the rest of her life for her. Edna was a woman of the wrong times; she wanted her independence and she wanted to be with her lover, Robert. This type of behavior would never be accepted by the society of her time. Edna's relationship with Robert, and her rejection of the role dictated to her by society, resulted in her perceiving suicide to be the only solution to her problems.
In fact, Edna seems to drift from setting to setting in the novel, never really finding her true self - until the end of the novel. Chopin seems highly concerned with this question throughout her narrative. On a larger scale, the author seems to be probing even more deeply into the essence of the female experience: Do women in general have a place in the world, and is the life of a woman the cumbersome pursuit to find that very place? The Awakening struggles with this question, raising it to multiple levels of complexity. Edna finds liberation and happiness in various places throughout the novel, yet this is almost immediately countered by unhappiness and misery.
She doesn't follow the rules. morals that all the women surrounding her succumb to in life. By defying these "laws" Edna makes clear the morals that all the other. women value the satisfaction of their husband, the acceptance of society, and the conformity to the stereotypical roles of a woman. In The Awakening, Edna is used as a tool to emphasize the surrounding.
In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier’s suicide is an assertion of her independence and contributes to Chopin’s message that to be independent one must choose between personal desires and societal expectations. Chopin conveys this message through Edna’s reasons for committing suicide and how doing so leads her to total independence.
Kate Chopin, in The Awakening, poses an important question: can freedom exist in a society that advocates and supports confinement through the means of reputation, decency, and other social factors? The various characters in the novel make up three levels of awareness of freedom—ignorance, enlightenment, and pursuit. Kate Chopin uses these types of awareness to show that true freedom can never be obtained.
During the American Industrial Revolution, women began to work in factories, leading to conflicts in 19th century society that would eventually result in the Cult of Domesticity—the belief that women’s only responsibilities existed at home. This aimed to establish the subservient woman and the husband as the master of the house as the social norm. Kate Chopin's bleak but realistic depiction in her work, The Awakening, reveals her reasonable attitude during the Second Great Awakening in American history. Men coveted control and achieved it by undermining women and being their superior. Society followed a mob mentality and accepted gender inequality as a social norm. Subjugation of women lead to panic and mania in men and the oppression made
Women have been fighting for gender equality and unbiased respect from society. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and many others advocated for women’s right to vote and the subsequent ability to hold a position in public office. If this is true, why do sexist individuals believe that it is so predictable that a female candidate receives votes primarily from women? When have women proven that they are not intelligent enough nor capable of a leadership role in this society? If one of those misogynists would look into history, he/she would see how much of an impact women have had on society. Although women have been granted the same rights as their male counterparts, including voting and labor rights, they are still oppressed in terms
The sexual aspect of Edna’s awakening is formed through her relationship with a supporting character, Robert LeBrun. In the beginning of the novel, Robert assigns himself to become the helper of Mrs. Pontellier and his advances help to crack the barrier in which Edna is placed in due to her role as a woman of the Victorian era. Her feelings begin to manifest themselves as she intends to liberate herself from her husband and run away with Robert. He on the other hand has no intention of having a sexual affair because of the role placed upon him as a man of the Victorian era which is not to destroy families. Her quest for complete independence ultimately brings her to committing suicide at the end of the story. Her suicide does not represent a disappointment in how she cannot conform to the society around her but a final awakening and symbol for her liberation.