Free Essays - Importance of the Houses in The Awakening

914 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in the awakening by kate chopin

Importance of the Houses in The Awakening

In Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, Edna's two different houses symbolize her life greatly. Her first house, the mansion of which she shared with her husband, symbolized her life before she started to awaken and realize the kind of life she was in. Her second house, the pigeon house of which she lived in alone, shows her life after she starts to awaken and realize what is going on with her life and that she was not happy before. These two houses show very strong meaning of a before and after of her awakening.

As the novel starts out Edna is a housewife to her husband, Mr. Pontellier, and is not necessarily unhappy or depressed but knows something is missing. Her husband does not treat her well. "...looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." She is nothing but a piece of property to him; he has no true feelings for her and wants her for the sole purpose of withholding his reputation. "He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it?" Mr. Pontellier constantly brings her down for his own satisfaction not caring at all how if affects Edna.

Unfortunately Edna has no clue that she is being treated so poorly in the beginning of this story. With Mr. Pontellier being absent from home so often she finds plenty of time to spend with Robert. Through the whole summer she does not realize the feelings she is developing for Robert and only sees him as a friend. She enjoys spending all of her free time with him and gets along with him much better than her husband. It is not until she is back home and Robert leaves for Mexico that she starts to "awaken" and realize her true feelings not just for Robert but also for life in general.

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.

Show More
Related

  • growaw Personal Growth and Death of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier was on her way to an awakening. She realized during the book, she was not happy with her position in life. It is apparent that she had never really been fully unaware  However, because her own summary of this was some sort of blissful ignorance. Especially in the years of life before her newly appearing independence, THE READER SEES HOW she has never been content with the way her life had turned out. For example she admits she married Mr. Pontellier out of convenience rather than love. EDNA knew he loved her, but she did not love him. It was not that she did not know what love was, for she had BEEN INFATUATED BEFORE, AND BELIEVED IT WAS love. She consciously chose to marry Mr. Pontellier even though she did not love him. When she falls in love with Robert she regrets her decision TO MARRY Mr. Pontellier. HOWEVER, readers should not sympathize, because she was the one who set her own trap. She did not love her husband when she married him, but SHE never once ADMITS that it was a bad decision. She attributes all the problems of her marriage to the way IN WHICH SOCIETY HAS defined the roles of men and women. She does not ACCEPT ANY OF THE BLAME, AS HER OWN.  The only other example of married life, in the book, is Mr. and Mrs. Ratignolle, who portray the traditional role of married men and women of the time. Mr. Pontellier also seems to be a typical man of society. Edna, ON THE OTHER HAND, was not A TYPICAL WOMAN OF SOCIETY. Mr. Pontellier knew this but OBVIOUSLY HAD NOT ALWAYS. This shows IS APPARENT in the complete lack of constructive communication between the two. If she had been able to communicate with her husband they may have been able to work OUT THEIR PROBLEMS, WHICH MIGHT HAVE MADE Edna MORE SATISFIED WITH her life.

    Read More

  • What Is Edna Pontellier's Sacrifice In The Awakening

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • USS Maine

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cavendish, Richard. "The Sinking of the Maine." History Today Feb. 1998: 33. Ebsco Host. 14 Mar. 2006.

    Read More

  • Edna's Freedom in The Awakening by Kate Chopin

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Breaking the Social Norms: Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    The most prevalent and obvious gender issue present in the novella was that Edna challenged cultural norms and broke societal expectations in an attempt to define herself. Editors agree, “Edna Pontellier flouts social convention on almost every page…Edna consistently disregards her ‘duties’ to her husband, her children, and her ‘station’ in life” (Culley 120). Due to this, she did not uphold what was expected of her because she was trying to be superior, and women were expected to be subordinate to men. During that time, the women were viewed as possessions that men controlled. It was the woman’s job to clean the house, cook the meals, and take care of the children, yet Edna did none of these things. Her lifestyle was much different. She refused to listen to her husband as time progressed and continually pushed the boundaries of her role. For example, during that time period “the wife was bound to live with her husban...

    Read More

  • The Importance of Setting and Symbols in "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ranging from caged parrots to the meadow in Kentucky, symbols and settings in The Awakening are prominent and provide a deeper meaning than the text does alone. Throughout The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbols and setting recur representing Edna’s current progress in her awakening. The reader can interpret these and see a timeline of Edna’s changes and turmoil as she undergoes her changes and awakening.

    Read More

  • Spanish Invasion Of Cuba Essay

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then in January 1898, President McKinley moved the USS Maine into the harbor of Havana Cuba. The boat sat there until February 15, 1898, where it was blown up by an unknown party. The explosion of the USS Maine killed 260 American men and caused tremendous uproar among Americans. So much so that the made a post card with a picture of the USS Maine being blown up into pieces. This post card became very popular during this time that it even had a catch phrase of “remember the Maine” because the sinking of this ship really mattered to Americans and they wanted the Government to take action. Along with the postcard of the USS Maine, a song was also created to quickly spread the feelings of many Americans. It was called “Awake United States” and directly blamed the Spanish for sinking their ship and wanted to “sound the battle cry” to take justice for what the Spanish did to their ship and for the killing of American

    Read More

  • How Did The Spanish-American War Reshaped America?

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    The events that led up to the Spanish-American War began with the rebellion of the Cuba from Spain. There were many revolts because of Spain heavy rule, such as the Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1893 where they raised the tariff of Cuba’s sugar, which is 40 percent of their economy. Cuba then reached out to the United States to in acts of propaganda to have America to help them. Yet, this was not enough to change the United States opinion. Many Cubans were herded into fortified areas and died by the thousands, because of unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and disease. President McKinley send the Maine to Havana to protect American citizens. However, on February 15 there was an explosion to the Maine costing 266 lives. The war slogan grew from this event, “Remember the Maine and to Hell with Spain”. The Teller Amendment arose later causing the annex and independent of Cuba.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The War Of 1898 And 1917

    503 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish American war was one that had major implications for the United States. At the time, Cuba was ruled by Spain and America wanted Cuba to gain its own independent. On February 15, 1898 the U.S. battleship, the Maine, was blown up in the Havana Harbor killing 266 Americans. This act by Spain created a major shift in how America would handle the War of Independence fight with Cuba. President McKinley was in a particularly tough spot when it came to the handling of the situation. He was faced with the question whether or not to go to war with Spain which would not be an easy task.

    Read More

  • Spanish American War Imperialism Essay

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Spanish American War was a major incident during America’s expansion and imperialism period. The war was caused from many falsities and publications that were exaggerated. Hearst published the explosion that destroyed the U.S.S. Maine, the “De Lome Letter” which insulted president McKinley, and pictures of Spain’s treatment towards the Cuban people in American newspapers. Americans then felt sympathy for the Cubans and anger towards the Spanish and wanted the United States government to get involved. Commodore Dewey wanted, close to the Philippines, for war to begin. During war, American forces destroyed the Spanish fleet at the battle in Manila Bay in 1898 (Spanish-American War,

    Read More

  • The Tragic Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    He is saying in this quotation that even if he does not choose to kill

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Independence And Self-Expression In Daisy Miller And The Awakening

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Otherwise, women will be exiled from their community. Women who consider themselves as individuals experience the feeling of alienation. Edna’s attitude shows that she denies being classified either way. She represents herself as a unique woman who does not follow the social stereotype. Edna realizes that her natural position exposes her to be a woman and a mother of two children. Although Edina can escape from being a wife of Mr. Pontellier, her role as a mother prevents her from being able to live without her

    Read More

  • The Ethical Principles of Islam

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    would be as if he slew the whole of mankind. And if anyone saved a

    Read More

  • The significance of the title The Awakening

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cheating In Ernest Hemingway's The Awakening

    308 Words  | 1 Pages

    At the beginning of this novel and for the first several chapters, I saw Edna as a strong woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself. Specifically, the fact that she was unhappy in her marriage. As we know, in the time set in the story it was exceedingly difficult to get a divorce especially when the reason is that the woman is unhappy. As sad as it sounds, that’s the way it was. As time went on, however, it became apparent that Edna always seemed to want something more. When she became infatuated with Robert, I was not necessarily surprised but rather dissapointed. In my opinion, cheating on your spouse behind their back is a horrible, immature action.

    Read More

More about Free Essays - Importance of the Houses in The Awakening

Open Document