Kate Chopin's The Male Hierarchy Of The 19th Century

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Jeremy Schuh Mr. Keehan CAPP American Lit. 15 March 2016 The Male Hierarchy of the 19th Century: A Marxist Approach American history and society has been dictated by the influence of white, bourgeois men, causing the oppression of a plethora of demographics and tension between different social classes. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin used the characters Robert Lebrun and Léonce Pontellier to exemplify the differences in class relations, so as to show the reader the toxicity that the white, upper class male complex held on society. This is most evident when examining and comparing how Léonce treated women, specifically Edna, against how Robert did. It is also observable when comparing how important material objects and status symbols were to the …show more content…

His societal impact was much more profound because being in possession of a plethora of material goods - which even includes Edna, because of the time period - affirmed his place in society. “‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 7). Léonce attempts to affirm his status as the dominant male by dehumanizing Edna, which takes away her feelings of power and continues the cycle of oppression. Individuals who were part of the bourgeoisie had the opportunity to raise their societal status by obtaining valuable furniture, intricate homes and by going on vacations (Malkmes 24-25). Following this line of thinking, it is evident that Léonce’s priority was to simply raise his status in order to attain more material success and societal prestige. The oppressive practice of treating women as property was simply part of the male strategy to secure their “dominance”. They did this because, as James Beard states, “The conservative mind, bound by its dualistic simplicity, sees women as either wives and mothers or dangerous and unpredictable” (19). Léonce was afraid of Edna ruining his status, leading him to participate in this sexist

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