Male Dominance In The Awakening

Throughout Southern literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries, husbands were often depicted as the keepers of their wives. These men were the heads of their households and often dictated the behavior, responsibilities, and social experiences of their female counterparts. It is revealed through the expectations and dialogues of the aristocratic characters in The Awakening by Kate Chopin that this dominance was assumed to bring strong husbands wealth and success while their obedient wives promulgated an image of a model family that would win them friends and a high reputation. This expectation of male dominance occurs in the novels The Awakening and Their Eyes Were Watching God as both Leonce Pontellier and Jody Starks endeavor to exert

By the standards of his day, Leonce Pontellier was a model husband who was generous with his wife and children, and held an important place in the social scene of New Orleans. However, Edna is not the perfect wife he had envisioned: a woman who takes care of the house, dotes on her children, and keeps up with the social demands that he deems necessary. So he attempts to control her behavior by instructing her on when and how to take care of the children, forcing the social conventions of their community on her, and treating her as his property. Leonce’s attempts do little to stop Edna from challenging the social norms around her and this lack of effect points out the ridiculousness of male dominance. For instance, while they are summering on Grand Isle Leonce finds Edna asleep in the hammock late at night and spends the next few hours trying to convince her to come inside (Chopin, p. 30). Yet Leonce gives no reason for wanting her inside other than he said so- here lies the folly within the particular facet of masculinity. He doesn’t know why he wants her inside but he said to come and so she should do it. The primitive nature of this command contrasts sharply with the strides toward modern self-fulfillment Edna is making throughout the novel. The unrealistic nature of male dominance is furthered revealed in this novel when Leonce’s inability to force Edna to participate in the social traditions of their community causes him to fear for his business. Leonce’s lack of interest in or respect for Edna's point of view is depicted in this scene, as he chastises her for her behavior without inquiring its cause. He warns Edna that abandoning her callers on her reception day is potentially damaging to his business and by extension, their lifestyle, explaining that "it's just such seeming