Male Dominance in Today's Society
In today’s society, women and man compete on somewhat of the same level. It’s hard to imagine not even one hundred years ago women lacked a voice not only in society but also in everyday life. Male dominance is consistently practiced throughout the world, some women choose to fight that which oppresses them while others are too timid to accept the challenge. With the dawn of a new century at hand, Kate Chopin proved to be an American author ahead of her time. In her short story entitled “The Awakening”, there is a strong theme of female rebellion against societal norms. While Adrienne Rich has developed a very serious poem through “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” The protagonist in her poem lacks the strength that Edna Pontellier possesses to overcome her own oppression.
“The Awakening” fell under heavy criticism by many analysts when the book was published in the late 1890’s. Within the work itself, there are many examples of this rebellion from the main character Edna Pontellier: blatant disobedience to her husband, sexual promiscuity, and maternal neglect to her children. Edna’s “awakening” transpires on many levels. The first, which was entirely unorthodox for the time, is her public disobedience to her husband, Leonce. Upon returning to New Orleans from the summer at Grand Isle, she becomes aware of the discontentment in her social and domestic associations. The affection she felt for her husband is gone and there is only bitterness left in its place. Because of these emerging feelings, Edna begins to cut her ties with the New Orleans Society. She discontinues her reception days at home and her connections with her husband’s business retinue. She takes her insurrection
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... Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1981. 149-150
Dianni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1998.
Eble, Kenneth. “A Forgotten Novel: Kate Chopin’s ‘The Awakening’ “ in Western Humanities Review (1956). Vol. X No. 3: pp. 261-269. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1981. 147-148.
Seyersted, Per. (1969): Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography (1969) : p. 246. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1981. 150-152.
Ziff, Larzer. “An Abyss of Inequality: Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Wilkins Freedman, Kate Chopin” in The American 1890’s: Life and Times of a Lost Generation. (1966) pp. 275 -305. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 5 . Detroit: Gale, 1981. 148-149
Cambridge UP, 1988. Papke, Mary E. Verging on the Abyss: The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1990. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography.
Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." The Norton Anthology of American Literature.. Gen. ed. Nina Baym. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York: Norton, 2012. 561-652. Print.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
DiYanni, Robert. "Literature, Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama." Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1973. 743-749.
Chopin, Kate. “The Awakening.” 1899. The Awakening and Selected Stories. New York City, NY: Penguin Group, 2003.
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Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. A Norton Critical Edition: Kate Chopin: The Awakening. Ed. Margo Culley. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 3-109.
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Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. 535-625. Print.
Central Lib. Fort Worth, TX -. 11 Feb. 2003 Dawson, Hugh J. & Co. "Kate Chopin's The Awakening: A Dissenting Opinion. " American Literary Realism 26.2 (1994):18.
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (2010). Literature an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama and
In comparing the three authors and the literary works of women authors Kate Chopin (1850 -1904), The Awakening, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's (1860-1935), The Yellow Wallpaper, and Edith Wharton's (1862-1937) Souls Belated, a good number common social issues related to women are brought to light and though subtly pointed out are an outcry against the conventions of the time. In these three stories, which were written between 1899 and 1913, the era was a time in which it seems, that women had finally awaken to realize their social oppression and were becoming rebellious in their pursuit of freedom from the male-dominated societal convention in which they existed. They commenced viewing their social stature as unjustly inferior and realized that these conventions placed deterrents on their intellectual and personal growth, and on their freedom to function as an independent person. All three of these women authors have by their literary works, have voiced their strong unfavorable feelings about the patriarchal society in which they lived.
Spangler, George M. "Kate Chopin's The Awakening: A Partial Dissent." Novel: A Forum on Fiction 3 (1970): 249-55.
Kate Chopin is best known for her novel, The Awakening, published in 1899. After its publication, The Awakening created such uproar that its author was alienated from certain social circles in St. Louis. The novel also contributed to rejections of Chopin's later stories including, "The Story of An Hour" and "The Storm." The heavy criticism that she endured for the novel hindered her writing. The male dominated world was simply not ready for such an honest exploration of female independence, a frank cataloguing of a woman's desires and her search for fulfillment outside of the institution of marriage.
Bryfonski, Dedria, ed. Women's Issues in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2012. Print.