In the early chapters of the book we learn that Edna is dissatisfied with her marriage and the lifestyle that she lives. Edna’s motivation throughout the book is discovering her identity, which means putting her womanhood over her motherhood. According to Leonce, Edna does not fulfill her “motherly” responsibilities of being a nurturer and a caretaker. Leonce mentions, “If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his brokerage business. He could not be in two places at once- (6).” She is basically reprimanded about how she treats her children, which shows her that this is not the life she wants. In the Awakening birds serves as a symbol associated with Edna. In the beginning
Edna Pontellier in The Awakening and the speaker within the song “I’m just a Girl,” by No Doubt share several striking parallels in their feelings toward their inferior position in society. The speaker from the song claims to be “living in captivity,” which is precisely how Edna is portrayed through the motif of a caged bird in The Awakening. The Parrot owned by Madame Lebrun in the cottages on Grand Isle “which hung in a cage outside the door” (1) represents Edna: trapped, unable to effectively communicate her physical, emotional, and sexual desires, and viewed as a possession of someone else. Even upon abandoning her husband and his home for her own “pigeon house,” (85) Edna is still inhibited by Victorian societal customs which Robert refuses to break that bind her to Mr. Pontellier despite their separation, much to Edna’s dismay. The speaker from the song exclaims several times throughout the song “I’ve had it up to here,” which infers that she wishes something would be done to
Often in novels, a character faces conflicting directions of ambitions, desires, and influences. In such a novel, like “The Awakening,'; the main character, Edna Pontellier, faces these types of conflicting ideas. In a controversial era for women, Edna faces the conflict of living in oppression but desiring freedom. The patriarchal time period has influenced women to live only under the husband’s thumb but at the same time, break away from such repression. These opposing conflicts illuminated the meaning of “social awakening'; in the novel.
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.
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 Chopin's The Awakening, the title itself is symbolic of the awakening that Edna undergoes throughout the course of the story. The story opens with Edna's first visit to Grand Isle, it is here that Edna will begin to awaken to herself. It is implied, and said, throughout the story that Edna is not the motherly type. "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman." One might wonder then what exactly is Edna awakening to if not to her motherly instincts? According to the story, it is the awakening of "the sleeping places of her soul." In this time, women were expected to lay their sexuality aside as if it were a mere bag of flour. In return, they were given the joys of being a loving wife and mother. However, for a non - motherly woman such as Edna this would prove to be too great a price to pay for financial security.
Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was a game changer in both the Civil War and modern war efforts. Not only did Barton introduce new ways of bringing care to wounded soldiers, she also transformed the ways people viewed women working on the battlefield. Clara Barton was the first woman to stand up for the better of both soldiers on the battlefield and women in the working force. Similar to Clara Barton, Kate Chopin’s protagonist Edna Pontellier, in her novel, The Awakening, serves as a turning point in the Victorian Era for women through her feminist ideals and rebellions against the norms of society. For example, Edna pursues herself as an individual rather than conforming to the expectations of the world around her. Edna also pushes the envelope by exploring her sexuality, a scandalous action for a married woman in the
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.
Chopin’s The Awakening utilizes avian symbolism to show the stages of Edna’s awakening. Edna first starts out trapped, like the parrot, doing as she is trained to do, then awakens and speaks her opinions, like the mockingbird, and after her awakening she realizes she never obtained freedom and becomes the bird with the broken wing. Edna found herself in her awakening, learning to speak her opinion; however, she remained alone throughout it. Edna might have been able to fly strong if she had more support, “…let us bear that birds fly in flocks and not alone” (Clark 346), if Edna had more female characters that followed her to the mockingbird stage and did not remain as parrots, she might have survived.
In this vision Edna is showing her desire for freedom, desire for escaping from her roles as wife and mother, from her husband Léonce who keeps her in a social cage.
The Awakening is a story that was written when women weren't allowed to be independent. Kate Chopin was even criticized for the main character's conduct; "Certainly there is throughout the story an undercurrent of sympathy of Edna, and nowhere a single note of censure of her totally unjustifiable conduct" and another said; "the purport of the story can hardly be described in language fit for publication." But who can blame them. Edna was a bold woman. She was independent, kept male friends, felt passion, was disrespectful to her husband and did not spend much time with her children. Edna was an independent women when women were not allowed to be independent. She openly defied her husband. Remember at the lake when she decided she did not want to go inside when her husband told her to and the fact the she would not go to New York to be with her husband. After he left she decided to use her own money, and deliberately would not use his things in her new/ pigeon house was another example of this. She even made a big deal of having him "pay" for her party. She wanted to express herself and to become creative, which Chopin shows through her art. Edna also starts to associate with art-type people, musicians. I sometimes wonder why she started to hang around the pianist when she obviously didn't like her during the summer. Was this Edna's way to explore her artistic talents, or was it to get closer to Robert?
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
...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.
The 19th and 20th centuries were a time period of change. The world saw many changes from gender roles to racial treatment. Many books written during these time periods reflect these changes. Some caused mass outrage while others helped to bring about change. In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, gender roles can be seen throughout the novel. Some of the characters follow society’s “rules” on what a gender is suppose to do while others challenge it. Feminist Lens can be used to help infer and interpret the gender roles that the characters follow or rebel against. Madame Ratignolle and Leonce Pontellier follow eaches respective gender, while Alcee Arobin follows and rebels the male gender expectations during the time period.
An image of a green and yellow parrot in a cage occurs throughout The Awakening; the parrot represents how Edna Pontellier is trapped in her marriage to Leonce Pontellier. During that time period women were expected to stay at home and perform household duties, take care of their husbands, and take care of their children; women were not supposed to be educated and did not hold a career. Edna realizes she does not want to perform the expected duties of a woman because she is not happy just being a wife and mother. In the beginning of ...
From the beginning of the novel, the author supplies bird imagery to represent captivity and solitude. The "green and yellow parrot, which h[angs] in a cage outside the door [of Madame Lebrun's home], ke[eps] repeating over and over: 'Allez vous-en,' [come in]" (43). The pleas of the parrot parallel with those of Edna, a desire for communication. She longs for a companion to whom she can pour her heart and soul into, without being reminded of the restrictions and cares of Victorian society; a relationship that she did not have with her husband, but with Robert. Though E...