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Besides having unconventional views of motherhood, Edna shows her modernity as she diverges from societal standards especially that of marriage. Throughout the novel, Edna goes against the societal norm of being dependent upon her husband, Mr. Pontellier. One example of this, as discussed before was her defiance to become the mother her husband expected of her. In addition to this, once home in New Orleans, Edna also refused to answer her husbands calls from important investors claiming that she, “simply felt like going out”. In these ways, Edna demonstrates a disregard for the respect woman previously were obligated to present to their significant others. However, not only did Edna refuse to follow under her husband’s direction, she also
Prior to chapter XI, we only see Edna’s growing curiosity and self-discovery expressed through her thoughts, rather than actions. Now for the first time Edna is refusing to do as her husband asks her to do, speaking out against his control and doing
In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is a selfish character. She wishes to live her life the way she wants without anyone interfering. She did not start selfish, but grew selfish as her hidden desires were awakened. Her selfishness comes from her complete disregard for anyone’s happiness besides her own. Edna refuses to attend her sister’s wedding, describing the event as lamentable. Even if Edna did not want to attend, a wedding is for the bride and groom’s happiness. She is unable to compromise any of her own desires for the happiness of others. Edna’s own marriage was an act of rebellion for marrying outside of what was expected, and came with the titles of wife and mother. Edna abandoned her relationship without trying to resolve any difficulties with her husband before satisfying her needs. She does not discuss with him her unhappiness or seek his approval before moving to the pigeon house. She develops her relationship with Arobin only to fulfill her own physical needs.
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.
Edna Pontellier: she is the protagonist of the novel. With twenty eight years, she is housewife married with Léonce Pontellier and mother of two boys, Etienne and Raoul. At the beginning of the novel she is comfortable in her marriage, where she sees the end of passion and the beginning of a responsible life. Through a series of experiences, she evolves into an amazing independent woman, who lives apart from her husband and her children, the only ones of whom she was in charge and is just responsible for her own acts. In a way, the only responsibilities she has during this period are art and having fun with friends. As we have said, she is the main
The “Awakening”, part of the “Eyes on the Prize” series, addresses civil rights, or lack thereof, in the 1950’s. The film highlights two individual’s choices to take a stand against the white supremacy, and the ripple effect that acts cause. The first person featured was Mose Wright. His nephew, Emmett Till, was murdered by two white men. They were angered over the fact that Emmett had spoken to two white women in a flirtatious manner. Mose Wright made the decision to testify in court against the white men. This was a very dangerous act on Mose’s behalf. Speaking to, let alone, against the other race could easily cost him his life. At the end of a very long and public trial, the men were found not guilty.
Being a woman, she is completely at the mercy of her husband. He provides for her a lifestyle she could not obtain on her own and fixes her place in society. This vulnerability stops Edna from being truly empowered. To gain independence as a woman, and as a person, Edna must relinquish the stability and comfort she finds in the relationship with her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier's marriage comprises a series of power plays and responds well to Marxist and Feminist Theory. Leonce Pontellier looks "…at his wife as one who looks at a valuable piece of property…". He views her as an accessory that completes the ideal life for him. Edna, however, begins to desire autonomy and independence from Leonce, so true to the feminist point of view.
She desperately wanted a voice and independence. Edna’s realization of her situation occurred progressively. It was a journey in which she slowly discovered what she was lacking emotionally. Edna’s first major disappointment in the novel was after her husband, Leonce Pontellier, lashed out at her and criticized her as a mother after she insisted her child was not sick. This sparked a realization in Edna that made here realize she was unhappy with her marriage. This was a triggering event in her self discovery. This event sparked a change in her behavior. She began disobeying her husband and she began interacting inappropriately with for a married woman. Edna increasingly flirted with Robert LeBrun and almost instantly became attracted to him. These feelings only grew with each interaction. Moreover, when it was revealed to Edna that Robert would be leaving for Mexico she was deeply hurt not only because he didn’t tell her, but she was also losing his company. Although Edna’s and Robert’s relationship may have only appeared as friendship to others, they both secretly desired a romantic relationship. Edna was not sure why she was feeling the way she was “She could only realize that she herself-her present self-was in some way different from the other self. That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored
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...
She surprised patriarchal society by ignoring her role as a wife and mother. The idea of motherhood is a very dominant theme in this book. Edna wants to live with her own identity instead of being a mother of Raoul and Etienne, who dictates her identity as Leonce Pontellier’s wife, Mr. Pontellier. Edna started to notice her desire for a life of freedom and individuality contradicted with the society’s expected role of mother and wife. She wants to break this law, and rebel against society’s and nature’ laws.
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.
The 1890’s were an era of rapid social change in regards to women’s rights. In 1893, Colorado was the first state granting women the right to vote with Utah and Idaho following soon after in 1896. This soon set momentum towards of ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. It was in 1899 the Kate Chopin published The Awakening, a novel telling the tale of a suppressed mother, Edna Pontellier, and her desire for something more in her life. Literary scholars consider Chopin’s The Awakening as a subtle yet effective portrayal of women of the late 19th century and consider it as an important piece of the feminism movement. Throughout the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, women had felt controlled by men and the demands society put upon them. Men had held a discriminatory view of women throughout this era, for they merely saw women as property. Women were expected to bear a man’s child, care for the child, and watch over the household while the man was away. The Awakening was an eye-opening novel in that it challenged the social structure of the time in which men dominated society. This novel showed the discriminatory view of women and treatment of women. The novel also does a great job in showing the dissatisfaction in the women’s lives, particularily through the actions of Edna Pontellier. Due to society’s expectations, women were not allowed to pursue their psychological or sexual drives, for it was scorned by society. Edna pursues these drives as she eventually cannot tolerate her way of living. In The Awakening, Chopin’s use of three characters, Edna Pontellier, Adele Ratignolle, and Mademoiselle Reisz, exemplifies the accepted roles of women in the late 19th century.
Edna decides that it was silly of her to stamp on her wedding ring and break the glass vase and decides to do what she wants without apology. She stops receiving guests on Tuesday, neglects the social obligations that her husband expects of her, and instead paints all the time in her atelier. Naturally, her husband becomes peevish and demands to know what is going on. Edna brusquely says that she just wants to paint and that he shouldn't bother her; her husband thinks his wife is becoming mentally unstable. In reality, however, Edna is just expressing her true self, free of the false social constraints that earlier made her be a dutiful, quiet wife. Mr. Pontellier does leave his wife alone, and she gets her two sons, the nurse, and the maid
In Edna’s life in New Orleans, she feels an obligation to the societal pressures on women to be a domestic wife whose only focus is her children. However, she knows being a mother is not destined for her. Often throughout the novel, she chooses herself over her children, showing that she carries the self-priority gene more than the mother one. She also faces the societal pressures of how women should act and behave; which is obedient to their husbands and ladylike. This all changes once she moves to Grand Isle. With the absence of her family, Edna finally feels free to be herself without the responsibility of tending to them. In Grand Isle she discovers the freedom of her sensuality, her fondness for being independent and the lack of consideration she has to have in order to make her own decisions. In her
Along with the duty as a faithful wife to one’s husband in the Victorian era, women were expected to raise children, attend to household tasks, and ensure the wellbeing of everyone there. Edna, contrasting the expectations set for women of this time, suddenly finds herself dissatisfied with her limited life. Suddenly craving the taste for excitement, Edna embarks on a journey of utter selfishness, abandoning her children for her own physical and emotional desire. Though the children need their mother, she thinks solely of her
In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. According to dictionary.reference.com the word feminism means, “The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The Awakening takes place during the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, in New Orleans. The novel is about Edna Pontellier and her family on a summer vacation. Edna, who is a wife and mother, is inferior to her husband, Leonce, and must live by her husband’s desires. While on vacation Edna becomes close friends with Adele Ratignolle, who helps Edna discover she must be “awakened”. Adele is a character who represents the ideal woman. She is loving, compassionate, and motherly. Throughout the novel Edna seeks something more from life than what she has been living. Also, she is unhappy with her marriage, and all through the summer falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Furthermore, Edna attempts to become independent, free, and in control of her own destiny. During this time period the Feminist movement was taking place. The Feminist movement was a time when women fought to prove themselves equal to men. Women fought for the rights to vote, have jobs, and go to school. The late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds showcased the power the women had to prove their equality. According to the excerpt, “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “… The Awakening is its heroine’s break for freedom.” Ultimately, this shows how most women, especially Edna Pontellier, try to break free from the burden of society. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, showcases the feminist critical approach through women’s roles, women characters, influences, and in...