The Awakening by Kate Chopin is the story of a women that is going through struggles and is trying to break free from her current situations. In this novel, Edna Pontellier releases herself from her deepest cravings, starts a relationship that rekindles her long sexual desires that jump starts her heart, and eventually takes over and Edna can see nothing else. As she goes through many changes Edna gets involved in many activities. One of these activities is painting; painting becomes one of her favorite pastimes and her artwork often reflects important people in her life. Edna’s emotions take charge in her paintings and helps Edna decide when and what she wants to paint, this is why the readers get a sense of strong passion when Edna paints. …show more content…
Edna is captivated by painting and attempts to not only paint her friends but sketch them as well. Edna gets the chance to paint Adele Ratignolle, a friend she claims to be as poised as a Madonna. (Wolff) "Never had that lady seemed a more tempting subject than at that moment, seated there like some sensuous Madonna, with the gleam of the fading day enriching her splendid color" (22). Edna tries to captivate the scenery where Adele is but fails. "After surveying the sketch critically she drew a broad smudge of paint across its surface, and crumpled the paper between her hands" (22). Edna seems to be a bit of a perfectionist. She will not accept anything less than picture perfect. If it Edna’s sketches and paints do not match the exact way Edna sees it, she considers it garbage. Edna throws away great deal of her sketches, claiming to be a beginner in painting. This attitude towards her painting relates and reflects her attitude towards life. Towards the beginning of the novel, Edna is more passive about the way she is living, the same way she is passive about throwing out her sketches. (Stone) As Edna explains her childhood and her life in Kentucky, she creates images in her mind. She desperately wants to paint those images, but instead uses the paint of memories. As a painter, Edna often uses artwork as her analogies to life. (Walker) Although this piece of artwork is not physically paint on canvas, it is a spiritual existence of paint on canvas in Edna's mind and memory. "My sunbonnet obstructed the view. I could see only the stretch of green before me, and I felt as if I must walk on forever, without come to the end of it. I don't remember whether I was frightened or pleased. I must have been entertained" (30). The use of the word "stretch" can give the description of Edna's field an artistic, and almost heavenly feel to the field she is recounting. She still considers herself an amateur artist and this is why she does not even attempt to replicate the field. (Stone) She holds the memories in this field so true that to paint them would almost be disrespectful to try and reproduce the images she hold so closely. Madame Lebrun choses to shoe Edna pictures of Robert when he was a young child and states that Robert never took anymore pictures once he got a certain age. "Oh, Robert stopped having his pictures taken when he had to pay for them himself! He found wiser use for his money, he says..." (78). Edna seemed shocked by the idea of Robert not having any more pictures taken of him because pictures and paintings is what she lives through. Edna has a hard time escaping from her emotions and life, so she uses painting as an outlet to let go of feeling caged. Robert not having any pictures taken of himself make Edna feel some sadness as if someone took her emotional freedom away. Edna takes time to look through her old sketches and paintings to see if she can find the issues with her sketching and painting techniques. "She could see their shortcomings and defects, which were glaring in her eyes. She tried to work a little, but found she was not in the humor" (90). After reflecting on her past works, Edna has developed enough in her artwork she decided to critique her own artwork. Edna looks at her work and knows when she created them it was not a strong point in her life; hence the lack of structure in the work. The personification of Edna’s artwork displays how strongly she enjoys the aspect of art. After attempting to work on her sketches, Edna packs up her things and leaves for Madame Ratignolle's house. (Walker) She brings her sketches with her knowing that Adele will look at the sketches and uplift her. "She knew that Madame Ratignolle's opinion in such a matter would be next to valueless, that herself had not alone decided, but determined; but she sought the words of praise and encouragement that would help her to put heart into her venture" (92). Edna needed to find outside views on her work because there was a lack of caring at home. Painting is the one thing she can do whole heartedly. She longed to hear Adele's encouragement just to know that there is someone out there who thinks she can do it. (Skaggs) This way she can take the positive feedback and allow her artwork to reflect on the positivity. Edna's mood affects her need and want to paint. When Edna feels down, she does nothing and when Edna is felling happy she paints everything that comes to her mind. When Edna is in a somber mood, she seeks her friend Mademoiselle Reisz to discuss art and painting. (Wolff) Mademoiselle Reisz tells her that an artist must have a courageous soul. "I do not know you well enough to say. I do not know your talent or your temperament. To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts--absolute gifts--which have not been acquired by one's own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul" (106). The difference between Mademoiselle Reisz's advice on Edna's longing to become an artist and Adele's is that Reisz's is true and honest. Reisz is not trying to fill Edna's head with false hope, while Adele is trying to just be a good friend and tell Edna what she wants to hear. (Stone) This causes Edna to leave Reisz’s home with a sense of relief from her emotions. Alcée Arobin, Edna’s lover desperately wants to see Edna’s sketches and paintings. Edna puts off this request for a long time because she is not yet ready to welcome him into that part of her world. Her artwork and paintings are very important to her and it seems to be a portion of her identity, for anyone who knows her wants to see her work. (Walker) In a conversation between Edna and Alcée, it is clear that Edna is not ready to with him, "I've got to work when the weather is bright, instead of--" "Yes; work; to be sure. You promised to show me your work. What morning may I come up to your atelier? Tomorrow?" "No!" "Day after?" "No, No." (127-128) Edna’s paintings are apart of her; her paintings are something she does not show to just anyone. She does not show them to her husband, Leonce or her children. However, she does show her sketches to Adele and Reisz because she holds the two them very dear to her. Their opinions matter to her, while opinions from people like Alcée do not. When Edna sees Robert again, it is at Mademoiselle Reisz’s.
He arrives, unexpectedly and shocks Edna with his presence in New Orleans. Robert notices Edna’s work and most importantly the sketch of head Alcée Arobin and becomes angry. He doesn't understand why she would paint Alcée. Her painting come an argument instead of the celebration she wanted. "Alcée Arobin! What on earth is his picture doing here?" (165). Edna is already full of an overwhelming amount of emotion that Robert's comment about Alcée does not even seem to bother her. (Skaggs) The fact that Edna did not object to Robert skimming through her sketches is evidence enough that she is joyful. Edna has been reunited with the only man that she has ever loved and this outpour of emotion is evident. She is so happy that she does not need to paint; all she needs to enjoy what is around her. With Roberts return brought a new sense of beauty to her once hum-drum lifestyle. "The morning was full of sunlight and hope. Edna could see before her no denial--only the promise of excessive joy" (171). This quotation is of limited optimism and using words like "sunlight" and "hope" are very rare when describing the way Edna feels about her life. Edna now has perfection back in her life and Edna finally feels
complete. In conclusion, readers can tell that painting becomes one of Edna's coping sources, quickly. In the beginning of the story painting is just a hobby; later turned into a passion and a potential career. However, this career was only sparked by Edna's emotions. Once Robert left Edna, Edna seems to lose all control of her emotions and her life. "Edna walked on down to the beach rather mechanically, not noticing anything special except that the sun was hot. She was not dwelling upon any particular train of thought. She had done all the thinking which was necessary after Robert went away, when she lay upon the sofa till morning" (188). Edna has no purpose in her life. She is emotionless; she has lost everything, and because of this, she can no longer paint. Without emotions like love, Edna loses her creative edge. The loss of love and passion for painting is what makes Edna take her own life.
Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman who throughout the novella tries to find herself. Edna begins the story in the role of the typical mother-woman distinctive of Creole society but as the novelette furthers so does the distance she puts between herself and society. Edna's search for independence and a way to stray from society's rules and ways of life is depicted through symbolism with birds, clothing, and Edna's process of learning to swim.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening takes place in the late 19th century, in Grande Isle off the coast of Louisiana. The author writes about the main character, Edna Pontellier, to express her empowering quality of life. Edna is a working housewife,and yearns for social freedom. On a quest of self discovery, Edna meets Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, falls in and out of love,and eventually ends up taking her own life. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening shows how the main character Edna Pontellier has been trapped for so many years and has no freedom, yet Edna finally “awakens” after so long to her own power and her ability to be free.
Several passages in The Awakening struck me because of their similar imagery—a bird, wings, and nudity. The first passage I looked at is in Chapter 9 where Edna Pontellier has a vision of a naked man “standing beside a desolate rock” (47) on a beach who is watching a bird fly away. This image was evoked by a one particular piece that Mme Ratignolle plays which Edna significantly calls “Solitude. ” Apparently Edna frequently envisions certain images while listening to music: “Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind” (47). Listening to this piece Edna envisions a solitary, naked man with an “attitude […] of hopeless resignation” (47). This scene presents solitude in many different ways. The figure standing alone and naked near the “desolate rock” illustrates the mood of solitude and resignation.
Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, becomes very perturbed when his wife, in the period of a few months, suddenly drops all of her responsibilities. After she admits that she has "let things go," he angrily asks, "on account of what?" Edna is unable to provide a definite answer, and says, "Oh! I don't know. Let me along; you bother me" (108). The uncertainty she expresses springs out of the ambiguous nature of the transformation she has undergone. It is easy to read Edna's transformation in strictly negative terms‹as a move away from the repressive expectations of her husband and society‹or in strictly positive terms‹as a move toward the love and sensuality she finds at the summer beach resort of Grand Isle. While both of these moves exist in Edna's story, to focus on one aspect closes the reader off to the ambiguity that seems at the very center of Edna's awakening. Edna cannot define the nature of her awakening to her husband because it is not a single edged discovery; she comes to understand both what is not in her current situation and what is another situation. Furthermore, the sensuality that she has been awakened to is itself not merely the male or female sexuality she has been accustomed to before, but rather the sensuality that comes in the fusion of male and female. The most prominent symbol of the book‹the ocean that she finally gives herself up to‹embodies not one aspect of her awakening, but rather the multitude of contradictory meanings that she discovers. Only once the ambiguity of this central symbol is understood can we read the ending of the novel as a culmination and extension of the themes in the novel, and the novel regains a...
Kate Chopin's The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother living in the upper crust of New Orleans in the 1890s. It depicts her journey as her standing shifts from one of entrapment to one of empowerment. As the story begins, Edna is blessed with wealth and the pleasure of an affluent lifestyle. She is a woman of leisure, excepting only in social obligations. This endowment, however, is hindered greatly by her gender.
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
Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is followed by the audience through her voyage of self-realization. As Edna’s journey unfolds, Chopin incorporates a vast variety of symbols in order to express Edna’s relationship with society. One of the most present symbols that Chopin uses is the way she addresses Edna’s clothing or its absence. As Edna’s character develops and her desire to liberate herself swells, she removes clothing that she feels are not only constricting to her body physically but to her soul emotionally. While Edna removes her clothing throughout the novel, she is contravening the social norms and rules that the society she lives in has presented to her. This is one of many ways that Edna
As time goes on we can see that her depression grows ever so slightly, and that it will continue to grow throughout the novel. Such happenings are nothing new to Edna: " Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self understood." (8) The author goes on to describe what Edna felt during the episode: " An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul's summer day." (8)
Edna seeks occupational freedom in art, but lacks sufficient courage to become a true artist. As Edna awakens to her selfhood and sensuality, she also awakens to art. Originally, Edna “dabbled” with sketching “in an unprofessional way” (Chopin 543). She could only imitate, although poorly (Dyer 89). She attempts to sketch Adèle Ratignolle, but the picture “bore no resemblance” to its subject. After her awakening experience in Grand Isle, Edna begins to view her art as an occupation (Dyer 85). She tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she is “becoming an artist” (Chopin 584). Women traditionally viewed art as a hobby, but to Edna, it was much more important than that. Painting symbolizes Edna’s independence; through art, she breaks free from her society’s mold.
Ranging from caged parrots to the meadow in Kentucky, symbols and settings in The Awakening are prominent and provide a deeper meaning than the text does alone. Throughout The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbols and setting recur representing Edna’s current progress in her awakening. The reader can interpret these and see a timeline of Edna’s changes and turmoil as she undergoes her changes and awakening.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a literary work full of symbolism. Birds, clothes, houses and other narrative elements are powerful symbols which add meaning to the novel and to the characters. I will analyze the most relevant symbols presented in Chopin's literary work.
During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
The two passages at the beginning and ending of The Awakening illustrate symbolically Edna’s degeneration from strong-willed, vivacious, and highly individual to tired and resigned.
The sexual aspect of Edna’s awakening is formed through her relationship with a supporting character, Robert LeBrun. In the beginning of the novel, Robert assigns himself to become the helper of Mrs. Pontellier and his advances help to crack the barrier in which Edna is placed in due to her role as a woman of the Victorian era. Her feelings begin to manifest themselves as she intends to liberate herself from her husband and run away with Robert. He on the other hand has no intention of having a sexual affair because of the role placed upon him as a man of the Victorian era which is not to destroy families. Her quest for complete independence ultimately brings her to committing suicide at the end of the story. Her suicide does not represent a disappointment in how she cannot conform to the society around her but a final awakening and symbol for her liberation.