Prejural And Morality In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

In the late 19th, early 20th century women were treated unfairly. Woman were always in a way treated as property to man beginning with their father and ending with their husband. They could not be independent they were either supposed to be dependent on a man or have children be dependent on them to make the meals and clean the home. They had no way to take care of themselves “Traditionally, women were defined physically and intellectually as the ‘weaker’ sex, in all ways subordinate to male authority,”(Blanza). This idea made it clear to woman that if they did not find a man that they would not succeed. Society has also lead to that too through education.Higher education was not intended as job preparation. “Women were expected to marry and

“More than 90 percent of the reviews raised the issue of The Awakening’s morality and used it as at least one measure of the novel’s worth. The moral tone of the novel and the presumed effect on the moral values of its readers were central evaluative criteria for reviewers in 1899,”(Coarse and Sandra). Only one person understood what The Awakening was showing other that Kate Chopin. “Finally, Deyo (1899) is the only reviewer who explicitly understands Edna’s awakening as the discovery of her individual self separate from her role as wife and mother: ‘One day Edna Pontellier . . . suddenly becomes aware she is a human being,’”(Coarse and Sundra). Many people reading the story thought what Edna did as an inappropriate act for a woman to display. One moral behavior people do not understand is in chapter 31 of The Awakening (620) when Edna has sex with Arobin. Which this is also is the second time they had sex in the story. This is even worse that Robert for a lot of people, because she slept with him from sexual desire, not love. A Lot of people did not agree with Robert, but adding another man in the picture makes her look terrible from the readers of the late 19th century. The story shows subversion through displaying sexual impulses with another man and loving a different man than her

Many people think that suicide could have shown her weakness, but I believe that she chose death than living in a world where she would continuous would of been treated below the standards of a man. This was her final act of supervision. “By committing suicide Edna is finally freeing herself from social constraints and possession. Her suicide is an act of liberation, therefore Edna is the ultimate feminist,”(Bird). She would have never had to die if either she never felt the love for Robert or if woman like herself were treated with respect and