Psychoanalysis In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, follows the life of Edna Pontellier while she battles to achieve a better life, but dies without obtaining it. Edna’s actions are considered irrational at the time of her life, but the interpretation of the novel changes based on the lens that The Awakening is analyzed with. By looking through a psychoanalytical lens, readers can recognize that the characters in the novel are based off the author’s own life and that Edna may have a mental illness which is responsible for some of her actions.

The psychoanalytical theory to analyze this novel was created by Sigmund Freud. His theory focuses on the unconscious mind and three elements of a person’s personality These elements include the Id, Superego, and Ego. The Id

Chopin’s father died when she was at a young age. This left her in a household of women. The dominating feminine figure of her life create the individualistic views that she writes about in the novel. Chopin liked to do activities that were considered unladylike, such as smoking. She was married and had many children, buther husband died. Kate Chopin also had an affair with another man. This man is believed to be the source of Arobin’s character in The Awakening. She never got remarried, which resembles Mademoiselle Reisz’s life in the novel. By the end of her life, Chopin lived a similar life to her. Her family owned several houses and also went on vacation to the Grande Isles like the characters in the novel. Chopin’s resistance to societal pressures about women are shown throughout her life just as it is with Mademoiselle Reisz and Edna. Her values are shown through the characters she writes about.

Analyzing this novel from a psychoanalytical lens allows readers to see different motives for Edna’s actions. Although it is not bluntly obvious, there are hints throughout the novel that Edna is in fact affected by a mental illness. Because little was known about mental illnesses at this time, it is difficult to recognize her condition. By using this lens, readers can see that characters’ actions in The Awakening are shaped by the author’s personal life and personality and that Edna’s mental condition plays a part in her actions including her