The Awakening: An Emergence of Women's RIghts in the Late Nineteenth Century

The Awakening: An Emergence of Women’s Rights in the Late Nineteenth Century

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening addresses the role of women within society during the late nineteenth century. The novel is set in South Louisiana, a place where tradition and culture also play a vital role in societal expectations. The novel’s protagonist, Edna Pontellier, initially fulfills her position in society as a wife and as a mother while suppressing her urges to live a life of passion and freedom. Edna’s relationship with her husband, Léonce Pontellier, represents her expected role in a marriage that lacks passion and excitement. Edna’s relationship with her lover, Robert Lebrun, represents her indulgence in her passion and freedom. Chopin juxtaposes the traditional role of women in a male dominant society against the suppressed urges of freedom and independence. The setting coincides with the Women’s Suffrage and Women’s Rights movements that emerge during the late nineteenth century.

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the story is focused on Edna Pontellier. Edna, a wife and mother, discovers while on a family vacation that she is not happy with her life. She becomes awakened to her desires while taking a swim in the ocean, and she falls in love with Robert Lebrun. After returning home, Edna starts acting out. Edna neglects her duties as wife, mother, and woman of the house. Under doctor’s orders, her husband, Léonce Pontellier, gives his wife space and leaves on business out of state. Edna sends the children to stay with their grandmother. She decides to move out of her husband’s home and rents one of her own. Edna starts painting again in means of supporting herself. She runs into Robert at Mademoiselle Reisz’s apartment. Robert professes his love...

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