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The portrayal of women in literature
Problems that Edna faces in the awakening
The portrayal of women in literature
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Conformity, defined as a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit into a group, plays an important role in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. The role of conformity contributes to the greater message of the novel about Edna’s journey of self-discovery and the struggle for women to make that journey. Edna did not want to conform to the mother-woman standard imposed by society, and her inner desire for freedom was questioned through Chopin’s characterization and symbolism. Yet, she was not ready to depart from society until the very end of the novel – when she finally overcame society’s conformity. Edna’s journey of self- discovery and understanding of the conformities that will serve as obstacles began at a very young age. She noted that “even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself” (13) and that “at a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life – that outward existence which conforms, the …show more content…
inward life which questions” (13). As a child, she has already known that because she is a woman it will be very difficult for her to be independent and discover herself, and for that reason she has divided her inner passion with the conformities of society. Although as a child she did not have the responsibilities of a mother and a wife, she understood that those two factors will inhibit on her ability to discover who she really is. At the age of twenty-eight, Edna believes that she is beginning “to realize her position in the universe as a human being” (13), which is a confirmation that her childhood intuitions about the outward conformities that conflicts her dual life are true and therefore she decides to go against them and become free from society. Chopin’s characterization of a typical mother-woman at the time is a woman that valued her husband and children over her personal freedom and interests. Edna proves herself to be different through her disconnection from her children and lack of any care for her husband. In the third chapter, Mr. Pontellier attempts to convince Edna that their son has a fever. At first, she showed no sympathy for the child and then finally gave in and went to check on him in order to put her husband’s nagging to a halt. By giving in, she externally accepted societies’ conformity of authority in the house, even though she did not internally agree with it. When she returned “she said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her” (6) because she did not believe she owed him any explanation. This scene contributes to the book as a whole because it is one of the first representations of Edna’s alienation from other women in a society that values mother-women over independent women. The repeated references to birds follow the novel from the first line to the very last line contributed to Chopin’s symbolism of the struggles of women at the time.
The book introduces a caged parrot in the first paragraph, one that speaks a language “which nobody understood” (1). This parrot symbolized Edna and her struggle to express her inner desire for freedom because of the conformities of society. Similar to the parrot, all of the birds in the novel are not able to fly – they are symbolizing women who are not able to be free. In the end of the novel, a “bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water” (115) is a symbol that Edna was unable to ‘fly’ because society has left her no option to be free other than to commit suicide. All of the birds in the story, whether caged or with broken wings, represent the women of the time that have the desire to be free but are unable to become free because of the conformities of
society. Another important element of symbolism in the story is the sea. Edna has an inner desire to learn how to swim, but, at the same time, she is afraid of swimming too far out because she does not want to drown. The desire to swim is a symbol of Edna’s desire to break away from society in order to discover herself and the fear of drowning symbolizes that she is not ready yet. Throughout the novel, Edna is ‘testing the water’ but quickly retracts because she is not ready to fully break away. At the final scene of the novel, Edna goes for her final swim – which is her final attempt to break away from society. Her drowning symbolizes her break from society, since she believed drowning was her only escape from the conformations of society. The Awakening by Kate Chopin sought to open the eyes of women and men at the time to realize that the society they live in constraints women from their freedom to discover themselves. Edna Pontellier had struggled with her identity and sought freedom since she was a child, but her outward acceptance of conformity conflicted with her inner questioning throughout the novel and infringed on her ability to break free from society until she finally decides to commit suicide as a final separation from society.
Chopin mentions birds in a subtle way at many points in the plot and if looked at closely enough they are always linked back to Edna and her journey of her awakening. In the first pages of the novella, Chopin reveals Madame Lebrun's "green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage" (Chopin 1). The caged bird at the beginning of the novella points out Edna's subconscious feeling of being entrapped as a woman in the ideal of a mother-woman in Creole society. The parrot "could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood" (1). The parrot's lack of a way to communicate because of the unknown language depicts Edna's inability to speak her true feelings and thoughts. It is for this reason that nobody understands her and what she is going through. A little further into the story, Madame Reisz plays a ballad on the piano. The name of which "was something else, but [Edna] called it Solitude.' When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing on a desolate rock on the seashore His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him" (25). The bird in the distance symbolizes Edna's desire of freedom and the man in the vision shows the longing for the freedom that is so far out of reach. At the end of the story, Chopin shows "a bird with a broken wing beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water" while Edna is swimming in the ocean at the Grand Isle shortly before she drowns (115). The bird stands for the inability to stray from the norms of society and become independent without inevitably falling from being incapable of doing everything by herself. The different birds all have different meanings for Edna but they all show the progression of her awakening.
According to the Louisiana society, Edna Pontellier has the ideal life, complete with two children and the best husband in the world. However, Edna disagrees, constantly crying over her feelings of oppression. Finally, Edna is through settling for her predetermined role in society as man’s possession, and she begins to defy this. Edna has the chance to change this stereotype, the chance to be “[t]he bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice” (112). The use of a metaphor comparing Edna to a bird proves her potential to rise above society’s standards and pave the pathway for future women. However, Edna does not have “strong [enough] wings” (112). After Robert, the love of her life and the man she has an affair with, leaves, Edna becomes despondent and lacks an...
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
Forms of physical self expression like clothing are utilized by Kate Chopin throughout the text of “The Awakening” to symbolize the driving purpose of Edna Pontellier’s regression. While both the author, Kate Chopin and the critic, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, agree that Edna shows progression and regression throughout the entire story; the reasoning behind the regression is dependent on fate and not personal choosing. Fox-Genovese wrote that Edna Pontellier led from a progression to a regression due to her individualism, however, I believe that Edna’s progression is due to her individualism but the regression is fate destined for her. Edna regresses from a state of individualism to fate catching up with her and the rejection of herself as life
Throughout Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier, ventures through a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. Mrs.Pontellier is a mother and wife who begins to crave more from life, than her assigned societal roles. She encounters two opposite versions of herself, that leads her to question who she is and who she aims to be. Mrs. Pontellier’s journey depicts the struggle of overcoming the scrutiny women face, when denying the ideals set for them to abide. Most importantly the end of the novel depicts Mrs.Pontellier as committing suicide, as a result of her ongoing internal
Throughout Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the main protagonist, experiences multiple awakenings—the process in which Edna becomes aware of her life and the constraints place on it—through her struggles with interior emotional issues regarding her true identity: the confines of marriage vs. her yearning for intense passion and true love. As Edna begins to experience these awakenings she becomes enlightened of who she truly and of what she wants. As a result, Edna breaks away from what society deems acceptable and becomes awakened to the flaws of the many rules and expected behavior that are considered norms of the time. One could argue that Kate Chopin’s purpose in writing about Edna’s inner struggles and enlightenment was to
In the novella The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier “becomes profoundly alienated from traditional roles required by family, country, church, or other social institutions and is unable to reconcile the desire for connection with others with the need for self-expression” (Bogard). The novella takes place in the South during the 1800’s when societal views and appearances meant everything. There were numerous rules and expectations that must be upheld by both men and women, and for independent, stubborn, and curious women such as Edna, this made life challenging. Edna expressed thoughts and goals far beyond her time that made her question her role in life and struggle to identify herself, which caused her to break societal conventions, damage her relationships, and ultimately lose everything.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” –Ralph Waldo Emerson. This timeless quote applies not only to the life from past generations for centuries but also is perfectly relevant for the today’s modern generation. The outward struggle of compliance to societal pressures against internal struggles for the pursuit of truth with integrity has been a persistent challenge within societies for many years. An example of such conflict from past centuries is distinctly demonstrated in The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Chopin exemplifies this strife through the protagonist of the novella: Edna Pontellier. Edna’s constant external conformity working against her internal questioning illustrates
Edna’s recognition of herself as an individual as opposed to a submissive housewife is controversial because it’s unorthodox. When she commits suicide, it’s because she cannot satisfy her desire to be an individual while society scorns her for not following the traditional expectations of women. Edna commits suicide because she has no other option. She wouldn’t be fulfilled by continuing to be a wife and a mother and returning to the lifestyle that she led before her self-discovery.
In The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells a story during the upbringing of the feminist movement, the movement was masked by the social attitudes entering into the 1900’s. She tells this story in the form of a novel, in which is told in a third person view, that is very sympathetic for Edna Pontellier, the protagonist. This is a review of the journey Edna takes in her awakening and evaluate the effectiveness this novel takes in introducing, continuing, and ending Edna’s awakening.
In The Awakening, caged birds serve as reminders of Edna's entrapment. She is caged in the roles as wife and mother; she is never expected to think for herself. Moreover, the caged birds symbolize the entrapment of the Victorian women in general. Like the parrot, the women's movements are limited by the rules of society.
Although the two critics share the above ideas, their theories, although quite similar, embrace the homosocial relationships of Edna and the other women of the novel to varying degrees. They both agree, however, that having lost her mother at an early age and being under the care of her conservative, overbearing sister and strict Presbyterian father, Edna had little experience in having relationships with other women. We know that when she first encounters the culture of the Creole people, she is quite taken back and not generally pleased with the openness of the women ...
The birds are the major symbolic images from the very beginning of the novel: "A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: `Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That's all right!'" (Chopin pp3) In The Awakening, caged birds represent Edna's entrapment. She is caged as a wife and mother; she is never expected to actually be able to think and make decisions for herself. The caged birds also symbolize the entrapment of Victorian women in general since their movements are limited by the rules of the society that they live in. Just like Edna the parrot cannot communicate its feelings because the parrot speaks in "a language which nobody [understands]" (Chopin pp3). Edna’s feelings are incomprehensible to the members of Creole society. Chopin uses wild birds and the idea of flight to symbolize freedom. Edna experiences a vision while Mademoiselle Reisz is playing piano and this vision includes the wild birds and flight. "When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore. He was naked. His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him." (Chopin pp26-27) Here Edna is showing her intense desire for freedom, a desire to escape from her roles as a wife and mother, and also from her husband Léonce. Léonce oppresses Edna by restricting her to a social cage. Edna thus begins to express her desire for complete independence through her move to the pigeon house "because it's so small and looks like a pige...
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.
Social expectations of women affected Edna and other individuals in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, struggles throughout the novel in order to become independent and avoid her roles as mother and housewife in American Victorian society in 1899. This was because women during the 19th century were limited by what society demanded of them, to be the ideal housewives who would take care of their families. However, Edna tries to overcome these obstacles by exploring other options, such as having secret relationships with Robert and Arobin. Although Edna seeks to be independent throughout the novel, in the end she has been awakened but has not achieved independence.