The Awakening: Romanticism, Realism, and Local Color

1129 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What impact did the novel The Awakening have

The Awakening: Romanticism, Realism, and Local Color

Imagine being far out into the middle of the ocean and at that moment, having to make a choice between judgment and individuality, death and life? In 1899, Kate Chopin composed a captivating novel titled The Awakening. Throughout Chopin's day, the work was regarded as nonsense and a waste of time on her part. Critics found the main character's rebellion to be foolish and unlawful. At that age, it was believed firmly that women should be nothing less than completely loyal to their husbands and should joyfully care for any children that they had while their spouse was away, hard at work. Edna, the central character, did not follow this standard. She says specifically that she would not give-up herself for her children. She is not one known to submit to her husband's every whim. Chopin brought Romanticism into play in a realistic setting with this individual. To these literary devices, she blends local color.

By manipulating Romanticism, Kate Chopin stretches one's imagination and startles one's mind. Romanticism is both a literary and an artistic movement. It took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth century during which people expressed freedom and individuality and emotions in their works. Chopin shows Mrs. Pontellier's display of freedom and individuality when Edna refuses to go in when her husband Leonce tells her to do so; rather, she stays out on the hammock and tells him to proceed inside without her. Romantics also loved exotic places and chose to display a character that follows his or her own heart. Chopin demonstrates this in her work when Edna realizes th...

... middle of paper ...

...because Tuesday night social calls were a pastime, Realism because Leonce believed that Edna should put herself on hold every Tuesday night for company, and Romanticism because she chose not to stay.

Kate Chopin is now considered a wonderful author for the same piece that was once prohibited. People realize that she was just before her time. She blended a Romanticism which is now common to out time with a Realism that was true to her time. She enhanced it with a mélange of Local Color into her setting to give a full outlook of Edna Pontellier's world. Seeing everything that she has to go through, which option should be chosen? Would it be better to live without freedom of individuality or die trying to get it? With all of the pressures that prevailed over Edna, she chose death.

Show More
Related

  • How Does Kate Chopin Use Characterization In The Awakening

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • What Is Edna Pontellier's Sacrifice In The Awakening

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sacrifices can define one’s character; it can either be the highest dignity or the lowest degradation of the value of one’s life. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin implicitly conveys the sacrifice Edna Pontellier makes in the life which provides insight of her character and attributions to her “awakening.” She sacrificed her past of a lively and youthful life and compressed it to a domestic and reserved lifestyle of housewife picturesque. However, she meets multiple acquaintances who help her express her dreams and true identity. Mrs. Pontellier’s sacrifice established her awakening to be defiant and drift away from the societal role of an obedient mother, as well as, highlighting the difference between society’s expectations of women and women’s

    Read More

  • Selfish Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Could the actions of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening ever be justified? This question could be argued from two different perspectives. The social view of The Awakening would accuse Edna Pontellier of being selfish and unjustified in her actions. Yet, in terms of the story's romanticism, Edna was in many ways an admirable character. She liberated herself from her restraints and achieved nearly all that she desired. Chopin could have written this novel to glorify a woman in revolt against conventions of the period. Yet, since the social standpoint is more factual and straightforward, it is the basis of this paper. Therefore, no, her affairs, treatment of her family and lovers, and suicide were completely unwarranted. She was not denied love or support by any of those close to her. Ultimately Edna Pontellier was simply selfish.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Reinvention In The Awakening

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    She pursued activities that would allow her to become more individualistic, such as painting or art. Chopin decides to have Mrs.Pontellier’s character explore art, so she can address Mrs.Pontellier’s relationship with herself and her struggle to become an expressive artist. Throughout this short period Mrs.Pontellier constantly visits an accomplished female artist, Mademoiselle Reisz, who has abandoned the suppressive ideals of her time. Mademoiselle Reisz remarks, “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”(Pg.63). Chopin includes this, to show how Mrs.Pontellier is becoming ambitious and developing personal goals and interests. The significance of this pursuit of creativity is to reveal the importance of becoming her true self, in order to produce her own signature art. The underlying message is that to be an artist, one must have their own style, perspectives, opinions, and self assertiveness. Mrs.Pontellier however, is stuck between being a devoted mother and wife, or an artist who defies the standards upon her. Alongside this, Chopin conveys that with the absence of her husband, she has the opportunity to reflect on who she

    Read More

  • feminaw Suicide as the Only Alternative for Edna Pontellier in The Awakening

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the principal character, Edna decides to kill herself rather than to live a lie. It seemed to Kate that the time of her own death was the only thing remaining under her control since society had already decided the rest of her life for her.  Edna was a woman of the wrong times; she wanted her independence and she wanted to be with her lover, Robert.  This type of behavior would never be accepted by the society of her time.  Edna's relationship with Robert, and her rejection of the role dictated to her by society, resulted in her perceiving suicide to be the only solution to her problems.

    Read More

  • Comparing Transcendentalism In Emerson And Henry David Thoreau

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transcendentalism was born between the 18th and the early 20th century. It's a philosophy of individualism and self-reliance. Transcendentalists strongly believed in the power of the individual. Their beliefs are intently linked with those of the romantics but varied by an endeavor to embrace or to not abjure the factual science. Additionally, they believed that society and its institution primarily manipulated the integrity of the individual. They had faith that people are at their best when they are frankly self reliant and independent. Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau believed in transcendentalism and dedicated their occupation to follow transcendentalist philosophy. Furthermore , they were major figures in the American Intellectual movement . They shared congruent ideas but used different ways to deliver it .

    Read More

  • Implications Of Sexism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ly must complete with the dominance of men. “In acknowledging her personal desires and dreams, Edna realizes that double standards exist for men and women” (Telgen and Hile 53). Ignorant of her “awakening” to come, Edna tests and defies every accepted value in women during the late 1800s including but not limited to obedience, fidelity, and compliance. Ultimately Edna succeeds in determining who she, reaching her full “awakening,” but discovers that the price for having her own identity in the restrictions of society is more than she can handle emotionally (53). Chopin provided insight for the future generations through the evidence of the effect of gender roles and the process of finding one’s self through their individual “awakening” in the midst of controversy and “as she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself” (Chopin 49).

    Read More

  • The Feminist Movement In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main argument of this novel has been diluted though a too widened scope of Edna’s life. Throughout the novel Edna mentions countless flat characters that do not bring much to the Awakening that she is encountering. The wide variety of characters makes the novel very frustrating level of work. The audience can become confused with the different characters and the meaning Chopin holds behind each character. The Audience will them spend infinite time trying to incorporate meaning of the characters that they lose the overall journey that Edna is challenged with. While repeatedly reading this novel it became apparent to me that many of the characters could have been excluded from the novel to make the journey more objectified. The audience could still understand the object of this novel without Alcée Arobin, Madame Lebrun, Victor Lebrun, Mariequita, Dr. Mandelet, Mrs. James Highcamp and many others. All of these characters have little to no meaning that enhances the novel. For example, Alcée Arobin played a minor role as the second affair Edna was engaged in during her awakening. Without mentioning the affair between the two, there would still be circumstantial evidence that Edna is breaking free from society. She was already moved out of her husband’s home, abandoned all duties as a

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism and Transcendental Meditation

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy.”(Emerson 196). These two lines written by Ralph Waldo Emerson exemplify the whole movement of transcendentalist writers and what they believed in. Though to the writers, transcendentalism was a fight for a belief, unknown to them they could have been fighting for the betterment of human health. The transcendentalist writings of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson have directly affected the health of modern society through the idea of transcendental meditation. Through modern science, scientists have linked increases in health among individuals through the use of transcendental meditation.

    Read More

  • The Major Concepts Of Ralph Waldo Emerson And Transcendentalism

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Transcendentalism is a major concept that originated in New England from 1836 to 1855. It is the idea that people have knowledge about themselves that rises above or goes beyond the five senses. The man credited with leading this revolutionary movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was born in Boston, and used his experience at Harvard and as a Unitarian Reverend to help start this revolution. He eventually would come to the conclusion that the individual is more morally just than religion. He started this shift with his book Nature, which he published in 1836. Nature was a collection of papers, an essay that read like a disjointed nightmare would. This revolution has translated into modern society; however, there are still many aspects of

    Read More

  • Taking a Brief Look at Transcendentalism

    602 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transcendentalism is not reserved to just the US but exists all over the world. Mahatma Gandhi, originating from India, initiated a revolution in India by forcing out the British through the practice of peaceful non-conformity. Gandhi touched those around him through his willingness to receive punishment for what he believes is morally ri...

    Read More

  • Influence of Kate Chopin’s Life and Environment on Her Literature

    1314 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kate Chopin was a woman and a writer far ahead of her time. She was a realistic fiction writer and one of the leaders and inspirational people in feminism. Her life was tragic and full of irregular events. In fact, this unusual life had an enormous effect on her writings and career. She depicted the lifestyle of her time in her works. In most of her stories, people would find an expansion of her life’s events. In her two stories “The Storm” and “The Story of One Hour” and some of her other works she denoted a lot of her life’s events. Kate Chopin is one of those writers who were influenced by their life and surrounded environment in their fiction writing, and this was very clear in most of her works.

    Read More

  • Essay On Transcendentalism

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movement of transcendentalism was a powerful movement that began to emerge in American in the nineteenth century. These powerful movements made readers question, challenge, and examine what they were accustomed too. Transcendentalism was the belief that what the person can see, touch, feel, taste, or comprehend goes beyond those senses. People were to knowledge their thoughts through instinct and imagination not through logic or the senses; they were to trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right. When people were able to receive these ideas not as a religious beliefs, but as a way of understanding life then they were consider a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism was one of the many literary writing styles used during

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    it is his." In this quote Emerson is elaborating on the idea that we must all exude

    Read More

  • A Summary Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    7713 Words  | 16 Pages

    In America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young

    Read More

More about The Awakening: Romanticism, Realism, and Local Color

Open Document