In the novels The Awakening and Wuthering Heights, both authors use similar traits to give an idea of how women were treated. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening revolves around the child-like Edna Pontellier, and her struggles to live a happy and free life. Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights uses the character of Isabella Linton, later Isabella Heathcliff, to show the hardships of being used and abused. Both novels exhibit parts where the women are commanded, insulted, and generally viewed as children and/or property.
Women were often viewed as children or property that could be commanded or used. In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff married Isabella because she was heir to Trushcross Grange, and he could use her to get the property. He asks Catherine,
…show more content…
“She’s her brother’s heir, is she not?” (Brontë 106). Then Catherine even warns Isabella by say, “I know he couldn’t love a Linton; and yet he’d be quite capable of marrying your fortune” (Brontë 102). Heathcliff says to Isabella, “No; you’re not fit to be your own guardian, Isabella, now; and I, being your legal protector, must retain you in my custody, however distasteful the obligation may be” (Brontë 151). In this, Heathcliff not only describes Isabella with characteristics similar to a child, but also makes a harsh statement on how he is disgusted by her. After comparing her to a child, he then commands Isabella to go upstairs so that he can talk to Nelly. After she did not obey him, “he seized, and thrust her from the room” (Brontë 151). Isabella is not only treated coarse by Heathcliff, but by her brother, Edgar, as well. Before, when she ran off with Heathcliff, and news got back to Trushcross Grange, Edgar showed disapproval. He states that “hereafter she is only my sister in name: not because I disown her, but because she has disowned me” (Brontë 132). Later, after she goes to Wuthering Heights, coming back from her elopement with Heathcliff, she tries to reach out to Edgar, but he rejects her attempts. She soon regrets marrying Heathcliff and writes a letter to Nelly saying, “I do hate him—I am wretched—I have been a fool” (Brontë 144). Heathcliff equally dislikes her, if not more, he also openly claims that “the nuisance of her outweighs the gratification to be derived from tormenting her” (Brontë 150). Similarly, in The Awakening, Chopin compares Edna to a child, “but that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child,” when Edna was learning to swim (Chopin 37).
Edna’s husband criticizes her on “her habitual neglect of the children” (Chopin 7). Additionally, Chopin describes Edna as “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman.” After being criticized, Edna leaves the room and starts to cry; these cruel words are not seldom used. Chopin writes, “the tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier’s eyes . . . such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life” (Chopin 8). Just like how the tyrant, Heathcliff, of Wuthering Heights commands Isabella, Mr. Pontellier does the same. One night, Edna decided to stay outside on the porch for the night, while her husband was away. When Mr. Pontellier returned, he calls her actions “more than folly” and demands that she “must come in the house instantly” (Chopin 41). She begins to think to herself whether or not “her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command” (Chopin 42). Chopin confirms that Edna has indeed submitted before, “Of course she had; she remembered that she had” (Chopin 42).
Furthermore in The Awakening, Chopin writes, “‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 3). Her husband, Léonce, views her more as a property that
is damaged, than as an equal individual. All of society had beat Edna down so much, to where “She felt no interest in anything about her” (Chopin 71), and that the surrounding environment was “an alien world which had . . . become antagonistic” (Chopin 72). Mr. Pontellier thinks that there is something wrong with his wife, Edna, so he goes to see his friend, Doctor Mandalet. He tells him that Edna “doesn’t act well. She’s odd, she’s not like herself” (Chopin 87), and later goes on to say, “She’s got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women” (Chopin 88). He thoroughly expresses his distaste for her behavior; he questioning her human rights. Later, Edna’s father comes to visit, and further tries to oppress her. Her father tells her husband that he is “too lenient by far” (Chopin 96), and that “Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put down your foot good and hard; the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it” (Chopin 96). In conclusion, the treatment of both women in The Awakening and Wuthering Heights is very comparable. In both, they are described as children who cannot take care of themselves. As well as, treated as if they were property to be used for someone else’s gain. Finally, they are domineered by their peers and to some extent, society.
The novel, The Awakening, and the short story, “The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” both stories have women that are not respected by their husbands. Both of the women, Edna Pontellier and Sarah Penn, have husbands who do not respect them, but they fight back in different ways. Their battles shows the differences between these two women from an earlier and less accepting time.
In Chapter III Mr. Pontellier enters their room in Grand Isle late one night, waking Edna. He is full of self-importance as he talks to her while he begins to ready himself for bed. Since she has just been awakened, Edna does not respond with the enthusiasm Mr. Pontellier deems acceptable. "He thought it very discouraging that his wife … evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation." (12) To assert his dominance, Leonce demands that E...
As the novel starts out Edna is a housewife to her husband, Mr. Pontellier, and is not necessarily unhappy or depressed but knows something is missing. Her husband does not treat her well. "...looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." She is nothing but a piece of property to him; he has no true feelings for her and wants her for the sole purpose of withholding his reputation. "He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it?" Mr. Pontellier constantly brings her down for his own satisfaction not caring at all how if affects Edna.
Edna Pontellier Throughout The Awakening , a novel by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontellier showed signs of a growing depression. There are certain events that hasten this, events which eventually lead her to suicide. At the beginning of the novel when Edna's husband, Leonce Pontellier, returns from Klein's hotel, he checks in on the children and believing that one of them has a fever he tells his wife, Edna. She says that the child was fine when he went to bed, but Mr. Pontellier is certain that he isn't mistaken: "He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children." (7) Because of the reprimand, Edna goes into the next room to check on the children.
Chopin carefully establishes that Edna does not neglect her children, but only her mother-woman image. Chopin illustrates the idea by telling the reader, "...Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman" (689). Edna tries to explain to Adele how she feels about her children and how she feels about herself, which greatly differs from the mother-woman image. She says, "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money; I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me" (720).
It is very easy to perceive Edna as a selfish, cold, unfeeling woman. Chopin gives many examples in the text that lead the reader to feel no sympathy towards Edna. She is often indifferent to her husband’s affections, a cause of concern for Mr. Pontellier: "He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation" (12). Is Edna really "the sole object of his existence"? How does he show her that he really cares for her? Leonce shows no great displays of affection for his wife at any time, nor does he profess his love for her or seek to spend a great deal of time with her. Leonce, very materialistic and image-conscious, believes he is showing affection for his wife by giving her money and buying beautiful, expensive things for the house. When he is not working, he usually opts to spend his spare time at a men’s club, rather than with his wife. This is so obvious that Madame Ratignolle sees the necessity of telling Edna "It’s a pity Mr. Pontellier doesn’t stay home more in the evenings. I think you would be more . . . united, if he did" (115).
In The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier is a married woman with children. However many of her actions seem like those of a child. In fact, Edna Pontelliers’ life is an irony, in that her immaturity allows her to mature. Throughout this novel, there are many examples of this because Edna is continuously searching for herself in the novel.
Her memory of running away from her Father and church when she was a young girl living in Kentucky shows how desperate she is to be free. However, Edna gives up her hopes of freedom for marriage in the hopes that all will fall into place afterwards. Edna’s expectation that marriage and children is proven false when she still is not happy with her life afterwards. She feels that life is worthless and that there should be more to what she is. Edna is not like the other creole mothers; she holds an affection for her children, but it comes and goes. Occasionally she will hold them fiercely to her chest and yet others she will forget them. Her husband disapproves of her lack of maternal instinct and rebukes her when he discovers one of their children, Raoul, sick in his bed. Edna is not alarmed by it, but his harsh words make her burst into tears on the front porch, after he has fallen asleep. Mr. Pontellier does not care about his wife much as a person, only as something he owns. He views everything this way, new lace curtains, glassware, furniture. He is disappointed in his wife because, in his view, she does not function well as a mother. Edna’s lack of
During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.
Edna’s husband Leonce Pontellier treats her lavishly, and other women even admire her for her marriage, as “the ladies […] all declare that Mr. Pontellier [is] the best husband in the world [and] Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better” (Chopin 9). Thus, Edna’s unrealistic dreams of wild, youthful behaviour which she develops through her awakening may also simply convey her childlike nature rather than her social confinement, as she fails to consider the needs and desires of anyone but herself.Esperanza, on the other hand, seems to progressively mature, the process of which potentially reverses for Edna, as she becomes increasingly naïve and
Besides having unconventional views of motherhood, Edna shows her modernity as she diverges from societal standards especially that of marriage. Throughout the novel, Edna goes against the societal norm of being dependent upon her husband, Mr. Pontellier. One example of this, as discussed before was her defiance to become the mother her husband expected of her. In addition to this, once home in New Orleans, Edna also refused to answer her husbands calls from important investors claiming that she, “simply felt like going out”. In these ways, Edna demonstrates a disregard for the respect woman previously were obligated to present to their significant others. However, not only did Edna refuse to follow under her husband’s direction, she also
Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights tells a passionate story of love that spans across generations and transcends life and death. Heathcliff, a neglected orphan raised by the Earnshaw family at the brooding Wuthering Heights, loses Catherine Earnshaw, his true love, to Edgar Linton, a member of the wealthy Linton family at the elegant Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff disappears for three years and returns an esteemed man, ready to take revenge on those who wronged him. As time passes these characters birth a new generation whose upbringings are greatly affected by their parents. The novel saw its cinematic rehashing in a PBS film of the same name directed by Coky Giedroyc. The story remains relatively unchanged between both versions, but the film contains a numerous amount of differences that distinguish it significantly from the book. The film lacks depth in certain characters, adds and omits certain events and removes narration entirely. Because of this, the film provides an accurate account of the story but fails to emulate the level of passion that the book contains.
In chapter 14, Heathcliff married Isabella, who is infatuated with him, to gain power over her and get revenge on Edgar. “It was a marvellous effort of perspicacity to discover that I did not love her. I believed, at one time, no lessons could teach her that! And get it is poorly learnt; for this morning she announced, as a piece of appalling intelligence, that I had actually succeeded in making her hate me!”(Brontë 148). After marrying Isabella, Heathcliff makes her hate him. Furthermore, in chapter 13, Isabella writes a letter to Nelly about how poorly Heathcliff treats her. “Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil?” (Brontë 134). Heathcliff treats her so harshly, that she questions if he is truly a human. Later in the letter, Isabella states, “I do hate him- I am wretched- I have been a fool! Beware of uttering one breath of this to anyone at the Grange” (Brontë 143). Isabella regrets marring Heathcliff. Her infatuation with him was replaced with hatred. She asks Nelly to keep the letter to herself, in fear that Heathcliff may find out and hurt her. Later, Isabella ran away, to London, to get away from Heathcliff. Heathcliff marries Isabella to hurt Catherine the same way when she married Edgar. Even though they were married to different people, the two still met with each
First, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights strongly exhibits the feministic idea of the protagonist’s rebellion. Emily Bronte emphasizes Catherine’s rebelling behaviors and the reasons behind this behavior. In Wuthering Heights--the song of rebel, Cai-yun Wu analyzes the rebellions and the influence of Emily Bronte’s personality on this novel. Wu first states, “At the beginning of the 19th century, England was a typical patriarchal society” (3). Emily Bronte chose the 19th century as the setting for Wuthering Heights because this was a time when women were expected to follow the dictates of men. In the novel, Catherine had to rely on her brother, Hindley, for survival and lived under his control. Hindley did not allow Catherine to do anything which as Wu says “... is just the product of the patriarchal society” (3). Hindley was Catherine’s master and she was hurt by this so she would write, “...how little did I dream that Hindley would ever make me cry so!” (20). This led Catherine to rebel against him which according to Wu was “ indeed the ...
...rd Times and Brontë in Wuthering Heights represent their protagonists as struggling to overcome oppression in order to survive as independent females. The struggles faced by the females provide similarities as well as contrasts to their literary counterparts. On one hand you have Louisa, corrupted by her father and never allowed to imagine or be free; and on the other hand you have Catherine, corrupted by her own aspirations and social constraints. Although Catherine does - for a short period of time, achieve some independence, she is destined to retain her traditional role of passive and dependent female; thus inevitably losing in her struggles. In contrast, Louisa faces similar struggles in the fight for the survival of her inquisitive mind; but she ultimately wins her battle against her ‘fact-loving’ father and in doing so, establishes herself as an individual.