Culture In Kate Chopin's In The Awakening

In “Culture” by Stephen Greenblatt, it explains that culture is the “beliefs and practices that from a given culture function as a persuasive technology of control, a set of limits… to which individuals must conform.” Greenblatt’s idea of culture is explaining that in some cases in books there is cultural constraints, which is all based upon their society and how the role of men and women are expected to be and it is most times, although not all, passed from generation to generations. Some works of art go on to “ batter against the boundaries of their own culture to record the voice of the displaced and oppressed.” In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier doesn’t fit into Greenblatt’s definition of Culture, but the

For example, Adele Ratignolle, she is your typical mother in that time period, she cares and loves her kids and her husband. She says that she would do anything for them, even if it meant giving herself, Edna disagreed with Adele which led into an argument to why you should give yourself up for your kids. Meanwhile, compared to Edna, she does not feel like that in anyway for her kids. This conversation between them happened when Edna went to go and visit her, “Edna had once told Madame Ratignolle that she would never sacrifice herself for her children or anyone… ‘I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself.’” (Chopin, 47). Here readers see that she is not your typical mother, she isn’t like the other mother-women in her society, which would give their life for their children. Edna longs to live by herself, but, of course her husband doesn’t want her to because she has to stay home to watch and care for her kids. Leonce, obviously is frustrated by the fact that she moves out and that she does not “worship” her husband as the other mother-women in the town do. Leonce sends Edna to the doctor because she was “acting abnormal” and he thought she was sick, because she doesn’t blandish him or pay much attention to him, and he thought that a visit to

Readers come to see Edna’s mental awakening which was basically her realizing she doesn’t have to act or be the way society wants her to be. The very title of the book is called The Awakening because the protagonist, in this case, Edna awakens mentally and realizes she doesn’t have to be or act like the rest of the women and men are expected to be Edna Pontellier herself does not fall into Greenblatt’s definition of culture because she tries to not to do or be like the other women in her society. In Greenblatt’s words, “A repertoire of models to which individuals must conform,” this is not at all like Edna because she doesn’t conform to these ‘cultural boundaries’ she wants to be free to be able to do what she