Dissociation Of Women In The Awakening

Society’s Ability to Cause Dissociation in Women as Portrayed in The Awakening

Kate Chopin is known as a feminist; she incorporates strong women in her works which test the restrictions society has placed on them. Although her works were primarily written during the Victorian era, which was a very conservative time period, Kate Chopin incorporated many topics society thought were trivial, such as women’s rights and mental health, in her works. Her works are reflective of the time period in which they were written such as the way women were treated and acted. Kate Chopin illustrates in her works, The Awakening and “The Story of an Hour,” that society’s gender expectations in the Victorian era has caused women to suffer from dissociation.

Dissociations

According to the article “Women as ‘the sex,’” supported by Pace University, “after a woman is married, her rights, her property, and even her identity almost ceased to exist.” This is because women were meant to give up their lives to please their husbands. They lose parts of themselves which in turn leads to the developing mental illnesses such as depersonalization, where they feel they have no control in their lives. This is seen is The Awakening with Mrs. Ratignolle, who is seen as the epitome of housewives. The narrator describes a perfect woman who is centered around her children and husband, and then links Mrs. Ratignolle to this perfect woman. A truly family centered woman was rare because many women had no other option, but to marry in order to live a stable life. Kate Chopin uses the women in her works to portray this sense of helplessness for women especially those suffering from mental illnesses because of society’s pressure. She uses Edna and Louise who are both very unhappy with their marriages to reflect these women. There are multiple instances in the works in which these ladies describe a sense of lack of control in their lives. Edna is unhappily married, but wants to be an independent woman who works for herself and owns her own home. Louise also becomes ecstatic with the death of her husband because she can finally focus on herself and not cater to her husband. These women wish to be independent and in

Prerost, author of “Dissociative Disorder” alludes to the fact that a person with depersonalization may have moments of clarity in which they feel as if they have gained control over their body. This allows them to have the ability to fully participate in the world, but the afflicted tend to relapse since depersonalization never fully goes away (Prerost). Edna has her moment of clarity when she goes swimming after the party with her friends. She finally has succeeded in learning to swim which helps trigger something in her mind that allows her to regain control over her body. She says, “some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. (The Awakening Chopin, 37). This surge of emotions comes from her regaining of consciousness. This new found control allows Edna to explore who she really is by trying to pursue her painting career. As she begins to discover herself, Edna starts to push pass the normal expectation for women. Edna buys her own home and plans on leaving her husband. Although she had some success, this was very rare for women in the Victorian era because they were restricted by law from getting jobs as seen in the studies back by Pace University (Women as the Sex). She understands that she is losing her social status with others, but she does not mind. However, many women in the Victorian era were not privileged or daring enough to lose the status because of a job. They could only do jobs which were seen