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She was “no longer [...] content to “feed upon opinion” when her own soul had invited her” (Chopin 103), summoning her to experience the rich and complex world that inhabited her being. However, as Edna’s ability for self-expression grows, the amount of people who can truly empathize with her gets increasingly smaller. The fact that solitude becomes a direct result of Edna’s independence is clear evidence of her awakening. Since the societal expectations of the late 1800s gave Victorian women very limited opportunities for individual expression, they preventing them from tending to their own wants and needs. For this reason, as Edna acknowledges her desire for freedom and verbalizes her emotions, she is met with disappointing resistance from the world surrounding her.
In the book the Awakening, the protagonist Edna Pontellier surrendered in the most serious ways, death. From the beginning to the end Edna changed how she acted. When her true character came to the surface Edna decided to surrender. When Edna surrenders and kills herself I believe that it was an act of triumph and that it was her way of finally being free.
Rather than finding a way out of the problems that she had encountered. She chooses to give in to her bruised self, ultimately giving up and ending her life. This reveals Edna’s weak individuality, self, because she lets go and did not have enough strength and determination to find a solution. The statement of a “bruised, exhausted, and sad spectacle” pertains to Edna because she chose the easy and cowardly way out, rather than being a
The pressures of breaking the gender role barrier are too difficult for Edna Pontellier to handle in The Awakening. By setting the book in the Victorian Era, Chopin displays the obvious struggle between what the expectation is versus the desire to be an individual. Edna’s cold demeanor towards conformity involved in being a motherly woman is shown through the characterization of her close friend Adele Ratignolle. Edna desired to be her own person without a dominant presence lingering overhead to judge and correct her every move in life. This is the opposite of the gender role placed upon Victorian women to be submissive and to avoid conflict with their husbands.
Women during Edna’s time were supposed to be dedicated to their husbands and children, however, Edna yearned for her own independence, and as a result of wanting her own independence Edna knew that she was seen as a terrible person. For instance Edna wanted to “…try to determine what character of a woman I am; for, candidly, I don't know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can't convince myself that I am. I must think about it" (27.4).
As we learn more about Edna's inner conflicts, we realize that perhaps there is no other solution for her, but death. The reason for this is simple ‘’life no longer fits her’’. She has experienced the emotions that she has always been curious about, yet, the emptiness thatshe is feeling in her life has carved a hole so deep that nothing can really save it or her. Edna was severly depressed and she wanted help but she didn’t know where to start and we realize that there is no solution for her anymore.
Some of Edna’s most obvious decisions immediately question her weakness to handle pressure. Edna’s inability to show compassion and care for her children challenge this normalcy for a mother of the time period; Edna considered her children “like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul's slavery for the rest of her days” (Chopin 115). The children almost seemed like a burden, or a detriment to her. Edna’s doctor visit nearly foreshadows this mindset, where the doctor notes that
She holds an intense anger for the children and is convinced that they were keeping her in bondage and wasting her life. When a mother feels as though she is slaves to her husband and children, it is impossible for her to fell happy. However, Edna faces no harsh work, her husband is a wealthy man and buys her nice things, and she lives, and while her life is not one without any problems, it does not have any significant obstacles. This look into Edna's lifestyle asks the questions, How could Edna be unhappy with such a
In Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.
McKenna Martin Mrs. Schroder AP Literature 3 January 2018 The Awakening Outside Essay - 1999 Prompt The Awakening showcases Edna Pontellier, a housewife residing in New Orleans, Louisiana during the early 1900s. Edna Pontellier is married to Leonce Pontellier and they have two sons together. Edna is consumed in internal conflicts throughout the entire novel.
Edna is struggling to choose a identity between a mother, wife, lover etc. She seems to not want to be subject as the possession of anybody. She focuses on independence even denying Robert of her love towards him which if she chose to stay with him, she would be associated with him and therefore labeled. She looks up to Madame Reisz as an independent woman, pursuing her passions and doing as she pleases. "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn 't give
Edna was not only portrayed as lacking in motherly skills, but also in her marital relationship. She flirted with other men, shirking her “responsibilities” at home to go out and do what she wanted to do, eventually committing adultery. This attitude would be immoral during the setting, because Edna seemed to be neglecting her “womanly duties,” as well as cheating on her husband.
In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.
At the beginning of the novel, Edna had appeared to be recognizing the fact that her life revolves around her husband and her children, and that it is her main duty to care for them. It is mainly Mr. Pontellier, her husband, who tries to establish an image of her being a both a perfect partner and wife. He views her as an object that must be suitable for the eyes of society. According to him, his wife is a “valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 2). He is controlling over her appearance and actions.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” shows a controversial protagonist, Edna Pontellier. The character in the novel showed different expectations for women and their supposed roles. One literary critic, Megan Kaplon showed how this novel can be viewed as a struggle of the world or society around her. Edna in the story is trying to find freedom and individuality Kaplon mentions that “one of her most shocking actions was her denial of her role as a mother and wife.”
