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Edna Pontellier In The Awakening

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Edna has “the best husband in the world,” to which she was “forced to admit that she knew of none better” (Chopin III). Edna has to choose between staying in her unhappy marriage with her husband for her children which she has grown accustomed to his absence over prolonged periods or leave him for her true love Robert and forget about her family because she can not have both. The physical journey of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is one of lasciviousness, self-determination to become independent, and one of tragedy that develops from the first display of oppression in beginning of the novel until the last gasp of freedom at the very end of the novel to captivate the reader in this world where women are socially exploited.
The journey of physically leaving her husband for another man which was incredibly frowned upon by society in that time period and even in society today. Leaving the comfort of her husband which she has grown too accustomed was easy because she found the right, but wrong person to fall in love with. At first she did not want to admit her feelings, but as time when by the novel began to develop her character enough for her to have an affair while still living in her husband's house. She began having thoughts about her desire for Robert, but with Robert’s …show more content…

This was Edna’s first display of true independence because she moved into her own place without the help of her husband. Her husband covered this up by saying that there are “remodeling... his home” (Chopin XXXII). What is the most astonishing is that while Edna was breaking through society’s view of a women Mr. Pontellier never once stop to think that she was leaving him slowly because he thought he has a grasp on her. Edna admired his ability to cover up this situation, but she did not care because she knew that she was independent from that moment

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Edna arrives to meet Madame Ratignolle sorting laundry clothes that Chopin calls “her occupation” (Chopin 55). After leaving the Ratignolle home, she is disenchanted with “The little glimpse of domestic harmony which had been offered her” (Chopin 56). Edna pities Madame Ratignolle because she feels that she will never to do all that she wants to do because

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“She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world” (Chopin, p. 57). A novel written by Kate Chopin, The Awakening shares the story of Edna Pontellier’s journey of self-discovery. Readers of the day were shocked by the content of the novel. Published in 1899, Kate Chopin’s controversial novel portrays a woman liberating herself from society’s expectations for a lady. Edna changes from a bored, obedient wife in the beginning of The Awakening to a liberated woman who can freely express her feelings.

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I grew up hearing the saying that a little girl could have an old soul, or that someone is well beyond their years. These sayings are popular to societies, because they try to explain why certain individuals differentiate from the acceptable norms in ways that may be more complicated than just personality traits. In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is no exception. Her society’s expectations differ from who she is and how she is willing to act so that she would fit in. Chapter one of The Awakening begins the story with several examples of how Edna does not fit in with her society.

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The Awakening took place in the year 1899 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The protagonist of this novel was Mrs. Edna Pontellier, a married woman of twenty-six who was trapped in an unhappy marriage. Due to the expectations of this time, it would have been impossible for Edna to divorce her husband and be fully independent, so instead she was forced to be the model housewife who didn't even know that she should desire freedom; however, as the novel progressed, Edna realized her love for her closest companion, Robert Lebrun, while he was away in Mexico. Edna's love grew in his absence, and as this love helped her dismiss the confines of her marriage, her feeling of independence was kindled, which resulted in her moving into a separate house from

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The Awakening Essay Edna Pontellier in The Awakening strives to find her individuality and personal freedom. However, Edna lives in a time when women are expected to live their lives as wives and mothers, not as people with their own volition. When she begins to awaken from her state of submission she finds herself and strays outside the realm of social acceptance in doing so. She does not obey her husband’s will without question, she is not a mother-woman who devotes herself solely to her children. She would rather be wandering the city or painting than taking callers and keeping up the house.

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It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

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These self-awakenings Edna Pontellier experiences adds suspense and excitement to the novella because her new identity is more scandalous and out-of-the-norm for women living in the late 19th century. The internal conflict Chopin creates for Edna Pontellier through her multiple awakenings is what adds to the suspense, excitement, and climax in The Awakening. Chopin adds to the climax of the novella by showing how unhappy

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In The Awakening, the POV still reflects Edna’s desires, but Chopin’s choice to tell her story through a third person perspective limits a personal expression of Mrs. Pontellier’s character. Nevertheless, this point-of-view works to Kate Chopin’s advantage text because it reveals other characters’

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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.

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The rebirth of the unknown outshines wisdom and understanding of the social aspects of life. Through life experiences an individual’s conscience is filed with unanswered questions being chained down to society. The life of a woman during the 1800s has chained down to responsibilities and duties to fulfill. In the novel “Awakening by Kate Chopin ‘protagonist Edna Pontellier is victimized by the rules and aspects of society that seem to overshadow self-identity. Throughout life 'Knowledge comes with understanding'.

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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.

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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.

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These feelings dominated her and changed her to an extent that she no longer wanted to live without pleasing these sensual desires. Kate Chopin expresses the relevance, complexity, and growth of Edna during this time period making her choose between social expectations or her personal

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Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, is the tale of a woman fighting to discover her identity and become the master of herself. Set in southern Louisiana in 1899, The Awakening is the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman of the Victorian era who is torn between settling for her role of wife and mother and being that which she desires most: having to answer to no one but herself. The story revolves around Edna, her husband Leonce who perceives himself to be the owner and caretaker of Edna, and her friend Mademoiselle Reisz who is unburdened by the rules of society, both of whom are instrumental in shaping Edna’s decisions. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the symbolism of winged creatures to illustrate Edna’s metamorphosis from the property of

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This novel, The Awakening, is about a woman named Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an independent human being. Also, Edna Pontellier refuses to obey against the social norms by leaving her husband Leónce Pontellier and having an affair with Robert Lebrun. Kate Chopin describes societal expectations and the battle of fitting the mold of motherhood in the Awakening by how Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle contribute to their family in different ways. Edna Pontellier’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is not a perfect mother-women. Adele Ratignolle’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is a perfect mother-women.

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