The Awakening is a novel written by Kate Chopin that tells the story of Edna Pontellier. The beginning of the novel takes place in Grand Isle, which during the summer is inhabited by upper-class Creole families from New Orleans who want to escape from the heat and relax by the ocean. During one particular summer, Edna meets Robert Lebrun, who every summer shadows a particular women. Throughout the course of the summer both Edna and Robert become inseparable and Edna begins to grow fond of Robert; emotions that Edna have never experienced before even as a married women. These emotions bring a sense of change in Edna. Upon returning to New Orleans, Edna, and her new awakened self, begins to act in an uncharacterized way. She consistently thinks of Robert, who left to Vera Cruz after the summer at Grand Isle, and finds out that she does not love her husband. She also begins to have an affair and then decides to move out of her husband’s house. The novel ends with her deciding to go back to Grand Isle swimming into the ocean until she grows exhausted and ultimately ends her life. …show more content…
This paper is going to attempt to convince the reader that this novel is a naturalist novel and there are many examples in the book that demonstrates such claim. To begin, a naturalist novel is one that “Depicts things as they appear” (Naturalism vs Realism). That being said, a naturalist novel is one that demonstrates “human instinct and passion as well as it is govern by force of heredity and environment” (Keep) The Awakening shows both of these characteristics and it is seen excessively throughout the