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Theme Of Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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Social paradigms are a societal construct. Survival does not depend on our ability to conform. In the Victorian era, conformity was valued above all else, especially concerning gender roles. Women were seen as objects of marriage and motherhood, nothing more. However, literary critic Katherine Thompson in an essay describes the Victorian era as the “essential beginnings of gender equity changes” (Thompson). Despite Victorian society’s rejection of any sort of feminist progressive mindset, the decades preceding allowed for these ideas to take root in the women’s suffrage movement. Kate Chopin in her novel The Awakening, explores the concept of feminist individualism and fulfillment through the characterization of the protagonist Edna. Edna throughout the novel defies gender roles and develops into a strong independent woman. Yet at the conclusion of the novel, she commits suicide. Critics for decades have tried to comprehend Chopin 's intention of this conclusion. After a …show more content…

Readers who suggest a failure on Chopin’s part are only looking at one part of Edna’s awakening. They are looking at Edna’s feminist fulfillment. As a woman, she was able to break the boundaries of conformity, which was a huge part of the overarching message of the novel. However, Edna did not exclusively discover ability to defy gender roles, she discovered her ability to determine her fate through agency. She promised to never again “belong to another than herself” (Chopin), and this is exactly what her suicide represented. Her suicide symbolised her complete authority she had over herself. Every decision she made once she was awakened was rash and defiant. Living peacefully independently would not seem fitting. Thus Chopin was able to portray a message that not only defended a woman’s right to individualism, but was able to explore the reality of mortality and the power human’s possess over natural

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Syeda Ahmed prompt 5 The Awakening AP LIT Mr. Amoroso A modern woman emerging and developing ahead of her time, dealing with the challenges of gaining independence in a time period where woman weren’t human. This is Edna Pontellier’s conflict told in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. Late in her already establish life Edna a wife and mother of two discovers herself to realize she goes against society’s ideals as a woman.

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Edna fully understands that society would brand her as a terrible woman, but she does not view herself as a bad person. There is an external and internal difference that Edna hopes to one day reconcile. Chopin, instead of creating tension within Edna, created tension within the society and Edna with her newfound independence does not mind how society classifies her. Decisively, it can be concluded that the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning builds the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period.

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Edna’s characterization throughout The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, describes Edna as someone with burning passion who desires to improve not only her life, but the lives of future generations. However Edna’s actions make her often seem weak to the oppressive people around her; sometimes, and in this case unfortunately, good ideas and beliefs are stopped cold by one’s surrounding influences. Edna’s feminist attitude, though formidable, is no match for the individuals who accept the current society’s customs. I find Edna to be a weak person from a general standpoint. However the story masks this obviousness fact by illustrating some of Edna’s questionable actions.

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The ending of Kate Chopin's novel “The Awakening” has been long debated over whether or not the main character Edna commits suicide in the end. Many critics and readers argue that her death, in the end, was not intentional and rather the consequence of her actions. Others believe that she never actually died in the end and the book ends before she swims back to shore. Contrary to these ideas, I think that Edna's suicide was intentional as she had planned it right after she found Robert's notes saying he was leaving. She planned the suicide that night not specifically wanting to die but feeling as if she had no other choice and death was her last hope at an “awakening”.

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Edna Pontellier, the main character in Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, is portrayed as an incredibly independent woman and one who tends to reject almost all traditional societal norms, and instead chooses to fight her way towards emancipation from her husband, a foreign concept during the time period in which this novel was written in. Edna’s struggles to gain this independence so strives so strongly for, and in doing so she manages to separate herself from her husband, and reunite with a lover, Robert, from her past that she had forsaken when she married. All these events that work to emancipate Edna from her former life and get her the freedom she craves, ultimately leads her to her unpredicted suicide. While the motives of her suicide seems to be confusing, when looking into this issue more indepthly, Edna’s motives for killing herself can be more easily understood.

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The Awakening is a novel written by Kate Chopin that follows a woman named Edna Pontellier on her journey to self-awareness. Edna lived a comfortable lifestyle with her husband and two children in Louisiana during the 19th century. Despite obtaining all aspects to a perfect life, Edna became dissatisfied after meeting Robert Lebrun in Grand Isle. Robert sparked a desire for unlawful lust as well as a yearning for independence in a society full of conformed standards. Edna was unable to handle the pressures associated with achieving personal freedom which ultimately led to her death.

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Chopin’s focuses were to show through these objects and literary symbols, the social injustices that women were going through. “The Awakening” begins with a parrot in a cage, which is supposed to be a representation of women of that time period. Just like parrots, women were annoying and were only displayed for their beauty. Moreover, women were trapped in cages which caused them to not be free. Since women were not free they remained trapped and imposed to the roles that society had labeled and stereotyped them to be.

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In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.

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Chopin’s novel and short story provides awareness of the lack of independence and individuality that women are granted in that era. Chopin’s voices how Louise and Enda becomes accustom to living according to what the man of the house desires. “Then would be no power will bending hers in that blind persistence” (The Story of An hour). With Louise husband being gone, he would no longer interfere with her actions or even overrule what she has to say. Louise would be completely free from his authority.

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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was written at the end of the nineteenth century, where many roles for women began to change; therefore, the it appears to have been a turning point for females (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). These changes in female roles were mostly due to the actions of women themselves, motivated by their desires to break away from the limits imposed on their gender The nineteenth century was a critical point in time for women, in regards to their roles in society (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). In The Awakening, Edna goes through noteworthy changes in the course of the novel, which reconstructs her into a woman who goes against societal ideals regarding motherhood and marriage . In the 1890s, motherhood was viewed

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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.”

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Chopin empowers female sexuality by showing an woman who expresses sexual desire and lacks guilt and a legitimate excuse for the society, like men have been

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784 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a piece of fiction written in the nineteenth century. The protagonist Edna is a controversial character, Edna rebels against many nineteenth - century traditions, but her close friend Adele was a perfect example in terms of a role of a woman, mother and wife at that time. Chopin uses contrast characters to highlight the difference between Adele and Edna. Although they are both married women in the nineteenth century, they also exhibit many different views about what a mother role should be.

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A woman with an independent nature can be described as rebellious, passionate, and courageous. In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a female who epitomizes the qualities of a woman with such an independent nature. Living in a “patriarchal society” that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers, Edna attempts to seek out her true identity as it becomes apparent how unsettled she feels about her life. Throughout The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, dissatisfied with her duties as a mother and wife, decides to pursue her own interests and express her true identity, resulting in an awakening and her finding the courage to make the changes she deems as necessary. Edna Pontellier had two young boys, Etienne and Raoul, who were ages four and five, respectively.

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The Awakening; a Woman's Fight Women’s rights have drastically improved since the 1800’s. The model of patriarchy was widely accepted as a social norm in America and many other countries until the early to mid 1900’s. Today women are still fighting the belittlement that the patriarchal model deemed acceptable. The character of the rebellious strong women is still one today that many women look up to; especially women in very oppressive middle east countries. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Chopin strives to argue social emancipation for women

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