Fighting for Freedom
Martin Luther King Jr.is an activist for African American rights. He inspires many through his peaceful protests and his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. Similarly, Edna Pontellier is an activist and inspires women through literature like Martin Luther King Jr. empowers African Americans. In Kate Chopin’s novella, The Awakening set in the Victorian Era and published in 1899, Edna is an advocate for women’s rights. Chopin first portrays Madame Pontellier through her want for individuality by making her own choices. Edna then decides to show her idea of a strong woman by going against her domestic chores and perusing art. Lastly, Edna is portrayed as a woman who wants equality through her choices to express her sexual desires. One of Kate Chopin’s characters, Edna is portrayed as a feminist throughout the story.
All through the story, Chopin presents Edna as an aspiring independent Victorian woman who goes against this eras concept of a wife, mother, and woman. Edna begins with separating herself from the community in Grand Isle. She is “not thoroughly at home in the society of
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To start, Chopin presents Edna as a woman aspiring for independence. When she stays out on the hammock she is standing up for herself because she wants to be her own woman. Edna then, is presented as a woman who does not complete her domestic duties, but instead decides to become an artist. While Edna is becoming more confident because of Mademoiselle’s impact she is able to become an artist and take control of her life. Edna’s final portrayal is through her choices to follow through with her sexual desires. Her decisions to touch Arobin signifies letting go of her old life and entering her new life where she does not listen to men to make decisions for her. All in all, Chopin’s portrayal of Edna as a feminist throughout her story is why the book was almost banned when it first came