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How Does Edna Pontellier Build Social Boundaries In The Awakening

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Terrell P. McIntyre Jr. Dr. Rose Gubele American Lit 9:50-10:40 T, Th 16 March 2017 Breaking Social Boundaries: A Journey of Self-Discovery Throughout the 1800s, gender roles were very strict and rarely questioned. Along with holding their families and homes as their highest priorities, women were also expected to be submissive to their husbands and continuously look presentable. It was quite strange for women to step outside of the harsh boundaries that were deemed as socially acceptable for them. Throughout Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening,” Edna Pontellier pushes against the perimeters set for her as a woman and works to establish herself as an individual rather than a cog in a social machine. In the short story, Chopin employs Léonce Pontellier, …show more content…

Pontellier in discovering herself is Adele Ratignolle. Throughout the story, Chopin contrasts these two women fiercely. Adele is a very matronly woman who is intent on, and happy with, caring for her three children and conceding to her husband, and Edna clearly is not. Even their bodies are compared to highlight the differences between the types of women that they are. For instance, Mrs. Ratignolle is described as having dainty, “exquisite” hands while Mrs. Pontellier’s are pictured as being “strong” and “shapely” (page 5, 20). This is evidence that Edna can work for what she wants and Mrs. Ratignolle will be content with where she is at in life. Edna is also seen as “rather handsome than beautiful,” while Mrs. Ratignolle’s beauty was all there” (page 7, 19). Adele Ratignolle is a prime example of a proper woman from this time period and it benefits in showing how special, different, and free-thinking Edna is. It seems that Edna is covetous of Adele Ratignolle and her husband’s relationship; however, the younger wife knows that she wants more to her life than just taking care of a family. These comparisons show how different Mrs. Pontellier is from the regular, household keeping, rule-abiding women of the time. Adele Ratignolle is used as a great tool to help Mrs. Pontellier realize that she wants to be considered, and recognized, as her own, free, individual, and not simply a “mother-woman” (page

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