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How Does Edna Pontellier Change In The Awakening

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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.
The ocean – a constant symbol in The Awakening – started Edna’s rebirth. When she relaxed on the beach on Grand Isle, the water constantly seduced the main character. Her liberating thoughts originated when Edna first visited the beach with Robert Lebrun, and she began to “realize her position in the universe… and recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (Chopin, 13). Along with Edna’s thoughts, a significant scene was Edna’s first swim in the ocean. While first scared to enter the water, she became empowered and reckless, facing her fear, learning the excitement of swimming. By taking a risk and enjoying the outcome, Edna’s mindset started …show more content…

Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, which were two close friends of Edna, greatly contributed to Edna’s transformation. Edna gained her newfound freedom of expression from Adele and her Creole culture. Adele’s outspokenness and willingness to share affection was a shock to Edna, but time at Grand Isle relaxed the “mantle of reserve that had enveloped her” (Chopin, 14). Adele openly discussed topics that society deems private; thus, Edna found herself opening up and speaking her mind. Quite an opposite character from Adele, Mademoiselle Reisz was responsible for Edna’s emotional awakening through

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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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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 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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In the late 1800s society assigned to women a specific role to play. The role included bearing children, caring for them, and honoring their husbands. People saw women who took jobs outside of the home or who never married as deranged. Kate Chopin highlights the female duties of the time in her novel, The Awakening, through the use of foils Edna and Adele. Adele represents the model of how an ideal women of the 19th century should behave and feel.

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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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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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