ipl-logo

Internal Events In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1233 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Kate chopins the awakening aftermath

Eva Farrell
Mrs. Schroder
AP English Literature and Composition
3 January 2018
Internal Events Throughout The Awakening (1988 Prompt) The Awakening by Kate Chopin contains many internal awakenings the main character, Edna Pontellier, experiences. Edna Pontellier discovers her self-identity and self-empowerment once facing her fear of drowning by swimming in the sea. This one event changed Edna’s character by making her feel free and empowered. These self-awakenings Edna Pontellier experiences adds suspense and excitement to the novella because her new identity is more scandalous and out-of-the-norm for women living in the late 19th century. The internal conflict Chopin creates for Edna Pontellier through her multiple awakenings is what adds to the suspense, excitement, and climax in The Awakening. Chopin adds to the climax of the novella by showing how unhappy …show more content…

Readers only know Edna is having an affair with her husband. Edna grows a strong fondness over a young man named Robert, creating a sense of tension and suspense whenever Mr. Pontellier is brought up in the novella. Alcée Arobin is another man Edna grows a liking for later on in the novella while Robert is in Mexico and Mr. Pontellier in New York on a business trip. Edna and Alcée have a flirtatious relationship while Edna’s crush and husband are away, causing excitement to the novella because Edna is stirring up more drama in her life. The sexual awakening Edna experienced caused her desires for lust and love to heighten. Her relationship with her husband has become less passionate over the years, and Edna realizes how unhappy her marriage to Mr. Pontellier has become. The strain between Edna and her husband adds to the climax because it stems the multiple awakenings she experiences. The freedom and empowerment awakenings made Edna realize how she has control over her own life and can do whatever her heart

Show More
Related

Edna Pontellier's Awakening Character Analysis

906 Words | 4 Pages

Lisa Cifuentes 5th Pd. AP English IV Mrs. Zimmerman 4 December 2015 Edna Pontellier’s Awakening In “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, the title holds great significance, symbolically describing the transformation that Edna Pontellier undergoes as she realizes that the conventions of her society have been constraining her from becoming her true, independent self. Edna’s awareness of her duality of self, her private emotional life, and the loneliness that accompanies her newfound freedom are all clear evidence that she truly becomes enlightened and revived by the end of the novel. The inability of the other characters in this novel to hinder Edna’s transformation is a reflection of society’s complete powerlessness against the inner flame of emotion

Read More

How Is The Awakening Related To Edna's Declaration Of Independence

297 Words | 2 Pages

Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, is a story about a protagonist named Edna Pontellier. Throughout the novel, Edna is striving for some form of independence. However, she had no way to obtain it as she felt trapped by her marriage. Eventually, Edna was finally “awakened” and started to act on her discovery of her true-self. This true-self was one that did not live vicariously through her kids or her husband.

Read More

Men In The Great Awakening

947 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin's The Great Awakening explains how Edna Pontellier, an everyday woman of the nineteenth century, opens up and explores herself. A majority of the important characters in her story are the men in Edna's life. Men like Leonce, Robert, and Alcee all are key pieces to her awakening. They all influence Edna in their own ways. Leonce Pontellier is a controlling husband and an all around materialistic man.

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Heroic Individualism In 'The Awakening'

794 Words | 4 Pages

Albert D. Saba Mr. Amoroso AP Literature Period: 3AP Topic: 1 LAP The Awakening A novel by Kate Chopin Will the chains and the unspoken pain unshackle through one’s heroic individualism? In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier becomes a heroic figure to herself as well as for women through the search of her self-identity.

Read More

Outward Conformity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

825 Words | 4 Pages

It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

Read More

The Role Of Happiness In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

548 Words | 3 Pages

In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna seeks peace and happiness through finding where she fits among other characters and by avoiding the negative effects that people have on her by isolating herself. Edna Pontellier, a young mother in New Orleans is married to a very successful proud man, Mr. Pontellier and together they have 2 sons. As a family they go on vacations to Grand Isle, where Edna meets Robert a secret love interest, and begins to learn that her unhappiness is rooted in her responsibilities as a mother and wife. Throughout the novel, Chopin uses Edna’s reliance on other characters, such as Mr. Pontellier, and their reliance on her, to regulate her happiness. Change occurs when Edna realizes that her happiness will only come when she is separate from society, but she eventually understands that she cannot do this in the life she is living and chooses to simply stop living it.

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Suicide In The Awakening

830 Words | 4 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s novel “The Awakening,” Edna Pontellier’s suicide is a complex and piteous act that serves as a final awakening for her character. Throughout the novel, Edna is on a journey toward self-discovery and liberation. She struggles with societal expectations, the limitations of being a woman, as well as her own desires for freedom that evolve from the introduction of her character to her eventual suicide. Edna Pontellier’s suicide was her way of putting herself and what she desired over that of the environment around her. She chooses to assert her independence and autonomy through her final act of self-discovery.

Read More

Edna's Roles In The Awakening

1386 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

Moment Of Awareness In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1210 Words | 5 Pages

No multitude of words could have been more significant than these moments of silence , or more pregnant with the first felt throbbing of desire” (Pg. 30) the sexual impulses that had once died down first became awakened at this point of the novel. Edna Pontellier resurrected the optimistic view of lovemaking once more, but is usually never cognizant of the actions she commits. Ednas sexual awakening is split into two parts, emotionally and physically. Edna Pontelliers emotional sexual awakening is brought to life by the hands of Robert. When Robert leaves her the first time, she is upset, unable to believe he left so abruptly, and without saying goodbye.

Read More

Symbolism In The Awakening By Kate Chopin

1773 Words | 8 Pages

This is significant because the sea is where Edna first began to “awaken,” representing the freedom she longed for, and it is ultimately where Edna chooses to die. Moreover, irony plays a critical role in The Awakening. In chapter one, Mr.Pontellier tells Edna to send Robert “about his business”(3) when he bores her. This is ironic because Mr.Pontellier is the one who bores her, not Robert, and the thought never even occurs to him that he could be the one that bores Edna. This gives the audience a glimpse into how oblivious Mr.Pontellier really is toward his wife's thoughts and feelings.

Read More

The Role Of Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

425 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Edna Pontellier Character Development

811 Words | 4 Pages

The Development of Self Kate Chopin's The Awakening delves into the idea of the self through the development of the character Edna Pontellier during a period of enlightenment. Mrs. Pontellier struggles to maintain interest in domestic duties and maintaining relationships in society as the wife of a prominent businessman. On a summer trip to the Grande Isle, a metamorphosis begins to occur as Mrs. Pontellier is confronted with the notion to delve deeper into her individuality and purpose. The unorthodox thought and actions which proceed this inclination create unrest in her familial relationships and environment as she continues to search and find her true identity. The change and growth in the mentality of Mrs. Pontellier contrasts with the

Read More

Oppression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1315 Words | 6 Pages

Edna Pontellier was only seen as a “valuable piece of property which [had] suffered some damaged” to her husband Mr. Pontellier (BOOK). One can also see that “The Awakening” also focused on the sexual desires of women, identity, and self-discovery Edna, a character in “The Awakening” experienced her awakening by discovering her identity in her own self. “The Awakening” attempts to tell the story a woman who wants to find herself while lusting. Later, at the end of the story, one discovers that since Edna Pontellier could not fully find her peace, and freedom she ultimately decides to commit suicide. Through this “The Awakening” shows that although women were oppressed, they also had empowerment.

Read More

Character Analysis: The Awakening By Kate Chopin

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.

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Attitudes Toward Motherhood In The Awakening

1044 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Internal Events In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Related Topics

Open Document