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The Awakening Summary

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Title: The Awakening Author: Kate Chopin Setting: Grand Isle and New Orleans in the early 19th century Genre: Tragedy Historical context: The Awakening takes place when women were seen as a man’s possession. Mr. Pontellier looks at Edna as a possession. Women were expected to stay devoted to their husband and children and remain a stereotypical housewife whose main job is to clean, cook and care for the children. (Adele) Edna rivals against these standards as she challenges society 's expectations of women during the early 19th century. Plot Summary: Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier are on their summer vacation at Grand Isle. There, Edna has an affair with Robert which starts her awakening. From then on, she goes into a rebirth and takes actions in …show more content…

Edna is struggling to choose a identity between a mother, wife, lover etc. She seems to not want to be subject as the possession of anybody. She focuses on independence even denying Robert of her love towards him which if she chose to stay with him, she would be associated with him and therefore labeled. She looks up to Madame Reisz as an independent woman, pursuing her passions and doing as she pleases. "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn 't give …show more content…

We can tell that they are expensive since Robert choses to smoke cigarettes because of the price and when Mr. Pontellier presented him with a cigar, he saved it and chose to smoke a cigarette. The dominant male seems to smoke cigars as Mr. Pontellier repeatedly sits back and smokes a cigar in the book. Woman were not allowed to smoke cigars which also shows how the cigar was a representation of power and dominance. Both Robert and LEonce are shown smoking cigars and in the end both care more about reputation than their love for Edna. Bird: symbolize freedom and independence in the novel, the awakening. Birds are able to roam free and do as they please rather than being subjected to society 's standards and help down rather than flying. The bird with a broken wing flying above before Enda swam into the ocean and drowned represented her current state. She could not continue to fight even though she remain strong in the beginning. The caged parrot in the beginning of the novel represented how women were caged by society during those times and were removed if they caused some sort of recuse.

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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening takes places in the social world of New Orleans, in the 19th century, were the notion of motherhood and femininity was controlled and enforced fiercely. Women could not own property, vote or work. The only use society had for them was to stay at home and take care of their husbands and children. Motherhood is displayed through three characters in the novel: Adele Ratignolle who is the symbol of The Angel in the House or the mother woman, Mademoiselle Reisz who although physically old represents the new woman, and Edna Pontellier who is stuck in between motherhood and her thirst for independence. There is an interesting dichotomy between Edna Pontellier, the woman who feels deprived and repressed and Adele Ratignolle

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First and foremost Edna desires to be independent; she wants to be able to lead her own life, make her own choices. The way that the Creole society is built would not let her do that; she is expects to be an obedient wife for her husband and to take care of the family and home. The men in this society dominate; they are the leaders and workers. She is forced to be this mother-woman which she does not want to be. She wants to have the rights and status of a man in this society, but she cannot do that because it would bring shame to the rest of her family.

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When Edna is going to the beach with Madame Ratignolle, she starts getting lost in her thoughts about the time she “was running away from prayers” and how she was a “little unthinking child in those days” (20). The fact that Edna was thinking about her past, gives the story a sense of suspense because she is thinking about the time when she was free to do anything and she had no

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During her vacation she becomes freer, more individualistic, and finds her true self. As she gets to know more about Robert, she develops feelings for him and goes through an internal conflict of whether if she wants to be with her husband or Robert. When she chooses Robert, he leaves for a business trip. Edna gets depressed and grew as an individual and away from society’s expectations.

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Published at the turn of the century in 1899, women had limited writes and privileges in the traditional, patriarchal society, leaving many feeling limited in personal pursuits. A woman’s place was in the home and there would be no arguing about that. The story takes place in Louisiana where the families depicted were financially well to do, especially those on the scenes set on Grand Isle. Women in The Awakening seemed to truly embrace their roles of wives and mothers, finding these responsibilities to be fulfilling, even exciting. Edna was the quintessence of domestic achievement for a woman in the late 1800s, yet despite her advantages she became dissatisfied with her role as wife and mother.

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After spending time with some of the residents, Edna realizes “a characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery.” While on the island, Edna witnesses a freedom of expression she had never experienced before. The intimate relationships Enda develops on the island, for instance her friendships with Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, help her come to many personal realizations that spark change within her. The relaxed atmosphere of Grand Isle fosters Edna’s awakening and offers her lots of leisure time to reflect on her life. This directly contrasts with the hectic domestic life that Edna and Leonce have back at their home on Esplanade Street in New Orleans. This house and lifestyle perfectly fits society’s expectations for what married life should be like.

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The novella The Awakening tells the story of a women, Edna, realizing her independence as a women. Over the course of a summer on La Grande Isla during the late 1800s, Edna falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Robert is responsible for her awakening but he suddenly leaves to Mexico. This bothers Edna and she finds someone else, besides her husband Leonce, to continue her independence needs.

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Edna constantly struggles to realize her true desires and to understand her inner emotions and personal preferences. Part of her is always trying to establish a new outer persona while also trying to determine what she wants on the inside. She has an inner conflict between loving her family and showing compassion for them, or facing her honest yearning for a different lifestyle, breaking away from the expectations and standards of society. In the end, this internal argument causes her to fully realize that in her time period, what she truly wants is unattainable, especially after dealing with rejection from Robert and disappointment in her marriage. Overall, Mrs. Pontellier is trying to be herself in a world where a pre-existing set of rules already determine who she

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Yet, she is dragged back into the roles society places on her. Her relationship with Robert comes to a bitter ending, as Robert ultimately wants marriage. Edna is “no longer one of Mr. Pontellier’s possessions to dispose of or not. [She] give[‘s] [herself] where [she] choose[s]. If he were to say, ‘Here, Robert, take her and be happy, she is yours,’ [she] should laugh at you both.”

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In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, we follow the journey of Edna Pontellier, a woman who struggles to find peace. The upper-middle-class wife to Leonce Pontellier and mother of two children face many challenges on her journey of self-discovery. She has two affairs, yet she can’t seem to find what brings her true happiness. She searches for a role model to help her figure out what to do. In The Awakening, the women Enda Pontellier interacts with are representations of how she is conflicted between following social norms and being free.

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The Awakening by Kate Chopin Setting: Switches between the island of Grand Isle, off of the coast of Louisiana, and New Orleans (late 19th century) Genre: Literary fiction, realism, romance, novella Historical Information: Kate Chopin spoke French and English, both of which appear in the novel Chopin developed a passion for music at a young age The Awakening was a very controversial novel due to its subject matter Readers called it “morbid, vulgar, and disagreeable” Chopin had strong opinions on gender roles and was skeptical of religion Themes: Identity- Throughout the majority of this text, Edna is on a search to find her true identity.

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1. Introduction Published in 1899, The Awakening caused a lot of controversy and attracted strong criticism for its uncharacteristic representation of women, marriage, and society. The novel depicts the pursuit for self-identity and individualism of its protagonist Edna Pontellier in the conservative and socially restricted world of Victorian America. Edna is a woman who wants to pursue her passion for art and freedom, but cannot do so while being the obedient wife and doting mother society expects her to be. Her role as a leisure-class woman clashes strongly with her desire to be free and fulfilled.

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If he were to say, ‘Here, Robert, take her and be happy; she is yours,’ I should laugh at the both of you” (108). Throughout the story Edna’s feelings for Robert grow stronger and deeper, so that by the end of the novel she simply longs to be with him. Yet parallel to that growth Edna has discovered her self and developed her own identity. The idea of a transfer of ownership of her person from one man to another is abhorrent to her, so much so that it would cause her to abandon her dream of being with Robert. Though she wants that very much, she is unwilling to lose her own identity in the process as she did when she was with Mr. Pontellier.

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The movie Awakenings who was directed by Penny Marshal and lead by the actors Robert Denero and William Roberts, Robert Denero as Leonard Lowe and William Robert as Dr. Melcom Seyer. The book Awakenings the author is Oliver Sacks. The movie is about the doctor who applied in a hospital where he was assign in a ward full of catatonic patient. This paper will be presenting the curiosity of Dr. Seyer in order to find the cure of catatonic. The doctors in the movie where not dedicated to their work as much as Dr. Seyer.

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There are few stories of Chopins which do not foreground language. Language makes the main body of a text. When used correctly it can be manipulated to present certain themes. Throughout the novel, ‘The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin, the language used in the text conveys the struggles of the main character to find her own identity. The way Chopin uses dialogue, a secret language and the narrator’s descriptions relate to the theme of identity, and often places it subtly at the centre of the reader’s consciousness.

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