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Themes in the awakening by kate choping
Critical Analysis of The Awakening Essay
Themes in the awakening by kate choping
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As a child care worker I know firsthand what it is to take care of a child and how children react to certain situations; whether it is a pleasurable response or an unfavorable response. Many of the negative reactions result in crying or throwing temper tantrums. However, for a child to learn and grow they sometimes challenge authority by acting defiant and out of control. Consequently, the child becomes aware of his or her surroundings and decides how to behave in the world they live in. Likewise, in The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the Nineteenth Century societal norms affected Edna to act stubborn and childish through her defiance and tantrums towards the pressures of womanhood pressed upon by cultural tradition.
When undergoing socially oppressive conditions, many individuals are hesitant to invoke changes in their lifestyle. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening exemplifies how an individual rejects societal restrictions through Edna Pontellier, a nineteenth century woman who is in a passionless marriage with her Creole husband. Being a part of an upper-middle class family, she vacations in Grand Isle, but primarily lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Edna initially submits to the Creole expectations that limit her freedom, but realizes her current status in life is not enough for her and begins to implement changes in her lifestyle. She pursues independence in various ways and defies the typical housewife role she has been playing for her entire life.
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.
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
As people grow old they tend to realize the mistakes they have made in life and try to make up for them. These realizations are mostly internal; however, there could be some external manifestations. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin shows how Edna has a realization that having a family is not what she wanted in life. Chopin is able to create a feeling of suspense and excitement through this event by illustrating Edna’s inner thoughts, including her past, the way she starts to act towards others and demonstrating the steps she takes towards freeing herself up. A reflection of Edna's past is described in the novel in order to represent how she wants to go back to her old self.
“If you love something you must set it free, and if it returns then it was meant to be”. This quote is fewer or more words demonstrates the beauty in releasing something for the greater good, which is exactly what took place in the story “The Awakening”. In the story “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin the author uses symbols and motifs through her main character, Edna, to illuminate her feelings and define her actions. In “The Awakening” the author uses her main character Edna to illuminate independence and coming to her personal realization or “an awakening”, through the use of motifs.
Acceptance, freedom, love, and lust, these conflicts arise in The Awakening by Kate Chopin as Edna Pontellier struggles with her internal conflicts. Chopin uses foils to demonstrate her evolution in the novel. In a time where women are expected to be subordinate, Edna begins to defy the standards and her oppressive husband. Compliance and individualism are exemplified by two polar characters: Adèle Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. These women act as foils and provide references to the reader in understanding Edna’s awakening.
Daily life in the Victorian era held people to many expectations on how they were supposed to live, whom to talk to, and for women, how to take care of the family. This caused some women, who were free-spirited, to rebel against the expectations and etiquette of the time. In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening Edna’s actions break society’s expectation of social norms for women in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era a wife is expected to live happily in the same house as her husband, but Edna decides that she wants to move out and into her own little house.
Edna Pontellier in the novel, The Awakening, is a self-driven woman determined to become independent and free whilst undergoing a significant change in behavior throughout the novel. She attempts to withstand societal expectations by doing certain things that were not socially acceptable during this time period. While doing so, she experiences many different struggles during her awakening. These struggles that Edna undergoes may be described as internal as well as external. In the awakening, there is a constant conflict between inner and outer Edna.
Rebollo Page 1 Throughout history there have been time periods in which people were not treated fairly but does that necessarily have to have an effect on how you carry yourself? In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the main character faces oppression during the 1890s because of the fact that she is a woman. Being a woman during this time was hard because the expectations were ridiculous but Edna’s attempt to break free was pathetic. Pathetic may be considered as a strong word but it fits Edna well because her actions were a sad excuse for an attempt at life.
The American South has a unique, complicated soul, portrayed as a society that clings to a diluted and romanticized history of itself, coping through perseverance. This desperation to achieve an ideal, forgotten period, despite natural progress not slowing down makes the portrayal of social systems both majestic and gruesome simultaneously. This concept of resisting change in favor for this southern fantasy can be applied to almost any sociological area; but this willful ignorance is distinctly seen applied to gender throughout 19th and 20th century literature. For a Southern Woman, one of the highest social sins is to be subversive towards her gender role; an even higher sin if this woman is a mother. Those that dare to violate their positions in life, often end up cold and barren, drawing a parallel to the post-war American South, as shown through the works of Kate
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.
In the late 1800s, nearly all women were viewed as subservient, inferior, second class females that lived their lives in a patriarchal and chauvinist society. Women often had no voice, identity, or independence during that time period. Moreover, women dealt with the horrors of social norms and the gender opposition of societal norms. The primary focus and obligation for a woman to obtain during the 1800s was to serve her husband and to obey to anything he said. Since women were not getting the equality, freedom, or independence that they desired, Kate Chopin, an independent-minded female American novelist of the late 1800s expressed the horrors, oppressions, sadness, and oppositions that women of that time period went through.
Monumental strides have been made when looking at the treatment of women in today's society, compared to the treatment of women in the early 20th century. In today's society, a woman can survive on her own, with no companion to assist in her sustainability. However, in New Orleans creole culture circa 1899, women were not given any opportunity to express any form of individualism. The objectification of women in the early 20th century is exemplified by the women in Kate Chopin’s feminist novel The Awakening.
In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.
