Social Expectations In Kate Chopin's The Great Awakening

Women constantly live their lives knowing that there are rules and expectations to be followed. Social expectations have set standards for women to achieve. As time progresses, the thought of society rules for women has slowly diminished. Progressively, women are starting to stop the disadvantages they face in society and break the status quo. Standing up for themselves influenced many other women to take part in this action. Since the late 1800s and early 1900s, social expectations of women have changed in the way they are portrayed, but the expectations have changed slightly in today’s view. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, social expectations for women played a crucial part in society. For example, young women were expected to get married and have children. Obedience and loyalty were the main components of marriage. In Kate Chopin’s The Great Awakening, Edna is married to Leonce, a man who she does not fully love. During Edna and Leonce’s vacation, Edna meets Robert, a man who can fulfill her wishes. Edna’s relationship with Robert

Magazine. The piece of writing incorporated satire and feminism of the 1970s. “I Want a Wife” demonstrates the role a wife contributes to a marriage. Gay marriage was not around in the 1970s, thus the article was published as a satire because Brady repeatedly mentions the phrase, “I want a wife”. For example, in the article, Brady stated, “I want a wife to keep track of the children’s doctor and dentist appointments”. Moreover, the audience can comprehend one of many wife’s roles and responsibility. The article is directed towards men and women in order to demonstrate the detriments a wife is to the husband. “I Want a Wife” portrays a message to women to stop the nonsense and take action on this demoralizing situation. The 1970s is a time where women are taking a stand to the social expectations and when the situation is starting to slowly fade