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Societal Standards In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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Bursting from emotions, but not allowed to show it, Mrs. Edna Pontellier learns to dislike the societal standards. The Awakening by Kate Chopin portrays the struggle of finding a trustworthy confidant for the women in 1899. Many women in Edna’s society live life by strict regulations. Not finding a friend to confine in wholly, Edna turns to the sea which calms racked nerves, listens, and protects the beautiful Mrs. Edna Pontellier.

Slowing the raging pulse in behind Edna’s ears, the “never ceasing, whispering” (13) voice of the sea soothed and relaxed Edna after quarreling with one of her colleagues. After any of the squabbles within her circle, to Edna “it didn’t seem worthwhile to be…alive or dead” (58). She left the group “to wander alone” (58) on the beach and hear the calming murmur of the sea to sooth her nerves. After arguing with her husband, She lies in the hammock and listens to the sea that never “cease[s] to moan” (32) and never forsook her in her time of need. Edna went to the sea; whether she is “wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her peignoir” (6) or she is soaring miles off the ground from the joy that was inside her. …show more content…

She loved just sitting on the beach with her face “turned toward the sea” (18) not saying anything out loud for she knew the sea did not have to hear her voice to understand. No place was calmer or more pleasing to Edna then the beach. This quiet friend freed Edna from the social pressures and gave her “some power of significant import” (27). She loved the freedom and support the sea provided her. Mrs. Edna Pontellier ventured out beyond “where any woman ever swum before” (27). Realizing she “possess the courageous soul that dares and defies” (116) she gives herself up to the one who loved and understood her, she bequeaths herself to the sea for all

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As Edna is walking into the sea, Kate Chopin expands on the setting and states, “The water was chill, but she walked on. The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and reached out with a long sweeping stroke” (176). The emphasis is placed on the water, explaining how it affected Edna. Kate Chopin utilizes anaphora to accentuate the choices Edna makes and how it defines the meaning of becoming aware and conscious of one’s self wellbeing over others. Furthermore, Kate Chopin continues with, “She went on and on.

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Whereas as the beginning of the novel the ocean represented cleansing and excitement, Edna now views the sea as her only escape from her limited form in society. Thus, through an existential lens, the symbolic meaning of the sea changes throughout the story as Edna realizes her inability to overcome contemporary definitions of feminism and is forced to seek closure to her despair by turning to the sea one last

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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

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Edna went to go swimming, but she had suicide in mind rather that swimming. As she was walking towards the beach she thought to herself, “The Children appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul’s slavery for the rest of her days. But she knew a way to elude them.” (Chopin 159). In order for Edna to defeat the societal norms and not be bound in chains from her husband and traditional womanhood; Edna had to leave her motherly role in the family and she stubbornly went against the expectations of her husband and society.

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Women during Edna’s time were supposed to be dedicated to their husbands and children, however, Edna yearned for her own independence, and as a result of wanting her own independence Edna knew that she was seen as a terrible person. For instance Edna wanted to “…try to determine what character of a woman I am; for, candidly, I don't know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can't convince myself that I am. I must think about it" (27.4).

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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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When she comes back from the island, this new outlook on life clashes with her husband’s old world values, and he endeavors to stop what he sees as utter madness. At one point, a family doctor recommends to Léonce that Edna spend time at her ancestral home, far away from the water, to return her behavior to what he knows as normal. Edna expresses a dislike of and actively avoids certain parts of society, but cannot fully separate herself from the motherly duties forced onto her by traditional gender roles, unlike her muse Mademoiselle Reisz. These duties, ultimately, prove to be the fetters that cause Edna to sink downward, and lead her to end her life in the same ocean where it truly

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In the 19th century, women’s lives were molded by societal standards, which restricted their actions to the likings of others. There was a way to be a woman and anything opposing that way was considered shameful and rebellious. Women were to marry and bear children, take care of their families and households, have perfect manners and adequate social skills, and this is about all that women’s lives amounted to during this period. Many women wanted more for themselves and sought to become free of the standards. In the novel The Awakening author Kate Chopin uses different characters' relationships, dialogue, and metaphors to convey the complex, indecisive emotions of Edna Pontellier, as she fights the social standards for women and becomes her

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