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Summary Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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Kate Chopin writes in The Awakening (1899) about women and their identity in society. The book starts as the main character, Edna Pontellier, is vacationing with in the Grand Isle, where she meets a man by the name of Robert Lebrun. It is with Robert that Edna realizes what true happiness is and begins to get a glimpse of the independence she, unbeknownst to her, desires. Edna gained a sense of self worth and awareness while in the Grand Isle and Mr. Pontellier noticed this. Mr. Pontellier goes as far to ask a doctor of why Edna is acting so strange. The doctor rejected any ideas that Edna may be sick and actually mentions that she has a lot more color in her cheeks. Though married to Mr. Pontellier, Edna and Robert begin to talk of a wedding and this pushes Edna to realize that she wants to belong to herself, rather than needing to belong to another man. Edna leaves for her friend, Adele, …show more content…

It is as if having something so perfect in the palm of one’s hands and then having it torn away from one in the blink of an eye. She has found independence and wishes to keep hold of it through all circumstances. Mike Timko wrote his concerns with the lack of female freedom from societal, especially masculine, directives (Timko par. 6). Timko noticed how throughout the book, Edna was being suppressed by her husband and that it is rather unfortunate that the idea of male dominance is so widely accepted at that time. Towards the end of the book, Edna says: “I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier’s possessions,” here, Edna is claiming that she is for herself, not for anyone to take a hold of (Chopin 146). She is realizing that she has the power to give herself what she needs.. She realizes that the male dominance overpowering women takes that sense of self independence away and begins to realize that finding independence will be a continuous uphill

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The most rewarding attributes of this experience for Edna would be the feeling of satisfaction of conquering something in a world where woman are seen as nothing; much like a child’s excitement at their newly gained knowledge. In Chopin’s own word she describes “A feeling of exultation overtook her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (page27). Although she is not ashamed of who she is becoming there is still a need to hide which is greatly caused by her surroundings. This can be seen when Edna takes her turn reading a shared book that has been passed around the cottages. Reading this book left her wonderstruck

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Edna fully understands that society would brand her as a terrible woman, but she does not view herself as a bad person. There is an external and internal difference that Edna hopes to one day reconcile. Chopin, instead of creating tension within Edna, created tension within the society and Edna with her newfound independence does not mind how society classifies her. Decisively, it can be concluded that the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning builds the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period.

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She tells Madame Ratignolle, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me” (52). This lets the readers know that Edna is starting to acknowledge that she cannot dedicate all of her time to her children and that she's not willing to sacrifice herself for them. This action displays how Edna's attitude towards others around her is changing and how she does not want to have the responsibility of taking care of her family because it would mean that she has to dedicate her time and space to them which would mean that she would be giving herself up for the sake of the

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Some of Edna’s most obvious decisions immediately question her weakness to handle pressure. Edna’s inability to show compassion and care for her children challenge this normalcy for a mother of the time period; Edna considered her children “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” (Chopin 115). The children almost seemed like a burden, or a detriment to her. Edna’s doctor visit nearly foreshadows this mindset, where the doctor notes that

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Then Edna also comes to the understanding that the house she lives in with her husband does not feel like home. The possessions and money that fill the house constantly remind her that she has no materialistic belongings of her own. Therefore, she decides to move out and create her own personal haven (107). With clear eyes after having relationships with three men she realizes that she actually loves only one of them and she makes a hasty decision when she cannot physically have Robert (113). Finally, after giving up hope for a future with Robert, she decides to end her pain forever by walking into the “ocean 's abyss” (157).

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Edna tries to satisfy this desire by taking part in an adulterous affair with Alcee Arobin, a known playboy. However, this relationship doesn’t satisfy Edna’s wish for companionship as she uses Alcee only to satisfy her sexual desires. This all changes once Edna meets Robert Lebrun, who invokes a sense of excitement and love in Edna. Edna sees her relationship with Robert as her only chance to gain freedom from the confines of society; additionally Robert gives Edna the chance to have a fulfilling relationship as opposed to her loveless one with Leonce. Although the two are deeply in love with one another, Robert is unable to reciprocate Edna’s desires to be together.

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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 novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna faces many challenges that she has to overcome. While trying to overcome them, she makes decisions that not only effect her life, but the lives of others. Edna Pontellier is a woman that grew up in the late 1800s who tries to break away from the normal gender roles of this time period. She does this by separating herself from her home, husband, children and by acknowledging her sexual desires. A lot of people do not agree with Edna's actions because they feel as if she is abandoning her children and ignoring her responsibilities.

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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

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Slowly Edna’s manners began to change. She became more sexual and very flirtatious towards other men. She toys with other men’s hearts, but still does not feel the same about any of them as she does with Robert. She becomes very outspoken.

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While struggling for her independence and freedom she finds her own way to go against the society and its standards. When invited to go to the beach with Robert, Edna weighs her options and chooses to do what she knows that she should not. Chopin states “Edna Pontellier could not have told why, wishing to go to the beach with Robert, she should in the first place have declined and in the second place have followed in obedience to one of the two contradictory impulses which impelled her.” (15) Instead of staying at home Edna decides that she will start living for herself and do whatever she deems fit. Later her husband sees this trait when she writes him a letter to tell him that she is going to move into a house down the street.

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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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However, Edna refused. She did what she wanted to do when she wanted, and never played the roles he expected. Leonce grew frustrated at her defiance and reached out to a Physician to evaluate her psychiatric state. He promised to disguise her by having the doctor over for dinner. Although the doctor agreed, he felt like she was drifting away from Leonce and would not be surprised if she had a wondering eye.

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She does not care anymore at this point. Edna comes to the conclusion, once again, the motherhood and wifehood lifestyle she is currently trying to live is not at all for her. She officially gives up on her children, and specifically her husband. Edna does not get very emotional or upset over this… she takes the situation and makes the first realization about herself. “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (Chopin 17).

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Edna Pontellier’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is not a perfect mother-women for many ways. Edna Pontellier is not a perfect mother because “Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-women”(Chopin, 10). This quote means that Edna Pontellier is not a good mother/wife because she is not that of a women who would worship their children ,and their husband. Edna Pontellier is not a good mother because “I would give up the

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