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The Awakening A Psychoanalytic Approach Essay

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Formalistic Approach Toward The Awakening

“I see Leonce isn’t coming back,” she said, with a glance in the direction whence her husband had disappeared.” (Chopin 6). This quote is from the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This quote explains a relationship that seems to be dwindling as a family begins to separate. Edna, the wife decides to go her own way leaving her family behind to fulfill her desire of happiness that isn’t found. This is only one of the ways that the formal approach is conveyed in this novel. In The Awakening the formalistic critical approach has affected the outcome of the novel. A good example is some of the recurring patterns that have been made from the beginning to the ending.
As the novel expands into deeper and …show more content…

Love in this novel is a word greatly used throughout the plot and written works of this book. We see love used in this novel in many different contexts that allow the reader to grasp a better understanding of what is happening. However, in this novel the word love is thrown around quite a lot which makes the word meaningless. “There were only a few lines, setting forth that he would leave the city that afternoon, that he had packed his trunk in good shape, that he was well, and sent her his love and begged to be affectionately remembered to all.” (Chopin 45). Reflecting back on the idea of love, Edna also repetitive instances where she is called out that she is not living the life fulfilling to her families needs. “It seems to me the utmost folly for a woman at the head of a household, and the mother of children, to spend in an atelier days which would be better employed contriving for the comfort of her family.” “I feel like painting,” answered Edna. “Perhaps I shan’t always feel like it.” “Then in God’s name paint! but don’t let the family go to the devil.” (Chopin …show more content…

A good example would be Robert Lebrun. Chopin makes Robert out to be this man that is deeply in love with Edna. Chopin also gives straightforward information about a character if the evidence in there. “Robert talked a good deal about himself. He was very young, and did not know any better.” (Chopin, 5). Another way Chopin sets the mood for the rest of the novel is by the people she includes in the main plot. A good example would be Mademoiselle Reisz. The role of Mrs. Reisz was to place someone in Edna’s life that would help guide the romantic side of Edna and keep the love for Robert alive. She makes the theme of love more interesting by her presence in the novel. “There was nothing which so quieted the turmoil of Edna’s senses as a visit to Mademoiselle Reisz. It was then, in the presence of that personality which was offensive to her, that the woman, by her divine art, seemed to reach Edna’s spirit and set it free.” (Chopin

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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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Keaton Anderson Mrs. McClain AP Lang 24 October 2016 The Awakening Diction The author’s use of words generally have a strong contribution towards the story’s purpose. Several diction strategies are used throughout “The Awakening.” Kate Chopin’s purpose in “The Awakening” is to inform the reader about a 19th century woman who defies her role in society.

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This married woman with two children had inadvertently fallen in love with another man. Although he leaves, Robert is the most important part of Edna's awakening. He is the one who gives her the love that her own husband will not. She starts to truly blossom when she falls for Robert. After he leaves, she often goes to Madame Lebrun's home to look at Robert's baby pictures.

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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.

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In addition, the search for self-identity is viewed as important in today’s society. Thus, these confliction attributes lead the reader to identify Edna as morally ambiguous. Categorizing complex characters as purely good or purely evil is not one of the easiest of tasks. As a result, it is best to characterize them as morally ambiguous. In Edna’s case, she is morally ambiguous due to her romantic affiliations and role-defying actions, but both are immensely vital to Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” as a complete whole.

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In The Awakening, Kate Chopin demonstrates the struggle of women to gain independence in society. Edna Pontellier has this epiphany about her marriage to Lèonce before she had broken the vase. The broken vase symbolizes the movement of rebellion abasing social norm, and being treated like an object by her husband. Edna refusal of Lèonce obnoxious demands demonstrates her first act of rebellion. Lèonce had came outside and demands Edna to come inside who was lying on the hammock after a night of partying with Robert.

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“Independence, free will, and personal effort are considered primary virtues that contribute not only to personal achievement but also to the success and well-being of the nation.” This quote, stated by Charles Finney, means that people must be able to choose for themselves and make their own decisions in order for the country to become better than it is. The Second Great Awakening began for several different reasons, consisted of many different church revivals and leaders, and ultimately had a lasting impact for several more years after the end of the Second Great Awakening. There were several different factors that led up to the Second Great Awakening. Some such factors are listed by Richard Kaplan in his article titled, The Second Great

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Her frequent vacations to the island, like her frequent dips into the ocean, begin to spark a personal change within the woman. A Creole man, Robert, shows Edna a new dimension of feelings she never knew she lived without, and she begins to look through life through a new lens. Having been awakened for the first time, she sees injustice and mistreatment where she saw none before. Chopin uses Edna’s new observations and reactions to the culture around her to illustrate the myriad ways women were marginalized. In an ironic twist, the white woman from Kentucky proves to be more liberated than her more traditional husband, who grew up

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The first event that occurred was the Enlightenment. It occurred through the years of around 1650 to about 1700. The enlightenment opened up the eyes and the minds of the people living in the British colonies in America. The enlightenment changed the way people were thinking and gave them a sense of freedom and individualism, in this case, individualizing them selves from their British rulers. There was not much revolutionary action but the impact that John Locke’s enlightenment ideas had on people started unraveling events, one after the other to eventually lead to the revolution.

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The title, The Awakening, signifies the self-realization of Edna Pontellier and her own personal awakening. Edna’s character undergoes a dramatic lifestyle and spiritual change. She begins the novel as the typical old fashioned housewife that is expected to look and act a certain way. Edna was a respectable housewife who yearns for a social, spiritual, and sexual awakening

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Edna Pontillier in Kate Chopin’s novella The Awakening seeks independence and freedom via an unconventional lifestyle that creates her internal conflict. The conflict is sparked by the Apollonian and Dionysian ways of life that surround Edna. The two contrasting forces influence her decisions and the way she interacts with others. Edna’s Dionysian and Apollonian influences effect the way that she treats her children, interacts with her husband, and relates to other women in her town.

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One of the literary devices that Chopin uses is the characters. Characterization is the creation of a fictional character. The few characters that are in this story are

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In The Awakening, Edna represents desire, impulse, and rebellion. While Adele represents the socially accepted woman, she is submissive, obedient, and a homemaker. This drastic contrast facilitates Chopin's emphasis on Edna’s rebellion, and how drastic it was for the time period. “Edna's experience of self-discovery, "tangled" and chaotic and therefore "vague" or hard for her to comprehend, touches upon a core issue, of individual variation and the uncertainty involved in its creation, expression, and consequences.” (Glendening).

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Another case of character development is Mr. Mallard’s character. Critics have described Mr. Mallard as being abusive, and harmful to his wife. In the story Chopin writes, “ she will weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death...” (Chopin) This quote is an example that Mr. Mallard was not abusive or unkind to Mrs. Mallard.

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