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The Role Of Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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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. Through Enda’s transformation, Chopin poses a question to the reader: Can one express complete individuality in a married relationship? Leonce Pontellier’s authority …show more content…

Throughout the novel Edna imagined this perfect life with Robert filled with impetuous passion. Though Robert loved Edna, he decided to leave for Mexico to avoid a morally wrong relationship with her. Even after returning to Louisiana, Robert abandons Edna a second time only leaving a note stating “I love you. Good-by—because I love you” (Chopin 198). The reality of Edna’s relationship with Robert would never meet her expectations due to her legal connection to Leonce. Edna’s marriage withheld certain values that Robert was not willing rebel against. This indicates that no matter how close Edna was to expressing her individuality just the concept of her marriage repelled some desires. A married relationship consists of two people agreeing to uphold to certain obligations. Although some individuals strive for complete freedom in a marriage, one cannot live off of freedom alone. Too much self-expression can cause unnecessary tension both physically and mentally. Individuals must learn to show some personal character but also abide by moral standards. This will allow one to live a balanced life between individuality and

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The novel “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin is about Edna Pontellier, a wealthy housewife living in Louisiana during the late nineteenth century, and her journey of self-liberation. Edna Pontellier feels unfulfilled with her marriage to Leonce Pontellier, and her role as a mother. Edna meets, and falls in love with Robert Lebrun over the summer while her family is vacationing at a resort in Grand Isle. After the summer ends, and Edna returns home to New Orleans, she begins making lifestyle changes in order to bring back the feeling of happiness that she felt with Robert while in Grand Isle. Edna Pontellier experiments by having an affair, and attempts to live as an artist by taking up painting.

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Title: The Awakening Author: Kate Chopin Setting: Grand Isle and New Orleans in the early 19th century Genre: Tragedy Historical context: The Awakening takes place when women were seen as a man’s possession. Mr. Pontellier looks at Edna as a possession. Women were expected to stay devoted to their husband and children and remain a stereotypical housewife whose main job is to clean, cook and care for the children. (Adele) Edna rivals against these standards as she challenges society 's expectations of women during the early 19th century.

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One male friend, Robert Lebrun, eventually turns into a lover for Edna, and without him, she feels absent of “brightness… color… [and] the meaning of … everything” (Chopin 61-62). This relationship of pure love she has built with Robert alters her perception of her own marriage. The connection concludes she was rushed into her husband, never once honestly loving Mr. Pontellier. Robert teaches Edna how to truly care, giving her purpose and motivation. Another male figure to alter her perceptions is Alcée Arobin, the bond being different from Robert as he acts “like a narcotic upon her” (Chopin 105).

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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a piece of fiction written in the nineteenth century. The protagonist Edna is a controversial character, Edna rebels against many nineteenth - century traditions, but her close friend Adele was a perfect example in terms of a role of a woman, mother and wife at that time. Chopin uses contrast characters to highlight the difference between Adele and Edna. Although they are both married women in the nineteenth century, they also exhibit many different views about what a mother role should be.

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Chopin makes her strong statement in this quote from the story. Mrs. Mallard has no one to answer to but herself, and she feels liberated that her husband can no longer control her. During the late nineteenth century, women quite frequently had to suppress themselves to the will of their husbands, or to some other man who had a significant amount of control over their lives. Chopin successfully uses vivid imagery, point of view, and irony that gives a different view of marriage that is not typical of today.

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For many years, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was considered perhaps one of the most scandalous novels written by a woman about a woman’s sexual and spiritual liberation and independence. Much of Chopin’s fiction has been praised as a celebration of female sexuality, conspicuously highlighting the tension between erotic desire and the demands that come from marriage, family life, and society (Martin 1). Unlike other literary contemporaries, Chopin does not attempt to moralize her heroines’ moral frailty, and more importantly she unapologetically allows her heroines’ unconventional sexuality to thrive (Martin 6). Only recently has The Awakening been acknowledged as a well-crafted narrative of Edna Pontellier’s struggle between individuality and

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