The Role Of Oppression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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Throughout history there have been time periods in which people were not treated fairly but does that necessarily have to have an effect on how you carry yourself? In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the main character faces oppression during the 1890s because of the fact that she is a woman. Being a woman during this time was hard because the expectations were ridiculous but Edna’s attempt to break free was pathetic. Pathetic may be considered as a strong word but it fits Edna well because her actions were a sad excuse for an attempt at life. Just because society looks down upon you does not mean you can’t prosper.

Edna is a mother… a pathetic mother. A mother is supposed to care for her children, and be there to soothe their children. Edna was not able to fulfill her

A wife during this time period was under control of the husband. Edna isn’t very content with that, which is understandable. Edna still decided to marry him, and she knew what she was getting herself into knowing how he was as a person. Edna did broke one of the most forbidden rules of marriage and the manner in which she did it was astonishing. Edna had an affair with another man. This man goes by the name Robert and she had more attraction to Robert than she did to her own husband, the father of her children. (45)If she was fed up with her marriage then there was such a thing as divorce. This was shamed upon in society during this time period but she as a woman was not a normal woman and if she was half the woman she claims to be she would , therefore her getting a divorce wouldn’t be surprising, so this proves how much of a pathetic person she was. Worst of all, Edna had an affair on the person she was having an affair with on her husband.(73) How low can she go? She is just making a mockery of her husband at this point. She is just making herself more and more of a pathetic character. There’s also the cherry that tops it all