ipl-logo

The Role Of Repression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1568 Words7 Pages

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a progressive novel which defines the individual struggles faced during a transitional period in American history and culture. The Awakening showcases the fallacies regarding the confinement and traditionalistic repression that women during the 19th century were subject to by showcasing the complex struggles and unrest that the main character, Edna, faces with daily. It is evident that during this time period women had the choice to either fit the mold of the mother figure, in which women were expected to wholeheartedly give themselves up to satisfy the needs of their husband and children, or be shunned by the patriarchal society. Throughout the novel, Edna begins to deviate from the traditional lifestyle that was slowly deteriorating her, and experiments with personal indulgence and freedom from the tethers of motherhood. The wonders of self-fulfillment, infatuation, and art are sensuous to her, but soon …show more content…

Prior to their meeting, Edna’s expectations take hold of her thoughts and she constantly plays out situations in her head especially her inevitable meeting with Robert in which she plays out “a hundred times” (Chopin 163), all of which imagine Robert “expressing or betraying his love for her” (Chopin 162). The sheer obsession with the scenario makes the actual interaction that much more disappointing as she learns that Robert did not even have the drive to immediately visit, like her reveries had anticipated. Her frustration at this outcome in shown in her repetition of Robert’s response of “day before yesterday” (Chopin 162) as if she is in disbelief. Anxiety begins to overcome her as she starts to parallel Roberts’s unease by crushing the geranium leaves, but her worry is much different than his as she starts to realize that her dreamlike expectations of the world may not be

Show More
Related

How Does Edna Pontellier Change In The Awakening

1089 Words | 5 Pages

“She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world” (Chopin, p. 57). A novel written by Kate Chopin, The Awakening shares the story of Edna Pontellier’s journey of self-discovery. Readers of the day were shocked by the content of the novel. Published in 1899, Kate Chopin’s controversial novel portrays a woman liberating herself from society’s expectations for a lady. Edna changes from a bored, obedient wife in the beginning of The Awakening to a liberated woman who can freely express her feelings.

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Awakening Character Analysis

906 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis

1266 Words | 6 Pages

Syeda Ahmed prompt 5 The Awakening AP LIT Mr. Amoroso A modern woman emerging and developing ahead of her time, dealing with the challenges of gaining independence in a time period where woman weren’t human. This is Edna Pontellier’s conflict told in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. Late in her already establish life Edna a wife and mother of two discovers herself to realize she goes against society’s ideals as a woman.

Read More

Outward Conformity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

825 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Examples Of Societal Standards In The Awakening

1624 Words | 7 Pages

Clara Schwind Reeves AP English Literature & Composition 7 April 2023 Societal Standards in The Awakening The 1800s was a time of extensive division between genders; men were believed to be the stronger, more independent sex whereas women were looked down upon for being “overly emotional” and seen as their husband’s property. Women were expected to stay at home, keeping up with their household duties such as cooking and cleaning while raising their children in the manner deemed proper by their husbands. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the main character, Edna, is portrayed as a mother who is dissatisfied with her pre-determined place in society through her relationships with characters around her, symbolic imagery of her environment, and foreshadowing

Read More

Edna's Roles In The Awakening

1386 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

What Is Edna's Allegory Of The Cave

1171 Words | 5 Pages

Keir Nason AP English Literature and Composition Mrs. Schroeder January 3, 2018 Politics and literature are far from strange bedfellows. Social commentary and allegory have been tools in the literary toolbox since Ancient Greece, with Plato’s Allegory of The Cave being one of the earliest forms of the device. Science fiction is an entire genre that, at least to a degree, is based upon the premise of looking at the problems of today through the eyes of tomorrow. Oftentime, authors seek to tackle the issues of their time within their writing, and Kate Chopin was no different when she published her final work The Awakening in 1899. At the time of The Awakening’s release, many works strived to address the rights of women, with the Suffragette

Read More

The Awakening Summary

1234 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

Ocean Symbolism In The Awakening

925 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.

Read More

The Role Of Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

425 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

Oppression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1315 Words | 6 Pages

In the late 1800s, nearly all women were viewed as subservient, inferior, second class females that lived their lives in a patriarchal and chauvinist society. Women often had no voice, identity, or independence during that time period. Moreover, women dealt with the horrors of social norms and the gender opposition of societal norms. The primary focus and obligation for a woman to obtain during the 1800s was to serve her husband and to obey to anything he said. Since women were not getting the equality, freedom, or independence that they desired, Kate Chopin, an independent-minded female American novelist of the late 1800s expressed the horrors, oppressions, sadness, and oppositions that women of that time period went through.

Read More

Sexuality And Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

834 Words | 4 Pages

In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.

Read More

Motherhood In The Awakening

919 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was written at the end of the nineteenth century, where many roles for women began to change; therefore, the it appears to have been a turning point for females (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). These changes in female roles were mostly due to the actions of women themselves, motivated by their desires to break away from the limits imposed on their gender The nineteenth century was a critical point in time for women, in regards to their roles in society (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). In The Awakening, Edna goes through noteworthy changes in the course of the novel, which reconstructs her into a woman who goes against societal ideals regarding motherhood and marriage . In the 1890s, motherhood was viewed

Read More

Analysis Of Othello's Jealousy In 'The Awakening'

500 Words | 2 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” shows a controversial protagonist, Edna Pontellier. The character in the novel showed different expectations for women and their supposed roles. One literary critic, Megan Kaplon showed how this novel can be viewed as a struggle of the world or society around her. Edna in the story is trying to find freedom and individuality Kaplon mentions that “one of her most shocking actions was her denial of her role as a mother and wife.”

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Attitudes Toward Motherhood In The Awakening

1044 Words | 5 Pages

This novel, The Awakening, is about a woman named Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an independent human being. Also, Edna Pontellier refuses to obey against the social norms by leaving her husband Leónce Pontellier and having an affair with Robert Lebrun. Kate Chopin describes societal expectations and the battle of fitting the mold of motherhood in the Awakening by how Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle contribute to their family in different ways. Edna Pontellier’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is not a perfect mother-women. Adele Ratignolle’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is a perfect mother-women.

Read More

More about The Role Of Repression In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Related Topics

Open Document