Comparing Chopin And The Awakening

The novel The Awakening is an empowering masterpiece that shows a woman stepping out of the social norm to find her bliss. Edna Pontellier is expected to be the perfect wife and perfect mother. The needs of her husband and children are supposed to triumph over her own. She is well ahead of her time because she wants independence and to live her life to the fullest. In Chopin’s story, not only is there a daring young woman who is on the hunt to find her independence, but there is also a housewife, whose life belongs to her family.

Commonly explored throughout her works, the idea of marriage inhibiting a woman’s freedom is the driving force behind Kate Chopin’s contextual objections to propriety. In particular, The Awakening and “The Story of an Hour” explore the lives of women seeking marital liberation and individuality. Mrs. Chopin, who was raised in a matriarchal household, expresses her opposition to the nineteenth century patriarchal society while using her personal experiences to exemplify her feminist views.

Chopin became a symbol and mascot for the American Women’s Suffrage Movement (1910-1920) with the passage of the nineteenth amendment that stated: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” (First-Wave Feminism) Although Chopin was not alive while the actual women’s movement occurred, she still contributed. Her work did not receive any admiration until decades after her death around the 1950 's. (Sandra).

Have you ever wondered what the lifestyles of Nineteenth Century women were like? Were they independent, career women or were they typical housewives that cooked, clean, watched the children, and catered to their husbands. Did the women of this era express themselves freely or did they just do what society expected of them? Kate Chopin was a female author who wrote several stories and two novels about women. One of her renowned works of art is The Awakening. This novel created great controversy and received negative criticism from literary critics due to Chopin's portrayal of women by Edna throughout the book.

The definition of feminism is the “advocacy of women 's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, was written in 1890 during the height of the women 's suffrage movement, and essentially the public felt that the author “went too far” due to “the sensuality” of the protagonist (Toth 1). The “male gatekeepers” that scrutinized her work saw her piece as a statement that “the husband is a drag”, and that traditional American values should be forgotten (Toth 1). In truth, Chopin did not think that American values, such as motherhood and marriage, were something to be forgotten. She stated outright that “woman’s truest duties are those of wife and mother, but those duties do not demand that she shall sacrifice her individuality” (Toth 3). However, Chopin’s own literary creation, Edna Pontellier, is completely opposed to the thought of a woman belonging to anyone. The unhappy woman states outright in the novel that she is “no longer one of [her husband 's] possessions to dispose of or not” (Chopin 102). She believes her entire identity should be outside the influence of others. This makes her “for the most part … alone” (Ringe 5). The feminist themes and pessimistic tones of The Awakening reveal a parallel between the protagonist and the author due to different factors that influenced both of their developments.

In Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening,” it takes the reader back to the 19th century when society had a defined meaning of what it was meant to be a woman. During the time that Chopin published her book in 1899 women were expected to stay home and take care of their husbands and children. By this means, society had implied that women were only allowed to act certain ways and do certain things; otherwise, they were thought to be senile. In the “The Awakening,” Edna Pontellier undergoes a dramatic change of self-realization, denying her role as a mother and wife. Edna awakens to discover her own identity seeing the world around her in a new perspective forgetting the roles that have been determine by society and ignoring the consequences to

The conflict of society’s expectations versus an individual’s will is an important theme that is evident throughout the plot of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. The main character, Edna Pontellier, faces heavily oppressive societal expectations for women in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The author uses the main character’s situation to demonstrate how hard it was for a woman to become her own person back in that time period. It was a social norm back then for a woman to marry and be obedient to her husband; the refusal of marriage and the act of going against one’s husband was not socially acceptable. In achieving her individualism, Edna starts to disregard what her husband tells her and starts thinking for herself. She realizes how

Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” can arguably be considered a feminist piece, but regardless of whether it is or not, the short story unmistakably describes how life was for women in the late 1800’s. Her story is a great example of the sexist views of the time and existing social roles for each gender. The literature includes a large interplay between society and gender roles, which affected the reader’s response to the plot and other literary devices such as imagery back then and even today.

For centuries literature has identified and associated women with certain images and symbols. The critical lens of feminism works to identify these symbols and further argues that gender and time period dictate the manner in which one behaves. Themes of feminism are evident throughout The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Chopin uses contrasting characters such as Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle to further embody the differing aspects of feminism. Adele Ratignolle represents the ideal woman of the time period, a mindless housewife working to serve her family, whereas Edna signifies an independent and daring woman who does not conform to society’s beliefs. These two women’s differing characteristics and personalities allow Chopin to further

The Awakening is essentially a novel focusing on the role of women in society in a time where it was not socially acceptable to live for one’s self. Through symbols and imagery, Chopin emphasizes the difficulty in one woman's journey to find herself in a world where everyone already has a mindset of the person she will

While in Louisiana, Kate Chopin spent most of her time writing and during her time in Louisiana, she found her inspiration for the themes of most of her writing and became known as one of the state’s most legendary writers of her time. Furthermore, the way Chopin portrayed Louisiana shaped others perspective of the state.

“Love and passion, marriage and independence, freedom and restraint.” These are the themes that are represented and worked with throughout Kate Chopin’s works. Kate Chopin, who was born on February 8, 1851, in St. Louis, was an American acclaimed writer of short stories and novels. She was also a poet, essayist, and a memoirist. Chopin grew up around many women; intellectual women that is. Chopin said herself that she was neither a feminist nor a suffragist; she was simply a woman who took other women intensely seriously. Chopin believed women had the ability to be strong, individual, and free-spirited. She herself reached out, in

However when she finished the novel in 1898 and published it in 1899 the novel did not receive well reviews from critics being that the novel was widely condemned, it caused uproar in society. Many disagreed with its “vulgar” and grotesque content, her novel was also banned from her local library. Seeing that the social norm for women in Chopin’s era were to obey one's’ spouse's, The Awakening did just the opposite, it influenced women to rebel against their husbands and to stand up against their controlling demands. The unorthodox views on women’s issues is seen as a landmark of early feminism this is primarily the reason why so many critiqued her novel. In August 22, 1904, her work was merely forgotten until scholars recognizes the novel’s insight. Slowly Chopin’s work was being read worldwide, she attracted the attention of students and scholars. Today she is known as a classic writer who expressed her thoughts, concerns, and opinions on the rights of

Chopin was a polish born composer. He lived in Poland until 1831 when he moved to Paris. Chopin was a quiet man who did not like to cause uproar. He would teach piano lessons and would be too afraid to ask his clients for the money he was owed. He was a very sensitive man which is a juxtaposition to the men of his time, who were supposed to be dominate and strong. How quiet he was about his love life was also a juxtaposition to how men where. In the film, all of the men where loud about their significant others and their emotions. While he was quiet and would go away from what caused him pain. He would think of others before making impulsive actions. Unlike, her husband in the movie (he portrays the male norm back then) who would act on

I have decided to focus on the works of one of the most controversial and influential authors to emerge during the realism and naturalism movement, Kate Chopin. Chopin was a feminist writer who frequently focused on the difficulties of being a woman in that time