Feminist Critique Of The Awakening

She leaves the care of her children to her grandmother, abandoning them and her husband when she leaves to live in the pigeon-house. To her, leaving her old home with Léonce is very important to her freedom. Almost everything in their house belonged to him, so even if he were to leave, she would still feel surrounded by his possessions. She never fully becomes free of him until she physically leaves the house. That way, Edna has no ties whatsoever to that man. Furthermore, Edna indulges in more humanistic things such as art and music. She listens to Mademoiselle Reisz’s playing of the piano and feels the music resonate throughout her body and soul, and uses it as a form of escapism from the world. Based on these instances, Edna acts almost like a very young child, completely disregarding consequences and thinking only about what they want to do experience most at that moment. However, to the reader this does not necessarily appear “bad”, but rather it is seen from the perspective of a person who has been controlled by others their entire life and wishes to break free from their grasp. In a way, she is enacting a childlike and subconscious form of revenge by disobeying all known social constructs of how a woman should talk, walk, act, and interact with others.

The final reason for Edna’s escape from her troublesome life is the failure of her relationship with Robert. Edna was able to find some form of escape through her desire and hope of being with Robert, but when those plans fell through Edna feels as if she has nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for in life. Robert realizes that he and Edna will never be able to have a true

The thoughts and feelings circulating through Edna Pontellier help the reader better understand her character and how she changes throughout the book. For Example, Kate Chopin writes, “The years that are gone seem like dreams—if one might go on sleeping and dreaming—but to wake up and find—oh! well! Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life.” CHAPTER 38. Saying that it is better to suffer rather than to go through life unconsciously is a very important theme in this novel because that is what Edna Pontellier's awakening is all about. Kate Chopin uses this quote because Edna would rather suffer with the wisdom she has gained, rather than going through life tending to her husband's and children's every need. Edna is going against her womanly duties and is again becoming independent. This is what

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.

Through the story Edna becomes more and more uneasy about not being able to do and have what she really wants. This can be shown from the beginning when she lets her children play by themselves and doesn’t miss her husband when he is away from home. Edna tried to be a good mother by becoming friends with an old fashioned woman, Madame Adèle Ratignolle, who devoted her life to her husband and children. However, when Edna was not around Madame Adèle Ratignolle, she forgot how to be like Adèle Ratignolle and instead busied herself with what was considered to be her “childish ways”. She would try to make herself as happy as possible; she was not her happiest with her husband and kids. When Edna discovered her passion for art, she embraced it and neglected her family even more so than before.

     Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, becomes very perturbed when his wife, in the period of a few months, suddenly drops all of her responsibilities. After she admits that she has "let things go," he angrily asks, "on account of what?" Edna is unable to provide a definite answer, and says, "Oh! I don't know. Let me along; you bother me" (108). The uncertainty she expresses springs out of the ambiguous nature of the transformation she has undergone. It is easy to read Edna's transformation in strictly negative terms‹as a move away from the repressive expectations of her husband and society‹or in strictly positive terms‹as a move toward the love and

Edna’s suicide was victory of self-expression. Edna undergoes a gradual awakening process in which portrays not to only her newly established independence from the constraints of her husband, but also her ability to go against the social norms of society in order to individually express herself. Her suicide encompases the question and critique of living life through the perspective of society such as being responsible for taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and entertaining any guests that the husband may have over anytime. In the first couple of capters, the novel is quick to emphasize the gerneralized roles kthat are placed onto females, making it apparent that fe,ales are expected to successfully fulfil these roles. For example, Leonce enters home after being out and stated one of the kids had a fever. Edna was certain the child had no fever but Leonce belittles her capability as a mother for indifference with him. “If it was not a mother’s place to look after the children, whose on earth was it?” (27capac).

Edna’s deliberate sacrifice is that she chooses a man who has her relive her young fantasies and mind over her husband and family who demonstrate that responsibility and maturity dictate her life. Before Edna meets Robert, the man who reminisces youth, she has her up and downs with her husband but has a consistent and regular lifestyle with her family. She constantly praises her children over everything but however,

But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul" (504).  Although Edna did perform her duties as a wife for some time, she is not the typical housewife.  She does not worship her husband or idolize her children, which makes both Edna and Leonce begin to sense that Edna is different from the other mother-women (Lin 1).  Edna never realized the reasons she neglected her duties as a wife until she fell in love with Robert and acknowledged that her desires and needs exist outside of her marriage.  Thus, after her experiences with Robert, Edna is ready to neglect her husband even more, because she now realizes that her husband is holding her back from her needs.  When Leonce tries to make Edna act like the other women that obey their husbands, his attempts to control Edna further instigate Edna's desire for independence from him.  For example, the scene when Edna is lying in the hammock, Leonce says: "I can't permit you to stay out there all night.  You must come in the house instantly," Edna replies: "I mean to stay out here.  I don't wish to go in, and I don't intend to.  Don't speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you" (492).  Edna is carefree and spirited, and she refuses to conform to her husband because she does not want to lose herself.  Becoming the perfect, obedient wife would mean losing her individuality, and Edna realizes she can gain no fulfillment

Because their husbands limit their avenues of opportunity to pursue any individual growth, they become more determined to rebel against the status quo. Edna and Janie are expected to play the roles of a typical woman of their times: keeping home, cooking meals, and raising a family. The concept that either woman could be capable of supporting herself was alien to this period. Edna

She is moved by music. During that summer Edna sketches to find an artistic side to herself. She needs an outlet to express who she is. Edna feels that art is important and adds meaning to her life. After the summer is over and they are back to the city and Edna is a changed woman. She makes many steps towards independence. She stops holding "Tuesday socials", she sends her children to live in the country with their grandparents, she refuses to travel abroad with her husband, she moves out of the Lebrun house on Esplanade Street, and to earn money, she starts selling her sketches and betting the horses. She also starts a relationship with another man Alcee Arobin. He meant nothing to her emotionally but she used him for sexual pleasure. Edna evolved above her peers she did not believe that sexuality and motherhood had to be linked. The last step of her "awakening" is the realization that she can not fulfill her life in a society that will not allow her to be a person and a mother. Edna commits suicide in the ocean at Grand Isle.

Edna is a very independent woman and she has the strength to oppose a man. She is more emancipated than Robert and she has actually entered another world.

The ideals Edna had were very progressive for her time. Just as expected she met a lot of push back from most since people do not like the idea of change But one of the biggest leaps she took was moving out of her own home. An understandable gesture for a woman coming into her own, for with a change of heart of change of setting is also needed. She tells

Edna’s indulgence in art exemplifies the importance she has placed on personal fulfillment, an attribute of feminist ideals. Edna characterizes herself as an artist. This demonstrates her desire to be set free from the familial expectations placed on her. Art represents a freedom of expression. Edna’s association with her artistic passion, not necessarily ability, foreshadows her desire to break free from society’s norms. Edna seeks the guidance of a liberated woman, Mademoiselle Reisz, who is the ideal feminist woman that Edna aspires to be. Reisz connects with her artistic hobbies through music. Her music inspires and provides her with the strength not to live under the maternal expectation. Edna enjoys painting although she does not consider

Edna realizes that the patriarchal society is quick to condemn particularly a freedom-seeking woman who neglects her children since she is “intended by nature” to take care of them (Dyer 126). She is "uneven and impulsive" in her affections for her children. When they leave to visit their grandmother, she is relieved because she is not suited to the responsibilities of motherhood. Edna’s mind was at rest concerning the present material needs of her children: