Kate Chopin 's The Awakening Essay

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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening depicts Edna Pontellier’s struggle to find and assert herself within the cultural constraints of late 19th century America. Like her name “Pontellier”, which means “one who bridges,” it implies that Edna is in a transition between two worlds but not fully embedded in either. Her intent is to bridge the limited world of the mother-woman to that of selfhood.

    Grand Isle is the movie adaptation of Kate Chopin's 1889 novel, The Awakening. Turner Network Television (TNT) made the movie in 1991, and it stars Kelly McGillis as Edna Pontellier and Adrian Pasdar as Robert Lebrun. To say that this movie is based, even loosely, on The Awakening is an insult to Kate Chopin's colorful literary work. A reviewer from People Weekly calls it a "tedious melodrama" and sees it as Kelly McGillis's "vanity project" because she is star, producer, and narrator ("Grand Isle" 13). Grand Isle is an example of how Hollywood's ratings scramble can tear apart a striking piece of literature.

In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the author frames the notions of freedom and responsibility by contrasting them within an opposing dichotomy portrayed through the main character, Edna Pontellier, and through her subconscious denial of Creole responsibility while attaining freedom for her body, mind, and soul. Within this dichotomy the notions change inversely: the more freedom that is exercised by Edna because of unknown, and undisclosed, subconscious analysis deep in her mind, her sense of Creole responsibilities ebb proportionately. As these opposing forces ebb and flow, Chopin shows freedom in its basic and natural light—as being instinctive and as the normal state of a human being, evidenced by Edna Pontellier's actions flowing

In the iconic debated novel “The Awakening”, Kate Chopin’s novel takes place in the Victorian Era, which is in the 19th- century, similarly the novel was published in 1899. Edna is depicted as a woman longing for more, a woman who was looking for more than just a life of complacency and living in the eyes of society. The story uses Edna to exemplify the expectations of women during this era. For example, a woman’s expression of independence was considered immoral. Edna was expected to conform to the expectations of society but the story reveals Edna’s desires which longed for independence in a state of societal dominance. Throughout The Awakening, Chopin’s most significant symbol,

One of the most important themes of the The Awakening is the struggle for identity and freedom. Edna Pontellier, a wealthy women living in late 19th-century New Orleans, attempts to pursue independence from her marriage and motherhood. The novel takes place in two different locations: Grande Isle, on the coast of Louisiana, and New Orleans. Each of these two distinct settings reflect a particular part of Edna’s journey and advance her character in various ways. While staying on Grande Isle, Edna experiences the Creole culture dominant there, which allows her to spend time alone around Robert Lebrun even though she is a married woman. The Creole culture is a shock to Edna: “A characteristic which distinguished [the Creoles] and which

To what extent does Edna Pontellier, in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, mark a departure from the female characters of earlier nineteenth-century American novels

In the story about Edna Pontellier a major theme is her omitted self discovery. In the story we can see how Chopin uses style, tone and content to make the reader understand how it was for a person challenging many of the beliefs of the society at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Chopin's The Awakening is full of symbolism.  Rather than hit the reader on the head with blunt literalism, Chopin uses symbols to relay subtle ideas.  Within each narrative segment, Chopin provides a symbol that the reader must fully understand in order to appreciate the novel as a whole.  I will attempt to dissect some of the major symbols and give possible explanations as to their importance within the text.

Kate Chopin's The Awakening is truly a novel that stands out from the rest. From the moment it was published, it has been caused women to examine their beliefs. The fact that The Awakening was shunned when first published, yet now taught in classrooms across the country is proof that The Awakening is full of rebellious and controversial ideas.

Author Kate Chopin of The Awakening theorizes “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” Margaret Atwood ponders upon this ideal in her Bildungsroman Cat’s Eye, in which protagonist Elaine Risley of a unique upbringing encounters life in a traditional school, in which her intrinsic values are tested by her so-called peers Cordelia, Grace, and Carol. The social conformity Elaine was forced to undergo caused her to lose herself in the process, creating the plot of the novel. Elaine’s changes in interaction, internal struggle of morality among her peers, and lack of supervision created the depressed state she portrayed throughout the novel. Had this deterioration of the self not been included in Cat’s Eye, the work

Since the beginning of time social constrictions have always retained a firm grasp on the ideas and actions of humanity. While it remains a formidable foe, still some choose to fight back against the norm. This never-ending war is responsible for major advancements in the social order, but not every story is so successful. In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, Edna Pontellier finds herself fighting this very battle that, although begins with a positive outlook, ultimately ends in her demise.

Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening In Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening, the reader is introduced into a society that is strictly male-dominated where women fill in the stereotypical role of watching the children, cooking, cleaning and keeping up appearances. Writers often highlight the values of a certain society by introducing a character who is alienated from their culture by a trait such as gender, race or creed. In Chopin's Awakening, the reader meets Edna Pontellier, a married woman who attempts to overcome her "fate", to avoid the stereotypical role of a woman in her era, and in doing so she reveals the surrounding society's assumption and moral values about women of Edna's time. Edna helps to reveal the

In Kate Chopin’s novel “The Awakening” there are many concealed and revealed messages of society, women rights, mixed love, as well as finding oneself. Chopin’s uses one of the main characters Mrs. Edna Pontellier to voice those messages. Edna Pontellier a twenty-nine year-old married at a young age due to the society and the time she lived in. She unfortunately did not have to opportunity to learn about herself and live life during her younger years. Another novel “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft focus on the rights of women and the philosophical view of those said rights.

Thank you to all the students, professors, and my coach for your support, encouragement, and feedback. As I previously stated in my introductory post, I love read but hate to write, which was probably not the best words to say entering an English class, but with your support, not only have I made it through this course, but I have also enjoyed the journey.