Kate Chopin's Awakening
Kate Chopin's depiction of “The Awakening” is realistic as she develops Edna Pontellier’s character from a socially and morally respectable individual to an individual that turns her back on everything closest to her as she births her new self-being. Edna Pontellier struggles between her subconscious and conscious thoughts as unusual feelings stir unfounded emotions and senses. Some of Chopin’s characters lend themselves in Edna’s “awakening”. Through examination of Leonce Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, Madame Moiselle Reisz, Adele Ratignolle, and Alcee Arobin the life of Edna Pontellier turns into her ultimate death. The relationship she has with each one of these characters influences and initiates a lost feeling
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The lack of Leonce’s attention leaves Edna’s vulnerability, as a woman with needs, exposed to the elements. Leonce’s dedication to his business has left his marriage on quicksand. He isn’t aware of any pending danger and doesn’t realize the need of intimacy in their marriage.
He is not given to jealousy even as Rober Lebrun dedicates himself as Edna’s patron. Leonce’s lack of affection and his accusations of Edna not minding the children properly adds one more stepping stone toward her awakening. Though Mr. Pontellier might have been somewhat accurate, Chopin reveals, “Edna loved her children in an unorthodox manner and only longed for them every once in a while. They were easily remembered and forgot with no conscious thought of ineptness. When they were away for the previous summer at their father’s mother’s place in Iberville, Edna knew they were in good hands. At ease with their safety she did not miss them. On occasion she longed for them immensely, but their absence was a comfort to her though her subconscious would not let her conscious confirm it” (33). Leonce’s constant absence for long periods of time was nothing unusual and accepted with little grievance. The children’s absence during the summer was of the same degree. Edna had no real physical, intimate, or emotionally touching relationship until Robert Lebrun came into her life.
Robert Lebrun
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.
Of course, when she left her children alone their defiance took root. When Edna returned, her son was not sleeping as the rest of the children were, but instead he had refused, slowly getting caught up in his night robe and yet still trying to remain in control. His little act of course had no effect on his authority, as Edna’s acts of staying up and then going to the cherniere did not give her any control over her husband. These acts of defiance, trying to break little rules, occur because she can simply not break the major ones. Leonce is not yet mad at Edna but you can see for the first time the difference in how he treats her. He is nervous when she does not immediately return and wants to go look for her, as a concerned parent would look for their child. This shows how Edna is looked at as a child, similarly as to how the boy must be coddled in order to get him to sleep Edna receives the same treatment in order to get her to behave. In the same ways that Edna was reprimanded for acting out, she reflects toward her
The ending of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is both controversial and thought provoking. Many see Edna Pontellier’s suicide as the final stage of her “awakening”, and the only way that she will ever be able to truly be free. Edna’s suicide, however, is nothing more than her final attempt to escape from her life. Edna Pontellier’s life has become too much for her to handle, and by committing suicide she is simply escaping the oppression she feels from her marriage, the suppression she feels from her children, and the failure of her relationship with Robert.
“There was not one but ready to follow when he lead the way.” Even though Robert is not around most of the time, he influences Edna more than he realizes. “Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her place her position in the world as a human being.” He essentially makes Edna second guess her marriage and the possibility of leaving her children behind. Robert brings Edna out of her shell and makes her more comfortable around others particularly standing up to her husband. “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.” Robert shows Edna that he is connected to her and she falls for him almost instantly because that is what she has been missing while being married to Leonce. “We shall love each other… Nothing else in the world is of any consequence.” Despite the fact they have never been involved in any physical way, Robert knows that he feels more for Edna than any other women he has encountered. So he decides to run away from the truth and goes to Mexico to keep from having to show Edna his true love for her. Ultimately, Robert influenced Edna severely because she was second guessing her marriage, falling in love with him and even became friends with Mademoiselle Reisz through him. And she sadly even committed suicide in the end because she couldn’t deal with the hurt of being without
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).
contrary, she knows what she wants her life to hold, and she leaps for it.
Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna, is the story 's antagonist. He is materialistic, due to him being a wealthy businessman, and also forty years old. His high status came at a cost; he is very concerned with appearance and how others view him."The way to become rich is to make money, my dear Edna, not to save it," he said. He regretted that she did not feel inclined to go with him and select new fixtures. He kissed her goodbye, and told her she was not looking well and must take care of herself. She was unusually pale and very quiet” (18). He also treats Edna as mere property "You are burnt beyond recognition," he added, looking at his wife as one
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
In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening a wife and a mother of two, Edna Pontellier, discovers her desires as a woman to live life to the fullest extent and to find her true self. Eventually, her discovery leads to friction between friends, family, and the dominant values of society. Through Chopin's use of Author’s craft and literary elements, the readers have a clear comprehension as to what the author is conveying.
Sacrifices can define one’s character; the definition can either be the highest dignity or the lowest degradation of the value of one’s life. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin implicitly conveys the sacrifice Edna Pontellier makes in the life which provides insight of her character and attributions to her “awakening.” She sacrificed her past of a lively and youthful life and compressed it to a domestic and reserved lifestyle of housewife picturesque. However, she meets multiple acquaintances who help her express her dreams and true identity. Mrs. Pontellier’s sacrifice established her awakening to be defiant and drift away from the societal role of an obedient mother, as well as, highlighting the difference between society’s expectations of
Edna weds Leonce Pontellier, a Creole, to retaliate against her father and sister. In defiance, Edna marries, not for love, but to punish her family for their disapproval. Edna’s first marriage is her initial attempt towards self-determination. Janie, on the other hand, in her initial attempt towards self-determination, rejects the idea of marriage, but is forced into a loveless union to Logan Killicks because of her grandmother’s persistence. Janie had always believed in marrying for love, not security—a virtue her grandmother adamantly preached. Ironically, these oppressive marriages make these women stronger. Initially, these women are looked upon as possessions, and, thus, their identities are degraded. Leonce treats Edna as a belonging and looks upon her “as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 7). Janie is regarded in the same way by Logan, who “refuses to accept essential parts of her heritage, personality, and experience” (Kubitschek 23).
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.
She married Leonce not because she loved him but because she could not refuse his admiration and persistence. This marriage thrusts Edna into a foreign culture. She questions her role as a mother because she is different from the typical Creole "mother-woman." Edna defies the central perception that women are mothers first
Edna realizes her place in the world and that she has no freedom and independence. Mrs. Pontellier does not want to be married to Leonce Pontellier and wishes that she could particularly start living like Madame Reisz, and independent friend of Mrs. Pontellier’s. Edna Pontellier starts refusing to do wifely duties for example staying at home during the day. She goes to the horse races and meets Alcee Arobin, a young, seductive man known to date married women. Mrs. Pontellier’s actions are so crazy during this time period that her husband asks the local doctor to visit her and figure out what is wrong. Although Mrs. Pontellier’s regrets her marriage to Leonce Pontellier and has an affair with both Alcee Arobin and Lebrun, society during that time would make obtaining a divorce very difficult. After Robert comes back from Mexico and tells Mrs. Pontellier that they can not be together since she can not acquire a divorce and they cannot be together because of society’s rules, Mrs. Pontellier decides that she does not want to lead a life of responsibility and have loveless