The Creole society demands high moral and a traditional lifestyle from the women in The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. Edna Pontillier, the main character, enters a rebellious state of mind as she explores the awakening the other characters influence. The other characters in The Awakening create Edna by influencing her decisions, independence, and sexual desires throughout the story. Mademoiselle Reisz, Robert, and Alcee Arobin challenge Edna to fly above the Creole traditions and become more in-touch with her sexuality, and encourage her to be an independent woman while Edna’s husband, Leonce, Madame Ratignolle, and Edna’s father conflict with Edna because they want her to be a traditional Creole wife and mother to her children and try to …show more content…
Edna’s husband, Leonce Pontillier, becomes aware that she is not the woman he married when she begins to argue with him about her duties as a wife and a mother. “He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that 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 96).” Leonce acts as a benchmark throughout the novel reminding Edna that she is bound to her family and makes her feel trapped. He is her reality check. Edna acknowledges that she is a poor mother and wife since she does not fit in with the traditions of the Creole society. When Edna’s father comes to visit, he is disappointed that Edna is not living up to Leonce’s expectations since she is not actually from a different lifestyle. He mentions that she might just be different than other women and directs Leonce to be more strict with her saying, “Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife (Chopin 119).” Edna tries hard to entertain her father during his stay to prove to him that she can live in the traditional society, though she is happy when he leaves. Edna’s father conflicts with her views of her life which compels her to act more traditional when he visits. Alcee Arobin is the man that all the women wish they had. He knows how to flatter the women, especially Edna. Arobin
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.
In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin portrays an image where someone shifts from one phase to another one. We find the protagonist go through a shift from patriarchy to feminist resistance. As this story continues to unfold, Edna goes through feminist resistance where she doesn’t want to still rely on her husband anymore and want to live by her own rules. Edna Pontellier’s “awakening” takes place in Grand Isle and New Orleans during the late 1800s. It is an important factor of the book because during this time period women were fighting for their rights. Usually before this time, women would only stay home and follow the orders of their husbands. Women during this time period needed to stay home and care for the house and the children. They always had to live for their children almost are like a slave to their husband. Women would be often seen as a property and not an actual human being. In this novel, we find restrains at the beginning and later see the shift to wanting freedom of expression.
Chopin specifically shows her sympathy for Edna by allowing her to get away with many things that would be deemed unacceptable in 1899. For example, towards the end of the novel, Edna buys a small house with her own money, and moves into it so she can live on her own while she is still married to her husband, Léonce Pontellier. Furthermore, when Edna spends time with Robert (who becomes Edna’s love interest), it is known that Léonce would not mind because Robert states, “Of course not; he knows you are with me” (Chopin, 64), when Edna worries if Léonce will be anxious she was gone so long. This care free attitude from men towards their wives is unusual behavior in 1899.
She is seen to be weak due to her isolation causing Leonce to be worried of her because she is not the same submissive woman she was before. As a woman, Edna does not have the rights to express her emotions due to the societal restrictions against her. Additionally, Edna’s abnormal choices against Leonce cause her father, The Colonel, to give advice to Leonce about taking charge in the relationship. This is evident during a conversation between The Colonel and Leonce when he says “You are too lenient, too lenient by far…Authority and coercion are is what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife” (109).
In The Awakening, Kate Chopin creates a protagonist that clearly demonstrates a feminist. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier seeks more from life than what she is living and starts to refuse the standards of the society she lives in. Edna has many moments of awakening resulting in creating a new person for herself. She starts to see the life of freedom and individuality she wants to live. The Awakening encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain freedom and choose individuality over conformity. Chopin creates a feminist story that shows a transformation from an obedient “mother-woman” to a woman who is willing to sacrifice her old life to become independent and make an identity for herself.
Immediately, she says, “'Leonce, go to bed, ... 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'” [Edna] (Kindle location 589). It is here that she anchors her freedom. Her role as an obedient Creole wife has ended.
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).
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
Finally, Edna’s vulnerability to love and passion serves as a major contributing factor to her “defeat and regression” in the sense that it directly impacted some aspects of her despair and desire to escape from reality. The narrator reveals in Chapter VII, “[Edna’s] marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident,” (Chopin, 24). She simply becomes caught up in a moment of passion and impulsiveness, satisfied at the fact that her marriage would upset both her father and sister. In this sense, her rushing into marriage without a basis of love may be the root of her depressive episodes. Additionally, after Robert leaves for Mexico, Edna becomes overly anxious to receive letters from him, actually breaking into tears upon finally laying her eyes upon a letter from Robert addressed to Mademoiselle Reisz (Chopin, 86-87). This is a prime example of Edna’s vulnerability to love; her emotions are controlled by her “lover’s” presence and lack thereof, influencing and even worsening her sudden moments of dread and despair. Also, Edna succumbs to seduction by Alcee Arobin’s charm, first with a kiss (Chopin, 112) and then through sleeping with Arobin (Chopin, 125). Edna’s adulterous actions with Arobin are representative of the independent will she now possesses and has displayed in the past in her
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
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
She was pressured to marry Leonce by her father and older sister. Along with marriage came the pressure to have children. She is forced into these roles but never actually succumbs to them. Edna not only has Madame Ratignolle's friendship and her marriage to wake her up to her dreams and emotions, her affairs wake up to her desires. The way the different male characters treat her reminds her that she will never happily fit into the role of a wife and mother, therefore awakening her.
She sat down in the wicker chair and began to rock gently to and fro... the tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier's eyes that the damp sleeve of her peignoir no longer served to dry them," (Chopin). Edna's life is mainly seen throughout the book with her husband Leonce Pontellier. Edna pretends in public that the relationship between her and her husband is perfectly healthy and loving. Leonce and Edna's relationship is anything but pleasing and loving.
As the story progressed Edna, the central character of the story goes through a series of awakenings. As Edna awakens to this new self she becomes self absorbed and chooses her satisfaction over her family. Her marriage to Leonce was not a love marriage, but more of a convenience. Edna wasn’t in love with Leonce, but rather embraced
Along with living up to this towering expectation they were presumed to “live their lives largely homebound, taking care of the cooking, cleaning, and child rearing,” (Sallus) which restricted a woman of this time’s value to what she could do and how she could serve others. Edna says her children’s absence was a relief in a sense because “It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her.” (Chopin 25). This reveals that Edna feels as though she does not fit the role of the mother, nor does she want to. Edna later argues to Madame Ratignolle, the epitome of a motherwoman, that she would give up the unessential for her children, for instance money or even her own life, but she would never sacrifice herself. Madame Ratignolle demonstrates the values of a woman in their society when she replies with: “... but a woman who would give her life for her children could do no more than that--your Bible tells you so. I'm sure I couldn't do more than that.” (Chopin 64). This shows that Edna differs from the women in her society because she places herself above her family and focuses on her own happiness rather than tending to her children and husband’s every last need or want.