The Awakening By Kate Chopin

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.

Illogical, submissive, and sensual are some of the words used to describe the view of women during the nineteenth century. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells the controversial story of a woman, Edna Pontellier, and her spiritual growing. Throughout the story, Edna constantly battles between her heart’s desires and society’s standard. The novel shows how two women’s lives influence Edna throughout the novel. Mademoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle are both in their own way strong, motherly influences in Edna’s life. Mademoiselle Reisz is Edna the mother who wants Edna to pursue her heart’s desires. Madame Ratignolle however, is the type of mother to Edna who wants Edna to do what is socially right. The way the two live

Birth, whether of children or desires, existplays an active motif throughout The Awakening. Edna Pontellier, as one of the leading characters, is a child discovering her very sense of self. Her attitude toward her children reveals that she is not the typical “mother-woman” the preferable type of woman in Edna’s society. The term, mother-woman is a reductive one which implies a singular purpose or value. The mother-woman is a mother; being one defines and regulates every aspect of her life. (51). The critical elements to identifying Edna’s awakening. One thing that different Edna from other women in the society such as Madame Ratignolle is that she has not accepted her role unquestionably.

The story, The Awakening, is about Edna Pontellier’s internal conflict between her desire for independence and her need to remain a high-class member of society. When away on summer vacation Edna has the realization that she has control of her own life and begins to focus on her self and not what others think. During her awakening, Edna is faced with much resilience from her husband and friends and instead of becoming someone she is not, Edna Pontellier ends her own life as she sees it is her only option. The author, Kate Chopin, uses many characters to exemplify the conflicting ideals emerging in Edna; particularly Madame Ratignolle acts as a foil to Edna’s newfound persona, instead symbolizing the conservation of a traditional

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.

In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, we see how much of an importance the men in Edna’s life serve as a purpose to her awakening. Chopin is known to write stories about women who are unsatisfied with their lives while living in a life that is dominated by men. Other than Edna, the main men characters are typical men of the late 19th century era. Chopin shows how these three men are diverse from one another. The Creole men are Léonce Pontellier, Edna’s husband, Robert, Edna’s mystery man number one, and Alcee, mystery man number two. Léonce, Edna’s husband, is a businessman who has no time for his family let alone his wife. Alcee comes off as carefree and does not seem to care what society thinks of him. Robert is Edna’s main mystery man who she loves but Robert doesn’t love her back. Throughout the novel, these men make Edna question herself, which lead her to her awakening. These men show how men in the late 19th century behaved. In a male dominated world, women were not allowed to do much except for be good wives and mothers to their families. Edna learned the hard way as to what it meant to be the wife of a Creole man in the Victorian era. Men expected too much of women because appearances meant everything and no man would want to have a wife who is out of line and not well behaved in public. In studying these three men in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, we see how different yet alike these men are to one another.

Over the course of time the male species has always been the gender to attain the more favorable conditions. Numerous cultures heed to the belief that the man is the provider and head of his family. This machismo nature can condition the mind to believe that a man should feel superior to a woman. The continuous cycle of male superiority flows down from father to son subconsciously. Do to this unceasing sequence of behavior women fall subject to repression and control at the hands of mentally undeveloped men. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, illustrated this particular topic in a way that not only appealed to the readers’ sense of pathos but, the readers’ likeliness to be able to relate to the aforementioned as well. Chopin stylistically renders the struggle of the protagonist Edna Pontellier, a strong willed woman who finds herself imprisoned to the concept of trans-temporal existence, as she seeks refuge to her true being, Edna experiments relationships with multiple men that unintentionally repress her existence. Between Leonce Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, Alcee Arobin and The Colonel effect of Edna’s life they catalyze her awakening and ultimately lead her suicide.

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,

Sexual transgression and sexual exploration is one of the most highly talked about topics in today’s society. The path to sexual liberation within society begins with experimentation and exploration, followed by personal acceptance, and finally, although not always, societal acceptance. Although we have come a long way on the path of acceptance of different sexual transgressions, the stories of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux Carre,” and Lyle Saxon’s “The Centaur Plays Croquet” show that this type of acceptance has not always been the case. Each story plays an integral role when looking at the steps on the path to societal acceptance. Chopin 's story dives deep into the area of experimentation and exploration, whereas Saxon 's story looks more at the areas of personal acceptance, and Williams ' story lies more along the area of societal acceptance, and whether or not acceptance is always the end result.

Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening depicts sexual affairs, inner struggles, and the conquest of motherhood that most women face today. The conquest of motherhood involves the battle between being a supportive wife and selfless mother. The story revolves around the characters’ dialogue and appearances described beautifully throughout the novel by Kate Chopin. The story is a familiar one that, sadly, most women can relate to: A woman is married without knowing what true love is. Her husband treats her kindly and respectfully; however, views her as a possession more-so than a human being. The husband, caring more about his duties, job, and money, leaves his wife struggling with her domestic responsibilities such as raising a family, being a good mother and wife. Characterization contributes to Edna’s struggles because each character described by Chopin affects the way Edna lives her life. Robert has a passionate effect on her and gives her that temporary confidence and “fire” that she needed in her life. Her husband’s description by Chopin reflects just how neglected and lonely Edna felt. The other Creole women that are explained by Chopin also shows the readers what the “perfect mother or wife” should be. Chopin’s mechanism of using characterization throughout the novel does not reflect the character’s personalities and motifs. However, Kate Chopin uses direct and indirect characterization as the anchor of the novel that supplies the reader with the benefit

The two main women in Edna’s life serve as foils of each other and static characters to which Edna can compare. Adele Ratignole presents the ideal, socially-accepted woman figure. She exemplifies all that is perfect: devoted wife seeking only to please her spouse, loving mother, knowledgeable, conventional, “mother-woman,” elegant, charming, simple, and servant to both her family and society. Completely opposite of the dependent woman is Mademoiselle Reisz who personifies all that Adele would disgust. Reisz remains isolated from society, shunned as a recluse for her passion of music. She is unpopular, solitary, unmarried, childless, but also courageous, passionate, independent, inspired, and free. The two figures rest on polar ends of a societal spectrum. This distance creates a horrific gap within which Edna finds herself. Edna identifies with both women, having qualities and tendencies of each. This dual connection complicates Edna’s identity; she cannot fully embody either woman type while she possesses qualities of the other. Edna remains in a situation in which success cannot be achieved.

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.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers.

In “The Awakening”, Kate Chopin demonstrates Edna’s early mother who experiences a melodramatic phase of transformation that she “awakens” to the boundaries of her old-style society and growing with freedom. Then, we look at Edna Pontellier awake in circumstances that have metaphorical awakenings to a new modern woman with sexual experiences. Edna fights off the common and ordinary structures of maternity that force her to be well-defined by her designation as spouse of Leonce Pontellier and mother of Raoul and Etienne Pontellier, instead of being her own, self-defined individual. Chopin’s focus on two other female characters, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna’s pathways of life. Chopin portrays distinct types of characters that

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the constant boundaries and restrictions placed on Edna Pontellier by society will lead to her struggle for freedom and her ultimate suicide. Her husband Leonce Pontellier, the current women of society, and the Grand Isle make it evident that Edna is trapped in a patriarchal society. Despite these people, Edna has a need to be free and she is able to escape from the society that she despises. The sea, Robert Lebrun, and Mademoiselle Reisz serve as Edna’s outlets from conformity. “Edna's journey for personal independence involves finding the words to express herself. She commits suicide rather than sacrificing her independent,