The Awakening opens in the late 1800s in Grand Isle, a summer holiday resort popular with the wealthy inhabitants of nearby New Orleans. Edna Pontellier is vacationing with her husband, Léonce, and their two sons at the cottages of Madame Lebrun, which house affluent Creoles from the French Quarter. Léonce is kind and loving but preoccupied with his work. His frequent business-related absences mar his domestic life with Edna. Consequently, Edna spends most of her time with her friend Adèle Ratignolle, a married Creole who epitomizes womanly elegance and charm. Through her relationship with Adèle, Edna learns a great deal about freedom of expression. Because Creole women were expected and assumed to be chaste, they could behave in a …show more content…
Worried about the changing attitude and increasing disobedience of his wife, Léonce seeks the guidance of the family physician, Doctor Mandelet. A wise and enlightened man, Doctor Mandelet suspects that Edna’s transformation is the result of an affair, but he hides his suspicions from Léonce. Instead, Doctor Mandelet suggests that Léonce let Edna’s defiance run its course, since attempts to control her would only fuel her rebellion. Léonce heeds the doctor’s advice, allowing Edna to remain home alone while he is away on business. With her husband gone and her children away as well, Edna wholly rejects her former lifestyle. She moves into a home of her own and declares herself independent—the possession of no one. Her love for Robert still intense, Edna pursues an affair with the town seducer, Alcée Arobin, who is able to satisfy her sexual needs. Never emotionally attached to Arobin, Edna maintains control throughout their affair, satisfying her animalistic urges but retaining her freedom from male domination.
At this point, the self-sufficient and unconventional old pianist Mademoiselle Reisz adopts Edna as a sort of protégé, warning Edna of the sacrifices required of an artist. Edna is moved by Mademoiselle Reisz’s piano playing and visits her often. She is also eager to read the letters from abroad that Robert sends the woman. A woman who devotes her life entirely to her art, Mademoiselle serves as an inspiration and model to Edna, who continues her process of
The major changes in American religion that occurred in the early nineteenth century were the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a Christian Revival movement during the early nineteenth century. The movement began around 1800, it had begun to gain momentum from the 1820. With the Second Great Awakening; new religions were established, there were different academic curriculums, a change from the trinity to just one deity and they would touch on American culture and reform.
Edna ,still saddened by Roberts departure decided to go and visit a friend of hers,Mademoiselle Reisz, to hear her play the piano when she arrived she had discovered that the woman had moved. Edna then visited Madame Lebrun's home to retrieve the address . There she was greeted by Victor who told her the contents of the letters received from Robert. Edna was sad that Robert had not written her. As victor escorted Edna out...Madame Lebrun and victor discuss how Edna had changed saying “she doesn’t seem like the same woman.”. After receiving the new address she visits the artist ,Mademoiselle Reisz, Madam is very pleased to see her and inform her that Robert had written a letter almost entirely about Edna. Edna is flattered and begs to read the letter . Robert has requested the Madame to play a song for Edna on the piano. As Edna reads the letter and listens to the music ,she is deeply moved . She weeps.After the visit Edna ask is she can visit again and The madam informs her her company is welcome anytime.
of religon. More people came to church for the worship of god from their heart.
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
Throughout The Awakening, a novel by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontellier showed signs of a growing depression. There are certain events that hasten this, events which eventually lead her to suicide.
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.
The Awakening was a very exciting and motivating story. It contains some of the key motivational themes that launched the women’s movement. It was incredible to see how women were not only oppressed, but how they had become so accustomed to it, that they were nearly oblivious to the oppression. The one woman, Edna Pontellier, who dared to have her own feelings was looked upon as being mentally ill. The pressure was so great, that in the end, the only way that she felt she could be truly free was to take her own life. In this paper I am going to concentrate on the characters central in Edna’s life and her relationships with them.
Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. This means that every gender is agreeing in value, has equal roles, equal pay, and not one dominating the other. This novel is about how Edna begins to make her own rules and not follow society and it did not matter if anyone stood with her she had no problem standing alone. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a feminist novel, because it explores her awakening and her journey in becoming an independent woman.
Although he eventually leaves for Mexico to find his fortune, Edna is still besotted with him and mystified by how he seemed to have awaken her inner sexuality. Robert’s departure leaves Edna feeling empty and “her whole existence was dulled, like a faded garment which seems to be no longer worth wearing” (Chopin ch XVI). In the time he’s away, Edna starts a brief affair with Alcée Arobin, becomes more engrossed in her art, and moves into a quaint rental house (also known as the “pigeon
I like not to have never gone back to sleep and once I did it was a fitful sleep; I tossed and turned trying to renew my dreams, but they did not return. The following morning, I woke tired and most depressed. I should have been relaxed after experiencing such consuming orgasms, but I felt the opposite. I paced the floor thinking of the dream… I contemplated revealing the nights sensual “dreams” to Angelique then changed my mind.
The novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin takes place in the early 1920's on the Grand Isles of Louisiana. The Grand Isles is a resort for the wealthy. The theme of this novel is about a woman named Edna who awakens to a new life as she discovers her independence. In the novel Edna also "awakens" to her love for Robert Leburn and most importantly she awakens to the knowledge that her husband is not in control of her life. Edna and Mr. Pontellier's relationship begins to get worse after he leaves for his business trip to New York. There are two stages of Edna and Mr. Pontellier's relationship, one of which is before Mr. Pontellier's trip to New York and the other is after he leaves.
Edna cannot live the life she wishes to with the positions and statuses she must fill in her society. Peggy Skaggs believes that it is impossible for Edna to be a complete person with her role of being a wife and mother as defined by her society. Allowing herself the choice, Edna decides to be the artist whose “courageous soul … dares and defies” (Chopin 156). Without a thought in mind, she chooses her final path to be the courageous one that matches up with her desires and quests towards freedom. Because Edna does not care about the societal rules, she stops worrying about her own impression management.
Unexpectedly, Robert and Edna become extremely close with each other by summer's end. Unwilling to further his relationship with a married woman, Robert leaves the country for Mexico. Furthermore, Leónce truly believed he had no obligation to care for his children and that it was Edna’s duty to do so. “If it was not a mother’s place to look after the children, whose on earth was it?” (Chopin 7). In society’s eyes, all a man needed to do was support their kids financially while the woman supported them in other ways. Chopin focuses on two other female characters in the story, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. These women are examples of how women should be in the nineteenth century. Adele was an example of a "motherly woman.” She would gladly sacrifice anything to care for her children, husband, and household, while Edna would not. Edna finds both role models lacking and begins to see that the life of freedom and individuality that she wants goes against society. Not only did society have a specific look on how a women should be, but Leónce as well, towards Edna. “’You are burnt beyond recognition,” he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage.” This shows how Edna is not an acceptable color according to her husband’s wishes. Edna had specific guidelines to follow
Landin awoke; completely nauseated he begin to question why he was laying there. Looking over to his left he sis his sister walking around with a bucket and half a glass of water. Entering through the door she hands him the glass of water, while setting the bucket on the ground for his later use. He takes a few sips of the water before she puts her hand palm out gesturing for him to stop. She leaves the room momentarily. Landin is confused until she re-enters the room with a few pills of medication. Handing over the pills Landin takes them without question. He then feels the cold metal of the bucket being placed in his lap. Almost like an immediate reaction to the chilling sensation of the rusted metal he lean forward beginning to release