The Awakening by Kate Chopin

In The Awakening, Kate Chopin ends the novel in a vastly different way than most authors would have at that time with her main character, Edna Pontellier, committing suicide by drowning herself. If one were to isolate this ending without any context whatsoever, it would feel tragic and depressing; however, the events leading up to her death actually explains to the readers her spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation, both of which being themes significant to the book as a whole.

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.

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.

Pigsy, Rib of man, Piece of goods, Frail, Scupper are some of the many words that were used to describe over the last millennium, some of the words which are very offensive today. According to dictionary.com, Feminism means the advocacy of women’s right on the basis of the equality of the sexes. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Chopin expressed female oppression and feminism through Edna’s life, her choices and the people in her community. Chopin had many examples of female oppression and feminism in her novel, such as Adele Ratignolle’s life, how women were stereotyped in the society at that time, why women in the 1800s fought for their feminist rights,

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.

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.

It is a bird, it is a plane, it is Edna! Edna Pontellier, a woman who challenges the patriarchal society, undergoes many hardships and development in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. In the beginning of the novel, Edna is misunderstood and caged, depicted as a parrot. As the novel develops, Edna desires to soar above the patriarchal society and believes she has the ability to do so. Later, Edna moves into the ‘pigeon house’, attempting to escape her husband and this society as a whole. In doing so, however, Edna isolates herself, eventually leading to her suicide. While Edna expresses her desire to escape the patriarchal society, Kate Chopin’s bird symbolism depicted her inability to do

In Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening,” it takes the reader back to the 19th century when society had a defined meaning of what it was meant to be a woman. During the time that Chopin published her book in 1899 women were expected to stay home and take care of their husbands and children. By this means, society had implied that women were only allowed to act certain ways and do certain things; otherwise, they were thought to be senile. In the “The Awakening,” Edna Pontellier undergoes a dramatic change of self-realization, denying her role as a mother and wife. Edna awakens to discover her own identity seeing the world around her in a new perspective forgetting the roles that have been determine by society and ignoring the consequences to

The conflict of society’s expectations versus an individual’s will is an important theme that is evident throughout the plot of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. The main character, Edna Pontellier, faces heavily oppressive societal expectations for women in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The author uses the main character’s situation to demonstrate how hard it was for a woman to become her own person back in that time period. It was a social norm back then for a woman to marry and be obedient to her husband; the refusal of marriage and the act of going against one’s husband was not socially acceptable. In achieving her individualism, Edna starts to disregard what her husband tells her and starts thinking for herself. She realizes how

In the iconic novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin introduces her main character as a woman struggling with herself and society to find her freedom in the Victorian time period. Edna, the central figure of the story, fights and overcomes seemingly minute obstacles that she sees in her life, such as her children and husband, to satisfy her need for independence. As the novel concludes, Edna chooses to take her own life when she drowns in the ocean to bring a chilling end to the book. From evidence in the novel and the research of different literary analysists from various articles, it is evident that Edna’s decision to commit suicide was for a means of escape from the world that was slowly draining her and her newly awakened spirit that could not be satisfied.

There are considerable amounts of critical debates regarding the way Kate Chopin ended her novel, The Awakening. One group of commentators say that the main character 's, Edna Pontellier 's, awakening is one of psychological lucidity and that her suicide is an act of success. This meaning that Edna finally frees herself from social restrictions and rules by committing suicide and is thus seen as the greatest feminist. Other commentators, on the other hand, believe that Edna 's development throughout the novel is her character slowly descending into lunacy, and that her act of suicide is one of surrender and “a pathetic defeat that is inconsistent with the depiction of her previous strength and achievements” (242) according to George

Many of Kate Chopin’s writings are trademarked by her unique, deliberate word choices. Chopin uses phrases that do not make sense and seem to contradict themselves to get across a point. In two of her stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Awakening,” Chopin’s word usage highlights the idea of self-discovery.

Many characters are shaped by what real life societal roles and laws are in place at that time period. This is the case for Edna Pontellier in the Awakening by Kate Chopin. She struggles between fitting into the societal norms for women at the time, the late nineteenth century, and what she feels is right for herself. This aspect of American culture played a role in shaping the novel through characterization, symbolism, and themes.

Kate Chopin was influenced by literary authors on both sides of the Atlantic. American writers like Howells and Garland, and French writers like Maupassant and Flaubert. Maupassant was indeed one of Chopin's considerable literary "mentor".His impact comes from Chopin directly in an unpublished essay called "Confidences". She reveals her appreciation for the French advisor. Areas of her writing form are also telling of his influence on her objective psychological realism, her stress on character rather than plot, her desire for economy and consensus, and her different principals. Obvious analogies make a connection between this French male author and American female author. Unfortunately, The Awakening, probably a reaction to Flaubert's Madame

Fate is a highly questionable topic when it comes to how people live their lives. Many people can’t comprehend giving their life up to chance, but many believe it to be the best way to live. Fate is the destined path given to each person to implement throughout their lifetime. It can’t be stopped, or reasoned with, merely accepted. Many characters struggle with idea of fate in The Awakening, but nobody accepts fate more than Edna. In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, fate is used as an irrepressible force that manipulates Edna in order to give her a better life.