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.

Edna’s children are different from other children, if one of her boys fell “…he was not apt to rush crying to his mother’s arms for comfort; he would more likely pick himself up, wipe the water out of his eyes and the sand out of his mouth, and go on playing”. Edna is not a typical Creole “mother-woman” who “idolized her children (and) worshipped her husband” (8) and at times that results in her husband’s claims that she neglects her children. Edna’s children leave her attached to her husband, and even if she is somehow able to escape the relationship with her husband she will never be able to escape her children. She realizes this and whether consciously or not, doesn’t care for her children the way this is expected of a woman in her time period. When Adele Ratignolle reminds her to, “Think of the children!…Oh think of the children! Remember them!” Edna finally realizes her decisions affect her and her children. Instead of accepting her responsibility as a mother Edna decides to give up, and does so by committing suicide.

Edna has a difficult time finding herself while living with her husband. Her actions show by not caring what she wears, not listening to her husband and even hanging out with her actual love Robert more than her workaholic husband. However, this whole time Edna just wants freedom, She wants to be able to do what she wants to do without being demanded to do it.

Edna’s sacrifice of her family also illuminates one of her main values, freedom. In the beginning of the novella, Edna is reserved and demure. However her friendship with Adele Ratignolle encourages her to follow the creole style of expression and become more open and candid with her actions and voice. The friendship helps her learn to value herself as a person with real emotions, rather than a piece of property for her husband. This marks the beginning of her awakening, as she becomes more open with her feelings, prompting her to further her relationship with Robert. They begin to move past the level of innocent flirtation the Creoles are accustomed to, against the advice of Adele, leading Edna to a new sexual freedom as she continuously chooses to spend her time with Robert rather than her family. However, perhaps one of the most prominent examples of Edna’s high value of freedom comes at the very end

Neglecting her responsibilities helped her find herself as a whole. The house which she once felt trapped became a place where she felt freed and relieved “ from obligations added to her strength and expansions as an individual.” As Edna becomes free of her responsibilities that society has forced upon her she is becoming more of an individual which help her find her happiness and freedom. She does not struggle with the outward conformity which she did before when she have to welcome the ladies into her house but freeing herself from these responsibilities by questioning herself and finding the true happiness and freedom that she has been seeking

She has been contained within a lifestyle that is dictated by her husband and her children. Her marriage is not one that consists of any romance; it merely exists. Her friendship with Robert is more eventful than the times she has spent with her husband, Lèonce. Only when Edna decides to go for a symbolic swim does she realize all of this. This swim is like a rebirth, a new baptism, a sexual awakening. Edna has realized that in order for her to lead a happier life, she must depend on herself, she is now out on her own. Edna grows closer with Robert and distances herself from Lèonce in an attempt to satisfy her hidden romantic dreams, which haven’t surfaced since her childhood. As Robert announces his departure to Mexico, Edna finally realizes her feelings for him. She struggles to fill the void in her love life by associating with Alcèe, another flirtatious young man. Edna seems to favor the attention given to her by men other than her husband, a scandalous inclination during her time period. In the ways of her sexual struggles and desires, Edna resembles a more modern woman, perhaps even one represented by today’s society. She goes through men quickly, having more than one affair. This type of behavior would have been frowned upon in the 1800s, but today it is much more commonplace. Edna was alive during the wrong time period for this type of

During the late eighteen hundreds, which was the time of Edna Pontellier who was a protagonist of her time, women were thought of as nothing but house wives whose only task was to take care of her husband and children. Kate Chopin’s book, The Awakening, expresses the failures and the successes in a woman 's life as she tries to live with the harsh cultural demands placed on her life. Edna fights against the stereotype mother/woman and the pressures of 1899 that demand her to be a meek and loyal housewife. Although Edna ultimately commits suicide thus wasting her efforts against an oppressive society, The Awakening still supports and endorses feminism as a method for women to gain sexual liberation, financial independence, and a personal identity.

Kate Chopin must have anticipated the extreme response when she decided to publish “The Awakening” in 1899. The title alone foreshadows a character or group of people undergoing a change that would extend their knowledge of something. “The Awakening” is a novella about a woman named Edna Pontellier, who is married with children. When she goes on a vacation to a resort with her family, she sparks an affair with one of the men that manage the resort. This act alone is already seen as inconceivable during the late 19th century, but Chopin decides that her story does not end there. Later in the story the man leaves her unexpectedly, sparking her sexual awakening and she starts to live her life rebellious to society’s standards. Since society

Edna’s denial for society’s motherly-woman role demonstrates the feministic values of individualism. Mrs. Pontellier prohibits Léonce from having any more control over her life while expressing her desire to keep her individuality at all costs. An example of this is when she rejects to welcome her husband’s guests during the reception day in Chapter 17. Edna begins to break free of her family’s suppressions to express her independence as well as creating her own decisions. Another example is when Edna discusses with Madame Lebrun on her feelings of herself. In this conversation, Edna finally reviews how much her self-expression means to her more than to her children. This scene studies Edna’s morals on expression of one-self, as she values

The story beings with Edna Pontieller, her husband Léonce, and their two children vacationing in Grand Isle, which is an island near New Orleans. The family vacationed in a home run by Madame Leburn, who has two sons. In the beginning it is apparent that Edna and Léonce’s marriage is very traditional, in which Edna does all the cooking, cleaning and taking care of their children. Edna doesn’t like that she has to do this and Leonce is frustrated with Edna’s performance as a mother and a wife. Leonce is often absent because of work, so Edna spends her time with a woman named Adèle Ratignolle. While Edna is hanging out with Adele is when a change in Edna is first obvious because she opens up her mind to expressing herself. Leonce has to leave

In the beginning of the book is becomes clear that a lot of societal pressures have been placed upon Edna. One of those being that she is suppose to be a happy, and willing slave to her children. These women “idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals” (Chopin 8). They feel blessed to be serving their children and husband and to erase themselves as individuals and become self-sacrificing so called angels. Edna can not accept that.

“Even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life—that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions” (Chopin 18). The Victorian Era created a clear distinguishment between male and female roles in society, where women were expected to behave feminine-like, be responsible for domestic duties and have little involvement in society. This created a heavy oppression upon females and as a result forced many of them to remain entrapped in a male dominant society, in fear of being outcasted. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin depicts how Edna’s defiance of Victorian ideal and ignorance of gender roles allows

In the Victorian society in which Kate Chopin’s The Awakening takes place, there are many strict behavioral and other conventions that must be adhered to, particularly for women. In this paradigm, Edna Pontellier, who serves as both her own protagonist and antagonist in the novella, is caught between her desires for independence and freedom and the constraining notions of Victorian society.

She strives to go against the norm of society and demonstrate her individuality as a woman of the Victorian Era. Edna declines the role of a mother and wife, in order for her to live the life that she chooses. As she chooses to fight for her individuality, she also decides to live out her sexual desires and break out of the limitations imposed upon her from society. Through the atmosphere that Kate Chopin depicts, Edna’s infatuation for Robert and Alcee are revealed when she exhibits her true feelings for them. As a final action to push for women’s rights, Edna tries to pursue her love for art and music instead of following the domestic rules of taking care of her husband and children.

Kate Chopin is just one of the authors featured in the realism time period. She has published multiple works of literature, but the novel that shocked critics the most was The Awakening. Published in 1899, the novel surprised critics with the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, questioning her role in society. With Chopin’s main focus being on the true roles of women, she shocked the literature world, she brought a whole new game to the realism movement of writing about the true feelings and desires of females. Chopin wrote about the truth of women’s roles in society, which brought a whole new feminism view to the literary world.