The Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay

LeBlanc wisely steers clear of placing Edna in a lesbian space, choosing instead to place Edna as “something other, a fascinating creature who stands apart and resists definition” (242). For LeBlanc, Robert is the traditionally feminine man on the island who mirrors Edna herself; thus Edna appears to select a person who represents the masculinized encapsulation of herself, which represents woman-woman identification. However, here I disagree with LeBlanc, for although Robert is admittedly feminine or unmasculine, I believe masculinity to be a gendered niche that patriarchy must create for itself out of the markedly, fixedly feminine sphere (an idea or hypothesis I am seeming to create in my own work). Thus Robert decides instead not to appropriate those qualities that femininity possesses for a greater masculinity, but instead enters

A foil for Adele Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Reisz serves as a living example of an entirely self-sufficient woman, who is ruled by her art and her passions, rather than by the expectations of society. A small homely woman, unmarried and childless, Mademoiselle Reisz is a talented pianist and somewhat of a recluse. She represents the anti-mother along independence and freedom. The first time she is introduced in the novel she is introduced as being “eccentric and quarrelsome”, from that we are able to infer that she is unlike the other women. Later as the novel continues to progress from her house and manner of expression we are again able to infer that she is unlike the other Creole women. For her home is an apartment above everyone, with a view, that is disagreeable and often cold. Mademoiselle Reisz is the woman that Edna could have become should she have remained independent of her husband and children and lived to old age.

The relatively open and honest (less suppressed)culture of the Creoles is one which catalyzes her human sensibilities. Who could blame her? Especially Madame Ratignolle, and the way Chopin describes her sensuousness and warmth, would be compelling features it seems for anyone to be attracted to and to want, almost unconsciously, to emulate. Second, the attentive nature of Robert LeBrun is so marked and attractive when compared with Leonce’s domineering, controlling, even neglectful ways in which he treats (and does not treat) his family, (but with a measure of trying to placate them as the result of his own selfishness at Klein’s). When he wins, he forgets all about the candy and peanuts he promised his children. With Edna, he is talkative, but not attentive. Still, though, Edna is culturally in over her head when it comes to the sensual honesty and astonishingly implicit trust of these men to let their wives do what they do at this time in history. Thus far, I see an ostensibly lethal combination of Mme R and Robert working, however innocently in Edna’s life.

Edna Pontellier's suicide is the unfortunate pit falling of this otherwise feminist piece of literature. Her action, in fact, completely discredits the classification of feminism. Regardless of her ability to withdraw from her husband, venture out on her own, and buy her own home, Edna lacks a very

Due to Edna being romantically involved with Robert Lebrun, a man she met on the Grand Isle, she can be perceived as morally ambiguous. On page 107, Edna and Robert renounce their love for one another. Without context, Edna and Robert’s love for one another may be acceptable, but there is the fact that Edna is married to another man, Leonce Pontellier. Around the world, adultery is considered to be immensely shameful, and damaging to one’s honor. In fact, children have been taught that cheating to a spouse or romantic partner is rightfully unjust.Then for readers to see Mrs. Pontellier, the main protagonist, participate in a morally-wrong activity, the reader has a troublesome time of distinguishing her as good.

Chopin's The Awakening is full of symbolism.  Rather than hit the reader on the head with blunt literalism, Chopin uses symbols to relay subtle ideas.  Within each narrative segment, Chopin provides a symbol that the reader must fully understand in order to appreciate the novel as a whole.  I will attempt to dissect some of the major symbols and give possible explanations as to their importance within the text.

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

The disconnect between Edna and her husband Leonce Pontillier lays an adumbrate backdrop for the events to come from the beginning of the novel. It is evident that Mr. Pontillier is a man quite consumed with appearances and considers Edna, in a term more referenced to the present century, a trophy wife. Neither thoroughly amative nor ardent to her, he appreciates and is proud of the appearance that Edna offers, describing on page 5 how he looked upon Edna as one would look at “a valuable piece of personal property that has suffered some damage.” One can question however, is Leonce lost in vanity, or simply a man of his time? Mrs. Pontillier, described as being more handsome than beautiful links itself to the masculinity within her; representing the strong ill feelings she dared to feel while being a woman of the late 1800’s. “In short” says the novel “Mrs. Pontillier was not a mother-woman” (p.8)

Irene’s queer personality lives repressed in her id and the attraction can be noticed through many too detailed descriptions of Clare body parts and personality. “Her lips, painted a brilliant geranium red, were sweet and sensitive and a little obstinate. A tempting mouth” (45). It is impressive to see how this supposedly straight woman describes Clare’s mouth as tempting, yet she does not stop there, because Irene also describes her voice, “What was it about Clare's voice that was so appealing, so very seductive?” (52). The utilization of these adjectives is questionable because even when Irene talks about her husband Brian, she never uses adjectives that could express desire or even love. Irene is aware that her marriage is an arrangement where according to Brian sex is a just grand joke (60).

Lesbianism plays a significant role in the book. It may be seen as the alternative world that the author knows nothing about, but latter explores it eagerly, making it an irreplaceable element of her personality. She finds out that lesbians were able for form communities and she was able to become part of them in several countries. Furthermore, the author explores all aspects of lesbian love ranging from genuine to

   In Kate Chopin's time traditional patriarchal notions about women and sexuality deemed sexual passion a negligible, even improper, aspect of women's lives. Yet Chopin boldly addresses a woman's sexual desire in her short story "The Storm". This story shockingly details a torrid extramarital sexual encounter between Calixta and Alcee` in the midst of a raging storm. While this story line could have been presented in a traditional light, perhaps as a lesson about the evils of uninhibited female sexuality, Chopin maintains a non-judgmental stance by refraining from moralizing about the sanctity of marriage or impropriety of Calixta's actions. In failing to condemn and even

The subjects of the two novels, Edna Pontellier and the Narrator, undergo a similar change; at the onset of the novel they meet all societies expectations and standards for women of their time- Mrs. Pontellier is described as shy and reserved and neither protagonist ever disobey their husbands- but with each coming page, the women convert into someone unrecognizable to their antierior selves. Though their metamorphose are both ignited by a new environment, they had internally harbored yet suppressed their need for independence and freedom. Like these two, every woman holds creativity and free will; however during this time they were unable to practice them, as doing so was almost unheard of and rarely tolerated. The Narrator and Edna themselves serve to represent the healthy creative urges within women that have been suppressed.

In her attempt to uncover the “grain running against the grain” in Chopin’s novel, Patricia Yaeger dismantles conventional approaches to The Awakening that regard the work as an emancipatory text by virtue of its rebellious, adulterous heroine alone. Using Tony Tanner’s analysis of Edna’s infidelity as “belonging to the tradition of transgressive narratives,” highlighted in his work, Adultery in the Novel, Yaeger conversely emphasizes how Chopin’s development of the romance plot between Edna and Robert supports rather than subverts patriarchy. Although Edna credits Robert with “[awakening] me last summer out of a life-long, stupid dream,” her love for him interrupts rather than inspires her awakening, for Edna has simply jumped from the shelter of Leonce’s money and the social stability he affords to the school-girl fantasy of romantic love Robert represents. In each relationship, whether financially or emotionally, Edna remains dependent upon a man, but more significantly, men exist as the mirror through which Edna perceives herself. Without Robert, Edna forfeits the life she began to construct for herself, as well as the burgeoning female subjectivity awakened the summer before.

Hildebrand’s “The Masculine Sea” is found within the journal American Literary Realism; therefore, it can be concluded that her intended audience is: readers of American literature, realist literature, late 19th- and early 20th-century literature, and any overlaps of these. In this essay, Hildebrand uses The Awakening and other sources to argue for her thesis: Edna’s self-identifications of gender, race, and class contribute to how and why she commits suicide. There are two main themes of Hildebrand’s argument for gender identity influencing Edna’s death: Edna’s relationship with Adele, Madame Reisz, and the Colonel, and Edna’s understanding of art and the world. In exploring the gendered expectations and realities of The Awakening and of 19th-and 20th-century women, Hildebrand is engaging with a gender criticism perspective; similarly, because Hildebrand’s arguments are all about deconstructing binaries and unearthing hierarchies, there is also some poststructuralism going on. A final literary criticism that Hildebrand draws on, though more lightly than others, is postcolonialism; because Hildebrand makes connections between the racial and class expectations of masculinity that Edna possesses.

In his novel The Hours, Michael Cunningham creates a dazzling fabric of queer references managing to intertwine the lives of three different women into one smooth narrative. In this essay, I will discuss what makes The Hours queer literature, how the novel has contributed to the queer genre, the cultural significance of the novel, and I will discuss several points made in Jeanette McVicker’s critical article “Gaps and Absences in The Hours.” My aim, however, is not to say that Michael Cunningham’s The Hours is strictly a queer novel, but to highlight what makes the novel queer and to discuss Cunningham’s idea of sexual orientation as a fluid entity.