The Theme Of Individualism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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.

In The Awakening, the mother-women were “women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels (Chopin 19).” They readily relinquished their individual identities. Madame Ratignolle exemplified the role of the mother-woman as she was defined by and found pleasure in her roles of both wife and mother: she “played [the piano] very well, keeping excellent waltz time and infusing an expression into the strings that … inspired… keeping up her music on account of the children… because she and her husband both considered it a means of brightening the home and making it attractive (Chopin 61).” Although Edna revels in motherhood, she believes that there is an ideal truth beyond it. This truth, according to Dyer, cannot coexist with the social, the moral, or even the biological obligations of motherhood (105). Edna, therefore, finds

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.

Chopin uses the first hand description of Adele from Edna as a literary comparison to previous descriptions of Adele, allowing insight into Edna’s own perceptions and changing world view.

Through the story Edna becomes more and more uneasy about not being able to do and have what she really wants. This can be shown from the beginning when she lets her children play by themselves and doesn’t miss her husband when he is away from home. Edna tried to be a good mother by becoming friends with an old fashioned woman, Madame Adèle Ratignolle, who devoted her life to her husband and children. However, when Edna was not around Madame Adèle Ratignolle, she forgot how to be like Adèle Ratignolle and instead busied herself with what was considered to be her “childish ways”. She would try to make herself as happy as possible; she was not her happiest with her husband and kids. When Edna discovered her passion for art, she embraced it and neglected her family even more so than before.

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,

The Awakening written by Kate Chopin in 1899, is one of the first Feminist works in American literature. The novel recounts the story of a woman called Edna Pontellier and her strife to find the meaning of life, true happiness, and independence. This leads her to take many decisions women of her time found repulsive and forbidden. The setting of the novel plays a crucial role in the development of the story, since it takes place at the end of the 19th century, a critical time for women, since they were seen as inferior to men and had little to no rights. Thomas Carlyle in "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History" says "the different sphere constitutes the grand origin of such distinction; that the Hero can be Poet, Prophet, King,

Adele and Mademoiselle's lifestyles seem to be the only two options for Edna. Kinninson believes that Edna's options are the reward of complete self-sacrifice versus the reproof of female self-assertion. No middle ground exist, just these extreme contradictions. Edna is a mother of two children but being a mother or "mother-woman" doesn't satisfy her soul and her desire for self-hood. This is all part of her "awakening" and finding herself. (Kinninson, 23-24)

The Awakening was published in 1899, and it immediately created a controversy. Contemporaries of Kate Chopin (1851-1904) were shocked by her depiction of a woman with active sexual desires, who dares to leave her husband and have an affair. Instead of condemning her protagonist, Chopin maintains a neutral, non-judgmental tone throughout and appears to even condone her character's unconventional actions. Kate Chopin was socially ostracised after the publication of her novel, which was almost forgotten until the second half of the twentieth century.

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.

Kate Chopin's The Awakening is truly a novel that stands out from the rest. From the moment it was published, it has been caused women to examine their beliefs. The fact that The Awakening was shunned when first published, yet now taught in classrooms across the country is proof that The Awakening is full of rebellious and controversial ideas.

By giving her children a sense of independance early which may enable them for success later on. While other children of the times may have a pseudo unhealthy reliance on a mother, much like Robert's brother Victor who still lives at home. Another more risky thing she did was make a statement that most women even now wouldn't agree with. Edna states: “I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself.”(Chopin 47) This statement holds quite a lot of weight in the way we can view edna. Some may call her selfish for a lack of an undying love for her children. But I view it as brutal honesty. The fact that edna is coming to this conclusion and fighting the ever pushing stream of society really shows how she is trying to fight. Giving up one's self is a very dangerous thing to do. For once you give too much you can lose who you are. But too little and people can lose sight of what you can be/who you are. As a mother edna realizes this and decides to make herself known in a different way than as a mother-woman.

She raises her children with a distance between them. This void shows Edna’s lack of open wings, which is considered the norm of the 19th century expectations of women. Her newfound acceptance of neglecting her maternal responsibly ignited a much larger awakening within her. A sense of individuality and the “…realiz[ation of] her position in the universe as a human being, and ... her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” grew stronger (Chopin 15). She dislikes her role being entirely centered on domestic responsibilities so she begins to stretch the bindings of society.

Throughout “The Awakening”, Edna is immersed in a constant clash with society over the significance of the difference between her life and her self. To Edna, the question of whether or not she would die for her children is somewhat simple. Edna attempts to explain this concept to her good friend, Adele Ratignolle, but to no avail, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin 62). Not only does Edna consider her life unessential, she categorizes it as equal with material objects such as money. The idea of self, on the other hand, lies on a completely different level in Edna’s mind. The most important goal to Edna in her life is the journey to discover her true character. The idea that her inner self is more essential than life or even her children causes Edna to stray farther from the social constraints of the typical domestic woman. Kathleen M. Streater weighs in on Edna’s situation and placement in

In direct contrast with Edna was her friend, Adele Ratignolle. As Mr. Pontellier states in chapter four, Adele was the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm. Mrs. Ratignolle was the queen or ideal mother-woman. This separates Edna and Adele throughout the story. While they are good friends, it is obvious that they think and feel very different when it comes to marriage, children and their place in society. It is also quite apparent that Adele is disapproving of Edna’s lifestyle. Adele Ratignolle seems to be completely oblivious to the oppression of women. She often attempts to serve as a conscious for Edna, constantly reminding her to think of her children and emphasizing how certain behaviors may appear to others. She even goes so far as to tell Edna that her husband will not allow her to visit Edna anymore if Edna does not