Analysis Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

The focus of Chopin 's The Awakening is Edna 's conflict between her expected roles in society and her wants and desires. In this book Edna endeavors for self fulfillment, becomes seemingly impertinent, and ultimately feels cornered by the society in which she lives. Edna 's individualistic wants at first seem healthy, but quickly become out of hand as her thoughts become more chaotic. In her awakening, Edna is consumed by selfish desire. The aftermath of this desire leads her to feel as if she has been entrapped by society, ultimately leading to her destruction. Edna 's inability to surrender to the notions of society causes her think in illusory ways that are unsustainable. It seems inevitable that Edna, at some point, will arouse from the dream that she is living; Edna 's decease was imminent from the moment of her awakening.

History is filled with tales of those who were willing to risk it all in order to be the change that the world needed. In the book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier, realizes the sins that are imparted upon her by society and is willing to sacrifice everything about her past self in order to be break free of the chains that entangle her. Edna’s sacrifices include her comfortable lifestyle and esteemed reputation; however, to Edna these are small sacrifices that are needed in order to progress as an individual and expand into a new realm of independence. As she develops throughout the story, she starts to value a sense of independence and of equality more and more. However, the bonds placed on her by upper-class society's expectations mean that in order to achieve a position in life where she can embody her values, she must sacrifice her current culture and position.

In the late 1800s, nearly all women were viewed as subservient, inferior, second class females that lived their lives in a patriarchal and chauvinist society. Women often had no voice, identity, or independence during that time period. Moreover, women dealt with the horrors of social norms and the gender opposition of societal norms. The primary focus and obligation for a woman to obtain during the 1800s was to serve her husband and to obey to anything he said. Since women were not getting the equality, freedom, or independence that they desired, Kate Chopin, an independent-minded female American novelist of the late 1800s expressed the horrors, oppressions, sadness, and oppositions that women of that time period went through. Her works focused

It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period.

As people grow old they tend to realize the mistakes they have made in life and try to make up for them. These realizations are mostly internal; however, there could be some external manifestations. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin shows how Edna has a realization that having a family is not what she wanted in life. Chopin is able to create a feeling of suspense and excitement through this event by illustrating Edna’s inner thoughts, including her past, the way she starts to act towards others and demonstrating the steps she takes towards freeing herself up.

Because she was drugged during the delivery of both her sons, Edna never truly experienced childbirth. She didn’t realize the overwhelming natural force of bringing a child into the world.

family and from pursuing her own interests. Unhappy with her conditions, Edna rebels against them, however this results in her not being accepted in society. Thus, Edna deliberately sacrifices her freedom in a way which Edna’s value of free nonconformity. The sacrifice goes hand-in-hand with the meaning of the work as a whole that there is no place in society for those who do not conform to its expectations.

her soul. Edna Pontellier mentality was infested with a corrupted way of existence that has

Morbid, vulgar, and disagreeable are just a few descriptors used by critics to describe Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Chopin is amongst the first feminist writers of the twentieth century writing two novels and about a hundred short stories, most of which the protagonist is a woman. Although Chopin wrote other short stories that were considered controversial none of them received as much criticism as The Awakening. Set in the late nineteenth century the story follows Edna Portellier who has been awakened to her own desires and even though she has a husband and children she decides to pursue those yearnings. This in turn causes her to lose her innocence and morality. Edna is the epitome of a Fallen Woman. By looking closely at the characterizations, figurative language, and symbolism within the story it is easy to see that she is fallen because of the choices she makes.

This novel, The Awakening, is about a woman named Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an independent human being. Also, Edna Pontellier refuses to obey against the social norms by leaving her husband Leónce Pontellier and having an affair with Robert Lebrun. Kate Chopin describes societal expectations and the battle of fitting the mold of motherhood in the Awakening by how Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle contribute to their family in different ways. Edna Pontellier’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is not a perfect mother-women. Adele Ratignolle’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is a perfect mother-women.

Is suicide ever the answer? Even though suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems, sometimes it’s the only sense of control that a person has left over their own life. The protagonist of Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, Edna Pontellier, disobeys completely the paradigms that defined her society set in the 19th century. In an era where women were oppressed and expected to give themselves to their families, Edna failed to find a place in that society and escaped by means of suicide. Society is a strong force that molded Edna as a woman, but through her suicide, she was finally able to escape its grasp. She wasn’t wife nor mother material, and as she became conscious of it through the development of the novel, Edna isolated herself so she could be awaken.

Politics and literature are far from strange bedfellows. Social commentary and allegory have been tools in the literary toolbox since Ancient Greece, with Plato’s Allegory of The Cave being one of the earliest forms of the device. Science fiction is an entire genre that, at least to a degree, is based upon the premise of looking at the problems of today through the eyes of tomorrow. Oftentime, authors seek to tackle the issues of their time within their writing, and Kate Chopin was no different when she published her final work The Awakening in 1899.

To commence,In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the main character, Edna Pontellier conforms outwardly and questions inwardly. In the novel, Edna is a wife with three children. As the story progresses, she begins to question the submissive nature of females in society.In the story, Edna states “ You have been a very, very foolish boy, wasting your time dreaming of impossible things when you speak of Mr. Pontellier setting me free! I am no longer one of Mr Pontellier’s possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose. If he were to say, ‘ Here Robert, take her and be happy, she is yours’, I would at you both” ( Chopin 108 ) . Edna questions the submissive nature of females in society by not wanting to be similar to those females. She does not want to be like a robot who only does what her husband wants her to do. In the quote above, Edna basically declares that she is not just some object that her husband can do whatever he pleases with. She asserts that she alone has the power to give herself to someone, not someone else. She is

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved” (George Sand). Love is the one thing that anyone can fall back on; it gives hope, faith, and dignity. The Awakening by Kate Chopin tells of an interesting twist on life in the late 1800s. In the perspective of a woman, Edna Pontellier, thriving for freedom as she searches, she finds herself with different men, Léonce, Robert, and Alcée. Edna is married to a wealthy businessperson, Léonce Pontellier, which they shared two children. Robert Lebrun, a man known as the summer love. He stays with Edna and her kids while her husband is away. Alcée Arobin, known as a player, trying to make a one-time connection with a woman. All men in Edna’s life made a difference or changed her in some way. They all either made her feel trapped, a brief moment of relief, or the freedom she has been longing for.

In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare showed how the lies and the jealousy of others can ruin a relationship . Throughout the history of this play people have understood it as a “triad of nobility,purity, and villainy.” A literary critic, Michael Andrews noted the significance of the handkerchief that was used in the play. “Othello tells Desdemona that the handkerchief is a love-controlling talisman his mother received from an Egyptian "charmer.” The gift that Desdemona receives is used to represent a symbol of Othello’s love.