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Creole Culture In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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CQ: Creole culture values place women in a submissive role while granting men the ability act as dominantly and freely as they wish. Why does the Creole society isolate Edna while idolizing Adele?
In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Creole culture and norms subjectify women through the imprisonment of the Creole culture and norms. These cultural norms confine women to the every wish of their husbands. Thus, women who aspire to be individualistic suffer under the intense regulations of the Creole culture. Edna, originally an American girl, struggles to adapt to the Creole way of life while directly juxtaposed by her peer, Adele. Society reacts differently to these two women depending on their lack of realization of the oppression of Creole society. …show more content…

Madame Ratignolle chooses to abide by her husband’s wishes and offer her body as an instrument to create a family, which is highly valued by the Creoles. “Madame Ratignolle had been married seven years. About every two years she had a baby” (Chopin 10). Adele prides herself in acting as the prime role model for all other women in her society and sets an example by only allowing herself about 6 months of recovery time in between bearing children. Creole culture expects the women in society to place the responsibility of caring for their children above every other responsibility. Due to Adele’s unwavering dedication to having and caring for children, society idolizes her familial …show more content…

As Robert leaves suddenly without telling Edna, Edna begins to realize her attachment to Robert, despite Creole etiquette ruling summer flirtations strictly platonic. As Robert left “Edna bit her handkerchief convulsively, striving to hold back and to hide… the emotion which was troubling - tearing - her. Her eyes were brimming with tears. For the first time she recognized anew the symptoms of infatuation” (Chopin 44). This action further pulls Edna towards isolation as she breaks yet another social standard imposed on Creole

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