Edna Pontellier In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Her thoughts take precedence over images, Instead of being given lovely images of her children, the reader is left to imagine the fleeting moments of mother-child interaction. Unlike with the idealized relationships of Madame Ratignolle, much of Edna’s raising of her children is out of necessity and they are simply a force that keeps Edna from having her own individuality. In the society represented in The Awakening, it is clear that mothers who err from the patterns of married female behavior are frowned upon by their husbands. Chopin also makes it clear that the husbands in the book, especially Edna’s husband Leonce, feel that it is necessary to intervene in their wives lives, in order to make judgments of their profession as a mother and wife. In her husband’s relationship with Edna there is no question of his devotion to her, but the reader cannot ignore the issue of economics that continually comes up anytime he finds himself dissatisfied with his wife.

As the novella proceeds, Edna’s feelings for Robert intensify, and his final rejection of her leaves her heartbroken. It is not Robert’s rejection, however, that leads Edna to commit suicide, nor is it her inability to escape from her role as a wife. Instead, there is a third role which Edna struggles to break free from, the role of motherhood: a constraint which eventually leads Edna to taker her life. Edna’s most prosperous liberation is that from her duty towards her husband. When she first moves out, she exclaims that “every step which she

Yet, she is dragged back into the roles society places on her. Her relationship with Robert comes to a bitter ending, as Robert ultimately wants marriage. Edna is “no longer one of Mr. Pontellier’s possessions to dispose of or not. [She] give[‘s] [herself] where [she] choose[s]. If he were to say, ‘Here, Robert, take her and be happy, she is yours,’ [she] should laugh at you both.” (P.178) Edna has fully taken on the role of the New Woman as she will not be objectified and treated as somebody’s property.

Signifying her independence and allows her to feel freedom. Léonce and The Colonel have always paid Edna’s way in her life that she now pays for all on her own. Edna wants to forget about her husband and kids to and try to get Robert. She states “he does not own this house he does not own me”. Trying to convince Robert to come to her new house.

However, Janie says that they are too focused on other people’s lives and that no matter what Janie says, they will judge her badly. As long as Janie and her friend know the truth, Janie does not care about the useless opinions of others. Lige Moss tells Tony that he does not have a chance with Janie because Janie and Jody are “Isaac and Rebecca”. By alluding to this couple, Hurston is implying that Janie and Jody is a match made by God. Therefore, no other man or woman can break their marriage.

People can forget the memory of their past, but what stays with them forever is their feelings. Although moving to America allows Amir to feel at ease, he will never forget the feeling of fear and guilt that was instilled in his young mind. In order to overcome circumstances people are born into they must reflect on their past, because, in a sense, one’s past decides their

Historically, a woman’s value has come from her marriage. This is reflected in Shakespeare’s work Hamlet, especially in Ophelia’s role. While Ophelia’s brother is encouraged to travel the world and interact by their father, Ophelia is told to keep her purity and stay away from men until a proper marriage can be arranged. This represents how Ophelia’s value is tied to her marriage and her virginity, rather than any other positive characteristic she may have, and reminds the audience that Ophelia holds little value, especially compared to her brother, who serves as her male counterpart. The audience further sees how Ophelia is only valued for her virginity and purity when Hamlet insults her shouting “Get thee to a nunnery” (page number here).

Throughout John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, many idolize Augustus’ optimism as the greatest way to combat the disastrous effects of cancer, allowing him to find joy and excitement in life. For Augustus, the optimistic mindset is controlling, by demanding an expectation to leave a legacy behind. As a result, this optimism influences his happiness being solely dependant on achieving legacy rather than on what he so desperately desires: independence. I argue that optimism is not the ultimate coping mechanism because it builds up false hope not allowing Augustus to be realistic about his imminent death. His optimism is generated from and proven in this essay through his and Hazel’s parents lack of discipline providing encouragements to pursue

Even when his neighbour Charley offers him a job with a salary, Willy declines because he is too proud to work for Charley. He rather blames his failure on the superficiality of the business world and fixates himself on the idea that personality, not hard work, is the key to accomplishment. Perhaps, this is because Willy is living in a world where the pursuit of the American Dream is a predominant part of people’s lives, and the materialistic pressures of the superficial were beginning to permeate its actual values. Under this particular pressure, Willy has been fighting his entire life to achieve "the dream," but unfortunately, no one ever explains to him what its true values are or how to really make it. Therefore, Willy manages his life based on his overwhelming sense of pride and ambition, and in this way, Miller seems to criticize the idea of compromising happiness for success-- even though Willy truly believes that happiness is achieved through success.

Cleófilas feels trapped as a wife. The reader first sees a sense of ownership on Cleófilas in the first line, when her father, “Don Serafín gave Juan Pedro Martínez Sánchez permission to take [her] as his bride, across her father’s threshold” (Cisneros 43), Cleófilas is seen as property rather than a being, indicating that she usually does not make decisions for herself. She lacks self-definition throughout the story, especially when she gives in to the demands by her husband, especially when she is lacking passion in the relationship. It is what she “has been waiting for… whispering and sighing and giggling for, has been anticipating since she was old enough” (Cisneros 44). Cleófilas wants this passion in her life, however, she starts to believe that the type of passion she is seeking for is “in its purest crystalline essence” (Cisneros 44), only to be found in the telenovelas she watches.