Edna Pontellier's Suicide Analysis
In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontellier, makes the decision to become a completely independent by straying away from the restraints placed onto her by her husband, children and society. In the end of the novel, the audience is left to determine why Edna decides to commit suicide. The predominant reason Chopin reveals throughout the novel is the idea that suicide is a way for Edna to escape the confined life she was living and truly become the free woman she is dreaming of becoming.
Since Edna lived during a time during women were oppressed in every way possible, Edna’s search for freedom is limited. According to Mary Bird, women were considered to be a piece of property to their husbands, which is very
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This realization causes her to start making changes within herself. One of these changes included finding a new sense of confidence that allows her to take a stand against her husband. ‘”Are you coming in Léonce?” she asked turning her face toward her husband.’ (Chopin, 35) Although she made such a change, Edna did not realize she was not strong enough to completely go against society and her husband. Edna is also growing tired of having to fight against society and others that are trying to take advantage of her. According to the novel, in chapter twenty-six, Alcée Arobin, one of Edna’s love affairs, starts to take advantage of her when she is too tired to fight him off and stand up for herself. Not only did Alcée see that she is not strong enough to follow through with her fight for freedom, so did Mademoiselle Reisz, a friend of Edna’s. “The bird that would soar above the level of plain tradition and prejudice must have strong wings” (Chopin, 90) Mademoiselle Reisz understands that although Edna wishes to become a free and independent woman, she still happens to not be powerful enough to overcome the obstacles that stood in her way of this
Creole Women In The Awakening
2029 Words | 9 PagesIn nineteenth century Louisiana, Creole’s lived by strict rules to explain how Creole household’s run: “The man ruled his household and his wife was considered part of his property. He was permitted to take a[nother] mistress if he liked, though his wife was expected to remain faithful” (Kosewick 3). The wives of the household are also “expected to be of good character” and “loyal, passive, innocent lovers”, despite the fact that their husband can take another woman of his liking out and the wife sat back and watched her husband have a plentiful time with the other woman (Kosewick 3). If the wife of the household does anything outside of the norms within their Creole society, she was frowned upon and disgraced. Rarely, women rebelled against
Juxtaposition In The Awakening
999 Words | 4 PagesEdna hates being tied down to society’s standards; therefore, Chopin wants to represents how Edna transforms through the comparison of Edna’s
The Awakening Critical Lens
1073 Words | 5 PagesEdna is not happy nor satisfied with her marriage. She tries to find a solution to all her problems; but seeing that she could not, she decided to end her life to finally obtain her own freedom. In Story of an Hour and Excerpts from the Awakening, by Kate Chopin, it is clear that when you shove your feelings down and do not face them problems get bigger. Chopin uses inner thinking to show this in Story of an Hour, while she uses character action in Excerpts from the Awakening.
What Is Edna's Allegory Of The Cave
1171 Words | 5 PagesHer frequent vacations to the island, like her frequent dips into the ocean, begin to spark a personal change within the woman. A Creole man, Robert, shows Edna a new dimension of feelings she never knew she lived without, and she begins to look through life through a new lens. Having been awakened for the first time, she sees injustice and mistreatment where she saw none before. Chopin uses Edna’s new observations and reactions to the culture around her to illustrate the myriad ways women were marginalized. In an ironic twist, the white woman from Kentucky proves to be more liberated than her more traditional husband, who grew up
The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis
1266 Words | 6 PagesThe most rewarding attributes of this experience for Edna would be the feeling of satisfaction of conquering something in a world where woman are seen as nothing; much like a child’s excitement at their newly gained knowledge. In Chopin’s own word she describes “A feeling of exultation overtook her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (page27). Although she is not ashamed of who she is becoming there is still a need to hide which is greatly caused by her surroundings. This can be seen when Edna takes her turn reading a shared book that has been passed around the cottages. Reading this book left her wonderstruck
Outward Conformity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
825 Words | 4 PagesEdna fully understands that society would brand her as a terrible woman, but she does not view herself as a bad person. There is an external and internal difference that Edna hopes to one day reconcile. Chopin, instead of creating tension within Edna, created tension within the society and Edna with her newfound independence does not mind how society classifies her. Decisively, it can be concluded that the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning builds the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period.
Edna Pontellier's Death In The Awakening
687 Words | 3 PagesKate Chopin develops Edna’s character so rigorously, she creates a whole new character by the end of the novel. Edna’s feat of overcoming her fears reveals the powerful message of being brave and finding
Conformity In The Awakening
849 Words | 4 PagesOften times when a person is forced to outwardly conform while questioning themselves it leads to a struggle between their inner selves and what is expected of them. Outward conformity often oppresses a character’s true feelings of loneliness and being misunderstood. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, leads a dissatisfactory life. She is stuck in a loveless marriage, and has children, all in an attempt to conform to the social norm of the Victorian woman. However, she inwardly questions whether or not she should try to break free from this life to find her own independence and happiness.
Edna's Characterization In The Awakening
467 Words | 2 PagesEdna’s characterization throughout The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, describes Edna as someone with burning passion who desires to improve not only her life, but the lives of future generations. However Edna’s actions make her often seem weak to the oppressive people around her; sometimes, and in this case unfortunately, good ideas and beliefs are stopped cold by one’s surrounding influences. Edna’s feminist attitude, though formidable, is no match for the individuals who accept the current society’s customs. I find Edna to be a weak person from a general standpoint. However the story masks this obviousness fact by illustrating some of Edna’s questionable actions.
Moral Ambiguity In Kate Chopin's The Awa
603 Words | 3 PagesIn addition, the search for self-identity is viewed as important in today’s society. Thus, these confliction attributes lead the reader to identify Edna as morally ambiguous. Categorizing complex characters as purely good or purely evil is not one of the easiest of tasks. As a result, it is best to characterize them as morally ambiguous. In Edna’s case, she is morally ambiguous due to her romantic affiliations and role-defying actions, but both are immensely vital to Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” as a complete whole.
Imagery In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
844 Words | 4 PagesEdna experiences the hardships of striving to break as a “ [feeling] like one who awakens gradually out of a dream, a delicious, grotesque, impossible dream, to feel again the realities pressing into her soul … the exuberance which had sustained and exalted her spirit left her helpless and yielding to the conditions which crowded her in … clutching feebly at the post before passing into the house.” (79). Through the imagery of a weight on her mind and feeble body, Chopin conveys her inability to find the strength to break the chains of the archetypal female identity. Extremely fleeting, her momentary empowerment clearly validates her circular growth rather than a building of personal development.
Edna's Roles In The Awakening
1386 Words | 6 PagesIn Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.
Motherhood In The Awakening
919 Words | 4 PagesKate Chopin’s The Awakening was written at the end of the nineteenth century, where many roles for women began to change; therefore, the it appears to have been a turning point for females (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). These changes in female roles were mostly due to the actions of women themselves, motivated by their desires to break away from the limits imposed on their gender The nineteenth century was a critical point in time for women, in regards to their roles in society (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). In The Awakening, Edna goes through noteworthy changes in the course of the novel, which reconstructs her into a woman who goes against societal ideals regarding motherhood and marriage . In the 1890s, motherhood was viewed
Examples Of Patriarchy In The Awakening
884 Words | 4 PagesIn The Awakening, Edna represents desire, impulse, and rebellion. While Adele represents the socially accepted woman, she is submissive, obedient, and a homemaker. This drastic contrast facilitates Chopin's emphasis on Edna’s rebellion, and how drastic it was for the time period. “Edna's experience of self-discovery, "tangled" and chaotic and therefore "vague" or hard for her to comprehend, touches upon a core issue, of individual variation and the uncertainty involved in its creation, expression, and consequences.” (Glendening).
The Awakening Conflict Essay
1124 Words | 5 PagesEdna lives in a very male dominated society. Any orders given by the husband wouldn’t dare to be challenged by the wife. Edna has given Leonce that same sort of respect until “her will had blazed up, stubborn and resistant” (Chopin 31). She reaches a point where her influences are pulling her to resist Leonce and follow her own inhibition. Edna’s emotions stir in response to Leonce and she “wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command” (Chopin 31).
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