ipl-logo

Equal Rights And Social Issues In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

983 Words4 Pages

Book
For over 50 years before the publishing of the novel, The Awakening, the United States had been undergoing intense struggle over the issues of equal rights and social ideologies due to which women had been experiencing emancipation and mobilization from the fetters of socioeconomics. The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin and published in the year 1899 is about the story of a married woman, Edna Pontellier, who has a husband two children. She falls in love with a resort owner’s son when she goes on a vacation to Grand Isle in Louisiana. The story revolves around Edna, whose desire to identify her true-self defies the social conventions as they sweep her away in her journey of discovery. Set on the resort of Grand Isle, the setting is perfect scenery for a story revolving around personal discovery and sexual fascination. The family of the Pontelliers is similar to that …show more content…

On one occasion, Edna and Robert return from the beach, laughing on private jokes, however, Mr. Pontellier shows little or no interest in their conversation as he is much confident in the loyalty of his wife. Furthermore, Mr. Pontellier never thought about Robert as a rival as he had been a family friend for years. He considers Robet as a stray dog, which one could tolerate until the dog remains amusing. The heart of the Awakening is as timeless as the institution of marriage. Although the husband and wife of the story share the same bed, they inhabit distinct lives. While it feels for the readers that the story involves two best friends, a man and a woman who lean against each other’s shoulders, laughing, skating on ice and being in an innocent relationship, it is only in the later part of the book that they get to know the desire of each other. In the initial pages of the book, the readers feel that the situation is utterly familiar as shown in most of the romantic

Show More
Related

  • How Does Edna Pontellier Change In The Awakening

    1089 Words  | 5 Pages

    “She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world” (Chopin, p. 57). A novel written by Kate Chopin, The Awakening shares the story of Edna Pontellier’s journey of self-discovery. Readers of the day were shocked by the content of the novel. Published in 1899, Kate Chopin’s controversial novel portrays a woman liberating herself from society’s expectations for a lady. Edna changes from a bored, obedient wife in the beginning of The Awakening to a liberated woman who can freely express her feelings.

    Read More

  • How Does Chopin Use Birds In The Awakening

    961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Waves of warm salty air fills the island of Grand Isle as Edna Pontellier and other Creole vacationers settle in. Time coming and going as romantic affairs interfere with the lost love of Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier. Continuous disregard to the roles of a wife, mother, and social aspect to the public, set intentionally. Action and consequences made to overall, achieve the dream of independence. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the use of birds and houses are symbols that illustrate the desire for freedom under the pressure of society rule.

    Read More

  • Banning In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    406 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Awakening In “The Awakening” Edna has mixed feelings for people. Including her husband. After her husband goes away she decides he wants to leave him. “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin was challenged for sexual and suicidal content, as well as its explicit cover; however, many argue against its banning because of the positive themes addressed in the novel.

    Read More

  • Edna's Role In The Awakening

    1236 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the nineteenth century, possessions, including women, and the home represented status, wealth, and power that only men possessed. In The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, becomes highly conscious of herself as an individual who has the potential to be self-sufficient and do as she desires. She begins to defy the standards of woman during the nineteenth century through iconoclastic beliefs that eventually lead Edna to participating in an affair and leaving her husband, Leonce. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the motif of the home to highlight Edna’s responsibilities as a mother and wife and to also track the progression and evolution of Edna’s state of freedom.

    Read More

  • Spiritual Change In The Awakening

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    The title, The Awakening, signifies the self-realization of Edna Pontellier and her own personal awakening. Edna’s character undergoes a dramatic lifestyle and spiritual change. She begins the novel as the typical old fashioned housewife that is expected to look and act a certain way. Edna was a respectable housewife who yearns for a social, spiritual, and sexual awakening

    Read More

  • The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis

    1266 Words  | 6 Pages

    Syeda Ahmed prompt 5 The Awakening AP LIT Mr. Amoroso A modern woman emerging and developing ahead of her time, dealing with the challenges of gaining independence in a time period where woman weren’t human. This is Edna Pontellier’s conflict told in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. Late in her already establish life Edna a wife and mother of two discovers herself to realize she goes against society’s ideals as a woman.

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier's Attitudes Toward Motherhood In The Awakening

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Outward Conformity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    825 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

    Read More

  • Ocean Symbolism In The Awakening

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.

    Read More

  • Sexuality And Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    834 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.

    Read More

  • The Expectations Of Women In Edna Chopin's The Awakening

    944 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edna Pontellier in the novel, The Awakening, is a self-driven woman determined to become independent and free whilst undergoing a significant change in behavior throughout the novel. She attempts to withstand societal expectations by doing certain things that were not socially acceptable during this time period. While doing so, she experiences many different struggles during her awakening. These struggles that Edna undergoes may be described as internal as well as external. In the awakening, there is a constant conflict between inner and outer Edna.

    Read More

  • Edna's Roles In The Awakening

    1386 Words  | 6 Pages

    In 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.

    Read More

  • Motherhood In The Awakening

    919 Words  | 4 Pages

    For example, when the couple returns from Grand Isle, Edna begins to act on her own and refuses to show hospitality towards her guests and it begins to exasperate Mr. Pontellier. As the novel progresses, it is evident that the relationship between Mr. Pontellier and Edna is purely superficial; it lacks sentiment and is only picture perfect for society. Because Edna is portrayed as an object of her husband, it fits the the fact that marriages in the nineteenth century viewed women as an “object of others [rather than] the free subject of their own fates”

    Read More

  • Theme Of Language In The Awakening By Kate Chopin

    1210 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are few stories of Chopins which do not foreground language. Language makes the main body of a text. When used correctly it can be manipulated to present certain themes. Throughout the novel, ‘The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin, the language used in the text conveys the struggles of the main character to find her own identity. The way Chopin uses dialogue, a secret language and the narrator’s descriptions relate to the theme of identity, and often places it subtly at the centre of the reader’s consciousness.

    Read More

  • The Character Of Edna Pontellier In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    628 Words  | 3 Pages

    A woman with an independent nature can be described as rebellious, passionate, and courageous. In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a female who epitomizes the qualities of a woman with such an independent nature. Living in a “patriarchal society” that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers, Edna attempts to seek out her true identity as it becomes apparent how unsettled she feels about her life. Throughout The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, dissatisfied with her duties as a mother and wife, decides to pursue her own interests and express her true identity, resulting in an awakening and her finding the courage to make the changes she deems as necessary. Edna Pontellier had two young boys, Etienne and Raoul, who were ages four and five, respectively.

    Read More

More about Equal Rights And Social Issues In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Open Document