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Feminism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

1046 Words5 Pages

author Kate Chopin, in her novel, The Awakening, depicts the main character Edna Pontellier. Chopin’s purpose is to portray the idea of feminism. She adopts a powerful tone in order to emphasize her story to women of all ages. Director, Mike Newell in his movie, Mona Lisa Smiles, praises the main character Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts). Newell’s purpose is to convey the discomfort and expected perfect lifestyle of women in the 1950’s. Together the novel and the movie revolves around the idea of a perfect women and feminism, it is shown through the main characters in each story, Edna and Katherine who share abounding similarities.
The main characters Edna and Katherine are alike and different in so many ways. They share common interest, including art, they both love art but Enda loves to paint it and Katherine loves to critic it. Another similarity they share is they both …show more content…

The two stories revolve around women who struggle with feminism in their own way. Enda is not the ideal “wife material” or “mother material” because she is not only committed to the man she is married to but also other men. the stereotypes displayed in The Awakening include Enda not being the perfect mother or wife which creates a bad reputation for her and people being to not trust her. Katherine in the movie Mona Lisa Smiles show a woman who is in a relationship, but distant although she is committed to her boyfriend, she doesn’t want to marry him when he comes to visit because she had started to fall in love with another man at the school she teaches at. Because both of these women feel distant from their husband or boyfriend, it allows them to venture off to see other men. The two women have different ambitions other than being the perfect women, they have different focuses, like teaching, art and finances. The reoccurring theme is clear, and the two stories are displayed around

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Although differences are somewhat obvious, subtle similarities exist. Undeniably, the common themes that these two works share are the following: first is making a stand for self-identity and individuality. As seen in the two works, search in self-identity in a male-dominated society was in need, where the woman, being a main protagonist in both literatures is downgraded to specific and limiting roles like nurturers, servants, and followers. These protagonist women, Tita and Vianne both go through the same struggle, trying to be determined as who they are in a world that continuously ignores or undermines their needs, wants, and wishes.

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When The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, was first published, many critics bashed on the book because it was filled with sexual desires of a woman and this was not the social norm for a women to behave. Chopin showed a lot of courage when she decided to publish this book to fight for women’s equality by showing society how they feel and their roles. Although we saw Edna sexually driven to many different men in the book, one example was her love for Robert. Robert left Edna because he loves her, he left her. Robert knows that he can’t be with Edna because it will ruin her reputation in society as a woman.

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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.

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Her relationship with her husband has become less passionate over the years, and Edna realizes how unhappy her marriage to Mr. Pontellier has become. The strain between Edna and her husband adds to the climax because it stems the multiple awakenings she experiences. The freedom and empowerment awakenings made Edna realize how she has control over her own life and can do whatever her heart

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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.

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Starting from the beginning, she seems to have the same ideals as the typical woman in her time, but she is unhappy and her unhappiness leads to rebellion and the breaking of social norms. At the beginning of the novel, Edna learns to swim. This might seem like a minor detail, but it ties to the downfall of Mrs. Pontellier. She falls in love with Robert, even though she is a married woman to Mr. Pontellier.

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Monumental strides have been made when looking at the treatment of women in today's society, compared to the treatment of women in the early 20th century. In today's society, a woman can survive on her own, with no companion to assist in her sustainability. However, in New Orleans creole culture circa 1899, women were not given any opportunity to express any form of individualism. The objectification of women in the early 20th century is exemplified by the women in Kate Chopin’s feminist novel The Awakening.

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In the late 1800s society assigned to women a specific role to play. The role included bearing children, caring for them, and honoring their husbands. People saw women who took jobs outside of the home or who never married as deranged. Kate Chopin highlights the female duties of the time in her novel, The Awakening, through the use of foils Edna and Adele. Adele represents the model of how an ideal women of the 19th century should behave and feel.

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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.

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Kate 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

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In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” shows a controversial protagonist, Edna Pontellier. The character in the novel showed different expectations for women and their supposed roles. One literary critic, Megan Kaplon showed how this novel can be viewed as a struggle of the world or society around her. Edna in the story is trying to find freedom and individuality Kaplon mentions that “one of her most shocking actions was her denial of her role as a mother and wife.”

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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a piece of fiction written in the nineteenth century. The protagonist Edna is a controversial character, Edna rebels against many nineteenth - century traditions, but her close friend Adele was a perfect example in terms of a role of a woman, mother and wife at that time. Chopin uses contrast characters to highlight the difference between Adele and Edna. Although they are both married women in the nineteenth century, they also exhibit many different views about what a mother role should be.

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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.

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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.

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Within the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Madame Ratignolle’s character possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast the characteristics and behavior of Edna Pontellier. Despite being close friends within the novel, Adele and Edna have contrasting views and behaviors that illuminate the theme of female freedom and the tradition of female submission and male domination. Madame Ratignolle and Edna Pontellier are close friends, but their views toward raising children differ fundamentally. Madame Ratignolle would sacrifice her identity to devote herself entirely to her children, household, and husband, whereas Edna would not. Besides their views towards raising children, how they raise their children also differs.

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