Feminism In The Awakening

In the twenty-first century, society has evolved past some of these stereotypical roles, both sexes can work, own property and remain single. Women are no longer considered “old maids”, if they have chosen to remain unwed. Has society really evolved decades later? Know longer judging the sexes based on their marital status and the choices they have made? The author Jane Austen is considered a 19th century feminist, her story characters remain feminine in nature; however maintain a strong independent role model in some of her written works.

By self-consciously distancing herself from the intellectuals of her time, she crafted her works as endeavours at transforming society. With the utopian novel as her genre of choice, Gilman provides readers with a deeper sense of understanding of the ills of a society that subscribes to and is fixated with masculinity. Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1869-1935)was one of the leading intellectuals of the American women’s movement in the first two decades of twentieth century. Being a suffragette, Gilman confronted an even larger problem – economic and social discrimination against women. Her 1898 book, Women and Economics, was

Within the 1800s the first convention to focus on the rights of women was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 and in 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (Ann-Marie Imbornoni). Around the same time, the transcendentalist movement also took off causing many different scholars and writers to begin to writing essays and discussing ideas behind the movement. Both supported equal opportunities and rights for individuals. Although The Women’s Rights Movement was obviously more geared towards the equal rights of women, while the transcendentalist movement focused more on rights of everyone. The two movements did influence a lot of literature at the time and can explain many of the aspects in the scarlet

This analysis of The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899) will use the psychoanalytic image of the mother as a starting point for Edna’s journey of self-realization which is symbolized in physical “Rooms.” As Edna travels to and from the Island and the different “Rooms” she uncovers and develops her personality but ultimately the journey leads to demise. Her demise is because her rooms are tied to her mother, and she is never able to succeed in her Room as Woolf would have wanted because it is tied to the mother, and not the patriarchal father who represents money and creative power. The symbolism of the mother as a Room parallels the concept of a room in A Room of One’s Own (1929) by Virginia Woolf. The physical and metaphorical “Room” in Edna’s

The start of her awakening is when she fights with her husband and in frustration, takes off her wedding ring, throws it on the ground, and attempts to crush it (Chopin 70). She decides to move out of her house while her husband and children are away, and buys a house of her own. At the knowledge of this, her husband stresses the importance of her staying at home to care for the children and is afraid of what others will think of her rebellious actions. Another part of Edna’s awakening is coming to terms with her love for another man other than her husband. When she whispers to Robert that she loves him and only him she also states that he was the reason for her awakening (Chopin 146).

“The Rights of Woman” serves as Anna Barbauld’s attempt to convey the reality of life for women during the early years of the Romantic period. With writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft, feminism became prominent during this time period. However, there were conflicting viewpoints on how to define feminism and more specifically how to go about improving the position of women in society. Published after Barbauld’s death by her niece, “The Rights of Woman” served as a response to Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. When viewed through the lens of feminine criticism, Barbauld’s poem defines masculinity and femininity during the Romantic period.

The biggest aspects of life a person is guaranteed to face are choices. In Kate Chopin’s story, “The Story of an Hour”, a woman receives mistaken news about the death of her husband. However, she becomes overexcited and dies due to a poor heart condition. In “Regret”, Chopin introduces an old woman who lived her life independently and alone. By the end of the story, she began to resent sacrificing major opportunities in life when she was younger.

Mediums such as autobiographies, newsletters, magazines and storytelling were vital in creating the foundations for the developing recognition of women’s voices outside the spheres of literature. These publications played a crucial role in circulating feminist concepts and influencing society, a point supported by contemporary Michael Mack that the effect of “literature persuades us to cope with change.” A key publication was The Feminine Mystique, published in the 1960s by Betty Freidan, which explained how the domestic stereotype expected of women ultimately restricted their happiness and fulfilment. Despite modern criticisms of the books’ limitations from third wave feminists, the book was considered a critical turning point in the revival of second wave feminism. The Feminine Mystique sold millions of copies and became a bestselling nonfiction book. This indicates to us the large-scale influence that the book held on culture and society, the work provoking women into considering their selfhood and positions, even being referred to as “a catalyst for change" by modern day feminist Eleanor Smeal.

The status of women in Britain, unlike other countries in Europe, took much longer to be fully recognized by society, though a new self-awareness was gained by these women. This evolving perspective was expressed by writers of the time, and the image of women was reinvented as something beyond being the ‘angel of the home’. Women in literature were depicted as capable of having their own thoughts and ideas, and could be free to express themselves, experience new things and to be almost completely independent. These writers altered the idea of being a woman in Victorian England, and launched the beginnings of feminist

“We Can Do It!” -- Such are the words that symbolize the spirit of the feminist cause. The modern women’s movement stemming from the post-World War Two era idea of female individuality originates from the first wave feminist movement of the Nineteenth Century, which concerns the suffrage movement and women’s rights. The movement, from its inception to now, aims to confront issues experienced by women, such as the evident discrepancy between the wages of males and females, medical rights, and further issues that women have dealt with. Albeit being a movement with an honest pursuit, its critics have subjected it to scrutiny and have even considered it to have lost sight of its own politics. Its opponents have even suggested that feminist rhetoric condemns the opposite sex to the extent of gender antagonism (Young).