Literary Tradition In The Awakening

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel centered around a woman who is going through a journey of self-discovery and self-awakening, a book unlike any other. The novel sheds a new light on what is considered a conventional woman. According to “The Awakening: A Refusal to Compromise” by Carley Reed Bogard, Edna, the protagonist, refuses to give into traditional gender roles. According to Bogard, The Awakening “is an early and central statement of a developing twentieth century literary tradition which gives apt phenomenological description to female experience and presents a break from the male tradition which Lawrence and Joyce, among others, have defined”(1). The article goes on to explain how Edna's decisions dictated the direction of her

Edna had been interested in learning how to swim, and on one unforgettable night, Robert and Edna venture out to the sea. As soon as she and Robert go out to the sea and she finally learns how to swim, Edna realizes her feelings for Robert are more than platonic. According to the author, this event between Edna and Robert is “the central event in Edna's emotional growth” (Bogard 3). Once Edna was able to swim on her own, it represented the unity of her mind and body. From this point, Edna has claimed her independence and begins to act as such. Edna has begun to “allow herself to feel and to act on those feelings” (Bogard 2). After twenty eight years of strict guidelines to follow, Edna begins to shift her focus to her happiness and

When she got the news of his plan to depart, Edna reacted with rage and soon enough “she recognized the symptoms of infatuation which she had felt incipiently as a child, as a girl in her earliest teens, and later as a young woman”(Chopin 227-229). Edna has been awakened by her feelings for Robert. By the time Robert leaves, Edna realizes that she is so upset by his departure because “Edna’s desire for the first time is directed at someone who returns it and who has been fulfilling her emotional needs” (Bogard 4). Edna’s relationship with Léonce did not mean nearly as much to Edna as did her and Robert’s and his absence made her realize that.

From then on Edna began to explore her interests and stumbled upon an interest that would impact her life severely--art. Edna engages in various activities rather than housekeeping. Painting allows for Edna to express herself in a manner than is somewhat socially acceptable. Bogard claims that painting “fulfills her [Edna’s] needs for creative expression and since the sale of her sketches helps her to become economically independent, this decision is wise” (Bogard 4). Edna’s decision to become an artist seems to be benefit to her social and economic