Moral Ambiguity In Kate Chopin's The Awa

The focus of Chopin 's The Awakening is Edna 's conflict between her expected roles in society and her wants and desires. In this book Edna endeavors for self fulfillment, becomes seemingly impertinent, and ultimately feels cornered by the society in which she lives. Edna 's individualistic wants at first seem healthy, but quickly become out of hand as her thoughts become more chaotic. In her awakening, Edna is consumed by selfish desire. The aftermath of this desire leads her to feel as if she has been entrapped by society, ultimately leading to her destruction. Edna 's inability to surrender to the notions of society causes her think in illusory ways that are unsustainable. It seems inevitable that Edna, at some point, will arouse from the dream that she is living; Edna 's decease was imminent from the moment of her awakening.

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.

For many years, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was considered perhaps one of the most scandalous novels written by a woman about a woman’s sexual and spiritual liberation and independence. Much of Chopin’s fiction has been praised as a celebration of female sexuality, conspicuously highlighting the tension between erotic desire and the demands that come from marriage, family life, and society (Martin 1). Unlike other literary contemporaries, Chopin does not attempt to moralize her heroines’ moral frailty, and more importantly she unapologetically allows her heroines’ unconventional sexuality to thrive (Martin 6). Only recently has The Awakening been acknowledged as a well-crafted narrative of Edna Pontellier’s struggle between individuality and

Morbid, vulgar, and disagreeable are just a few descriptors used by critics to describe Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Chopin is amongst the first feminist writers of the twentieth century writing two novels and about a hundred short stories, most of which the protagonist is a woman. Although Chopin wrote other short stories that were considered controversial none of them received as much criticism as The Awakening. Set in the late nineteenth century the story follows Edna Portellier who has been awakened to her own desires and even though she has a husband and children she decides to pursue those yearnings. This in turn causes her to lose her innocence and morality. Edna is the epitome of a Fallen Woman. By looking closely at the characterizations, figurative language, and symbolism within the story it is easy to see that she is fallen because of the choices she makes.

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.

“If you love something you must set it free, and if it returns then it was meant to be”. This quote is fewer or more words demonstrates the beauty in releasing something for the greater good, which is exactly what took place in the story “The Awakening”. In the story “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin the author uses symbols and motifs through her main character, Edna, to illuminate her feelings and define her actions.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston shows the growth of Janie Crawford, a woman of African American and White mix; who searches for true love when she saw bee pollenating on a flower when she was in her teens. As the novel progresses Janie goes through three marriages. Those husbands have showed their power as the man of household in their own way. Either they would use hurtful words or use physical force to some extent. Janie had go to through “trial and error” with her marriages. The Awakening by Kate Chopin explains the story of Edna Pontellier who is a wife with an independent demeanor and seeks to find love outside of her current marriage. During the course of the works Edna has encountered men that have tried control her. The men Edna has encountered didn’t understand Edna’s need for independence. In connection both Edna and Janie share the same ideas but their paths are different. Both women live in a very different society with the similarity of living under a male dominate society.

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, we are introduced to a woman named Edna Pontellier. She is a wife, a mother, and a homemaker who struggles to fit in the ideal “Victorian woman” mold. The expectations of women during the Victorian era was for women to be devoted to her husband, children and her home and it was frowned if a woman were to devote some time for the benefit of herself. The women were like caged birds; unable to use her wings for flight. Throughout the novel, Edna’s dissatisfaction with her life becomes apparent and we see Edna’s journey to independence and self-discovery. Chopin uses bird symbolism and metaphors to reflect Edna’s journey and her true desires. The bird is used as a symbolic element used to represent Edna and

“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.”(Virginia Woolf). During the late 1800’s, early 1900’s, and even today many people still believe this quote to be true. Stating that a women in order to be respected and successful needs a to be married or have a man in her life. Author Kate Chopin, defies these standards through her character Edna Pontellier in her novel The Awakening. Many years after The Awakening was written President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech. Although,when the President spoke about freedom from fear he was referring to the Nazi Party and Germany , the fear that Edna Pontellier faces throughout the story is her fear to express herself and her underlying want to break gender

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. The images of birds and the ocean are used to show the harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the nineteenth century.

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

In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare showed how the lies and the jealousy of others can ruin a relationship . Throughout the history of this play people have understood it as a “triad of nobility,purity, and villainy.” A literary critic, Michael Andrews noted the significance of the handkerchief that was used in the play. “Othello tells Desdemona that the handkerchief is a love-controlling talisman his mother received from an Egyptian "charmer.” The gift that Desdemona receives is used to represent a symbol of Othello’s love.

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.

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.

Women’s rights have drastically improved since the 1800’s. The model of patriarchy was widely accepted as a social norm in America and many other countries until the early to mid 1900’s. Today women are still fighting the belittlement that the patriarchal model deemed acceptable. The character of the rebellious strong women is still one today that many women look up to; especially women in very oppressive middle east countries. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Chopin strives to argue social emancipation for women