The Awakening In The 1850's

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.

In her essay, “The Importance of Work,” from The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, Betty Friedan confronts American women’s search for identity. Throughout the novel, Betty Friedan breaks new ground, concocting the idea that women can discover personal fulfillment by straying away from their original roles. Friedan ponders on the idea that The Feminine Mystique is the cause for a vast majority of women during that time period to feel confined by their occupations around the house; therefore, restricting them from discovering who they are as women. Friedan’s novel is well known for creating a different kind of feminism and rousing various women across the nation.

In “The Awakening” the author uses her main character Edna to illuminate independence and coming to her personal realization or “an awakening”, through the use of motifs. A motif that was in infiltrated in the story was the motif of her children. We see multiple perspectives on how children should be raised, or what type of mother a women should be throughout this story, but Edna does not allow others opinions to affect her emotions on the situation. Edna makes it clear that it is not the lack of love she has for her children that causes her actions, but the fear of losing herself. Edna does not want to be seen as “property” of her husband, or a stay at

Politics and literature are far from strange bedfellows. Social commentary and allegory have been tools in the literary toolbox since Ancient Greece, with Plato’s Allegory of The Cave being one of the earliest forms of the device. Science fiction is an entire genre that, at least to a degree, is based upon the premise of looking at the problems of today through the eyes of tomorrow. Oftentime, authors seek to tackle the issues of their time within their writing, and Kate Chopin was no different when she published her final work The Awakening in 1899.

The Feminine Mystique (1963) examines the dehumanizing conditions of middle class American women who were excluded from social and political life to be anchored in their wifely and motherly roles. The book marks the Second Wave of American feminism. Friedan writes, “Their only dream was to be perfect wives and mothers” (61). This meant that the whole of an American woman’s life was meant to attract and keep her husband and serve his and children’s needs. She deals with this painful ordeal of women and clearly brings out the ennui, unhappiness, and the lack of companionship experienced by women in their marriages.

The Great Awakening during the Colonial time is an example of Communities of Consensus. During the late 1760s the Puritans and Anglicans represented 40% of the nation 's religion. Ministers tried to promote a single “identity” but were unable to due to the restriction of religious freedom. As evangelists went town after town they found bigger chapels and a huge number of Protestant categories grew. The Great awakening pulled America away from the English way of politics and religion. It was through the revivalism of the first half of the Eighteenth Century that the colonists were finally able to step out from under the protectorate of the established Christian churches and assert religious control

Throughout the generation, women have always been trapped in some way or another. In the short story, ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’ and the novel ‘The Awakening’ highlights the struggle of women in the late 1800’s and the early 1900s in society. The Yellow wallpaper is a short story about women giving birth and being imprisoned in a room with a weird view of the yellow wall-paper. This resulted in her hallucination lead to the development of mental illness. By the end of the story, she rips off the yellow wallpaper and kills her husband. Similar to this is the story of Edna in the novel ‘The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin. This story highlights the life of a woman who is trying to gain independence in a trapped society where it is impossible for women in that type of culture to be free. Society plays a major role in her story as the society oppresses her in such a way that results in a tragic ending.

Edna wrote a letter to Leonce about her moving out, and he wrote back saying that he does not like the idea of her moving out. He then said that he was going to say that the house was being renovated, and that him and Edna were going to travel

In the past women were expected by society to stay home and do the house work,take care of the kids and stay devoted to their husbands but then someone comes along and completely goes against those standards. This is exactly what Kate Chopins is trying to explain in the book The Awakening because she didn't like the expectations/standards that were put on women and when she wrote a book about it everyone thought that it was scandalous to the point to where it was banned. It was banned because during those times people didn't really think or even knew about what would happen in some marriages like cheating, or standards that were put on women. Through the book The Awakening there are many symbols that take a big part in the book in which they all goes a bigger meaning in the story

The Awakening, a novel written by Kate Chopin, is a novel that can be considered out of the ordinary due to the ambiguous ending concerning the main character committing suicide. Edna is a married woman who feels constrained by the image that society places on women. Throughout the novel she encounters other characters who inspire her to break through society’s restrictions and become more free and independent. After her and Mr. Pontellier move back to their home in New Orleans, her former flame, Robert, moves away to Mexico. Soon after, Edna moves out of her house while her husband is away on business, taking greater steps to becoming a self-determining woman. Eventually Robert moves home, and Edna expresses how she feels, although Robert feels the same way he leaves her knowing that in the end they would never be able to be together. Ultimately, in the end when Edna commits suicide she is victorious in her “awakening.”

Edna was awakened. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin wrote about the awakening of Edna Pontellier, a woman lived in nineteenth century society. The word “awake” appeared many times in the book. “she could only realize that she herself—her present self—was in some way different from the other self”. (40, Chopin) The awakening helped Edna to discard the conventional concept, and sought for the real self.

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.

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was a dramatic novella that was based on society and how Edna was treated, love and independence of finding her true self. The author inputs the theme in a numerous amount of literary devices that include round character, irony and a metaphor to exaggerate the theme. This shows how Edna has two sides to herself; the one that tries to fit into society and another side that the public can see as a swell mother.