What Makes Edna's True Desires In The Awakening

Prevalent concept in the novel is the concept of the “mother-woman”, which is something Edna Pontellier deeply struggles with. “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me” (chapter 16). A woman may fulfil other roles than those of a mother or a wife. Therefore, the novel tackles the issue of the sense of self, inner and outer.

The Sea Inside The ocean serves as a powerful source of inspiration for many; it is often shrouded in myth, mystery, and romanticism, as illustrated by the multitude of poems, literature, and art that focus on it. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the sea serves as a symbol of multiple elements of Edna’s journey as it represents both inward reflection and contemplation, as well as the frightening dangers and liberating rebirth that come with the absolute and expansive freedom that Edna so desperately seeks. Edna spends much of her adult life surrounded by the responsibilities of her demanding domestic and social life, without much time to turn inward or be alone; thus, the expansive abyss of the sea offers her a tempting chance for contemplation and solitude. As Edna spends time along the water at Grand Isle, it invites her to explore “the mazes of inward contemplation”, leading her to reflect on “her position in the universe as a human being” (57).

Robert’s goodbye letter destroyed Edna and she let her emotions and assumptions overtake her, she made the decision to give up her life because her loss of Robert was too much pain to live with. Edna swam and swam further away from shore with thoughts racing through her mind thinking maybe this was not the solution she should have gone with “but it was too late; the shore was far behind her and her strength was gone…then [she] sank again. ”(153). It is Edna’s responsibility to care for her family but she let one man’s decision destroy her family. The fact that Edna Pontellier to let something as simple as a letter destroy the lives of her children, her husband, and those around her, and that she did not think about the devastating effects such

Keir Nason AP English Literature and Composition Mrs. Schroeder January 3, 2018 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. At the time of The Awakening’s release, many works strived to address the rights of women, with the Suffragette

Awakening is a novel written by Kate Chopin in 1899. As in many of Chopin’s writing, this novel concerns itself with morality and identity. The restrictions and expectations imposed on the protagonist, Edna Pontellier in the Awakening are based on gender and societal norms in the nineteenth century. In the Victorian Era, society deemed that the role of the woman was purely to be a wife and mother, but Edna had other ambitions, which included sexual freedom.

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.

1. Quote: “As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself” (31). Literary/Style Elements: Metaphor Commentary: Chopin evokes the emotion of breaking free, or losing oneself within Edna for the reader to understand that the sea or ocean resembles the sense of renewal. Edna being connected to the unlimited reach uses the metaphorical representation for her to comprehend that she achieve things strictly to please herself. Additional Ideas: This metaphor sets the mood in the novel, that it will be used to allow people or Edna more specifically to be happy.

The American science fiction and fantasy author Richard Grant once said that “the value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose.” In both The Awakening by Kate Chopin and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the main protagonists search for their identities through the context of their daily lives. In correlation with the preceding quotation, in The Awakening, after a vacation opens her eyes to all that she has been missing in her life, she becomes desperate to find herself outside of the mother-woman while in The Handmaid’s Tale, the narrator must decide which parts of her identity she wants to hold on to and who she is in the trying times of the Gileadean society. The two novels demonstrate the journey of these women

The Escape Kate Chopin’s Realist novel depicts a young mother, Edna Pontellier, trying escape society’s constraints. The Romantic traits incorporated into the novel help to show Edna’s struggle for independence. As Edna tries to escape, it becomes clear that the world she is trying to enter is the seemingly simple and beautiful transcendental world. Despite being smart and persistent, Edna is having a hard time escaping from the Victorian duties tying her down.

The moral conflict that Edna Pontellier experience begins when she is unable to control her urges as a result of her new sexual desires and willingness to break Victorian social conventions. She quickly leaves her family in order to pursue a life free of her children and husband. There are times when the internal more conflict shows and her old morals return for a short period of time. For example, when she visited her children in the country and expressed how much she missed them, even though she left them within a week. Edna sees that an adulterous relationship is wrong, but she continues to live the fantasy life with Robert and Arobin.

The Awakening written by Kate Chopin, is a novella about a woman named Edna, who desires to be an independent woman and break free from the typical 1800’s mold of society. Allusions are used to show how the characters behave and are affected by their surroundings and emotions. Throughout the story, Chopin uses them to connect the characters to the plot and make each scenario recognizable to the reader. “The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents about her ankles. She walked out.