Women are often perceived as mother figures who stand by their husbands no matter what type of situation they encounter. They are expected to give a perfect image to society and do not get the greater say. Eugene O 'Neill’s play, A Long Day’s Journey into the Night (1940), gives the reader a representation of a woman who is still influenced by these standard societal expectations. The character, Mary Tyrone, depends greatly of her husband and will not leave him even if she wanted to. In The Awakening (1899) by Kate Chopin, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier who is the complete opposite. She exposes the dissatisfaction that women feel and decides to act upon it. These two characters feel that they do not belong in the lifestyle they are given. They struggle with their identity due to their husbands’ lack of affection. As a result, marriage becomes a barrier to their happiness and individual fulfillment. The sense of displacement, marital dissatisfaction, and loss and gain of identity pushes both Mary and Edna to take major decisions in order to deal with their pain and desires. Mary deals with the sense of displacement because of the absence of a stable home. Since her husband, James, was an actor, the family would have to move around depending on his schedule. Leaving Mary and her children on cheap hotel room. Mary was not a fan of this, she never had a place to call home. She fondly remembers her ideal childhood home, and contrasts it with her present dwelling.
In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin portrays an image where someone shifts from one phase to another one. We find the protagonist go through a shift from patriarchy to feminist resistance. As this story continues to unfold, Edna goes through feminist resistance where she doesn’t want to still rely on her husband anymore and want to live by her own rules. Edna Pontellier’s “awakening” takes place in Grand Isle and New Orleans during the late 1800s. It is an important factor of the book because during this time period women were fighting for their rights. Usually before this time, women would only stay home and follow the orders of their husbands. Women during this time period needed to stay home and care for the house and the children. They always had to live for their children almost are like a slave to their husband. Women would be often seen as a property and not an actual human being. In this novel, we find restrains at the beginning and later see the shift to wanting freedom of expression.
Illogical, submissive, and sensual are some of the words used to describe the view of women during the nineteenth century. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells the controversial story of a woman, Edna Pontellier, and her spiritual growing. Throughout the story, Edna constantly battles between her heart’s desires and society’s standard. The novel shows how two women’s lives influence Edna throughout the novel. Mademoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle are both in their own way strong, motherly influences in Edna’s life. Mademoiselle Reisz is Edna the mother who wants Edna to pursue her heart’s desires. Madame Ratignolle however, is the type of mother to Edna who wants Edna to do what is socially right. The way the two live
The story, The Awakening, is about Edna Pontellier’s internal conflict between her desire for independence and her need to remain a high-class member of society. When away on summer vacation Edna has the realization that she has control of her own life and begins to focus on her self and not what others think. During her awakening, Edna is faced with much resilience from her husband and friends and instead of becoming someone she is not, Edna Pontellier ends her own life as she sees it is her only option. The author, Kate Chopin, uses many characters to exemplify the conflicting ideals emerging in Edna; particularly Madame Ratignolle acts as a foil to Edna’s newfound persona, instead symbolizing the conservation of a traditional
Over the course of time the male species has always been the gender to attain the more favorable conditions. Numerous cultures heed to the belief that the man is the provider and head of his family. This machismo nature can condition the mind to believe that a man should feel superior to a woman. The continuous cycle of male superiority flows down from father to son subconsciously. Do to this unceasing sequence of behavior women fall subject to repression and control at the hands of mentally undeveloped men. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, illustrated this particular topic in a way that not only appealed to the readers’ sense of pathos but, the readers’ likeliness to be able to relate to the aforementioned as well. Chopin stylistically renders the struggle of the protagonist Edna Pontellier, a strong willed woman who finds herself imprisoned to the concept of trans-temporal existence, as she seeks refuge to her true being, Edna experiments relationships with multiple men that unintentionally repress her existence. Between Leonce Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, Alcee Arobin and The Colonel effect of Edna’s life they catalyze her awakening and ultimately lead her suicide.
During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.
Although The Awakening may be seen as a tragic love story to some, it is truly a novel that displays the turning point for a woman’s role in the 1900’s. The main character, Edna Pontellier, is the epitome of the new working woman. The story centers around Edna’s discovery of her beliefs which are found through a series of awakenings and contrasted with the social norms of the time.
Kate Chopin’s controversial novel, The Awakening, comprehends the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman’s life as she attempts to cope with the strict cultural demands. The protagonist Edna Pontellier challenges the norms of society as she abandons the stereotype of a “mother-woman”. The novel accounts Edna Pontellier’s journey toward a new vision of female and constantly examines and challenges the boundaries of a “mother-woman”. The continuous characterization of Edna throughout the book presents the idea that individuality and freedom of women could not be earned in the inhibiting society that she was trapped in.
Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening expresses the difficulty of finding a woman’s place in society. Edna learns of new ideas such as freedom and independence while vacationing in Grand Isle. Faced with a choice to conform to society’s expectations or to obey personal desires for independence, Edna Pontellier realizes that either option will result in dissatisfaction. Thus, Edna’s awakening in Grand Isle leads to her suicide.
In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening a wife and a mother of two, Edna Pontellier, discovers her desires as a woman to live life to the fullest extent and to find her true self. Eventually, her discovery leads to friction between friends, family, and the dominant values of society. Through Chopin's use of Author’s craft and literary elements, the readers have a clear comprehension as to what the author is conveying.
The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers.
Kate Chopin’s controversial novel, The Awakening, ignited turmoil because of her blatant disregard of the established 19th century perspective of women upholding strictly maternal and matrimonial responsibilities. Edna’s candid exploration of the restrictions on women through her liberal behavior in a conservative Victorian society makes her a literary symbol for feminist ideals. Despite denunciation from other people, Edna chooses individuality over conformity through her veering from traditional obligations. Edna indulges in her love of art, which is considered to conflict with her expected singular devotion to her household. Exploring her sexuality rather than repressing any sexual awareness constructs her feministic mentality.
In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the constant boundaries and restrictions placed on Edna Pontellier by society will lead to her struggle for freedom and her ultimate suicide. Her husband Leonce Pontellier, the current women of society, and the Grand Isle make it evident that Edna is trapped in a patriarchal society. Despite these people, Edna has a need to be free and she is able to escape from the society that she despises. The sea, Robert Lebrun, and Mademoiselle Reisz serve as Edna’s outlets from conformity. “Edna's journey for personal independence involves finding the words to express herself. She commits suicide rather than sacrificing her independent,
In Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening”, Edna finds herself in a society where women were socially confined to be mothers and wives. This novel embodies the struggle of women in the society for independence along with the presence of women struggling to live up to the demands that their strict culture has placed upon them. A part of Edna wants to meet the standards of mother and wife that society has set, however her biggest desire is to be a woman free from the oppression of a society that is male dominant. Readers will find that the foundation of “The Awakening” the feminist perspective because of the passion that Edna has for gaining her own identity, and independence,
In the play, Mary is a beautiful woman and lives the life like any other girls of her time; but she is emotionally attached to her sons and her family when she marries into the Tyrone family. She is also getting old, so she keeps going on her days worrying about her change of appearance. She suffers from a morphine addiction and she is psychologically wounded because of her past. She tries many times to break free but she could not stop as she spends time with her family. She has gone through many struggles but she cannot move on with her life. She keeps looking back into the past; and she regrets marrying into the family because of the dreams she had to sacrifice such as becoming a nun or a concert pianist.
The literary novel The Awakening written by author Kate Chopin was groundbreaking in its time as a story following Edna Pontellier’s transformation from an obedient, traditional housewife and mother into a self-realized, sexually liberated and independent woman— all written during the Victorian era of patriarchal constraints and beliefs that a woman was fit to be only a wife and mother. Chopin introduces a multitude of feminist issues throughout the duration of the story, including the societal structures of motherhood, marital expectations and feminine liberation. The fact that Chopin’s novel addresses these issues is a testament to how radical and ahead of its time The Awakening was. Although this novel was originally published over a century ago, it is clear that the feminist topics that Chopin proposes in the novel are still relevant today in our modern day patriarchal society.