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Female Empowerment in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

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Heinrich-Heine-Universität
Wintersemester 2010/11 Vertiefungsmodul Kurs: American Realism and Naturalism - Short Stories Seminarleiter: Georg Schiller
Datum der Abgabe: 16.04.2011

Female Empowerment in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”

Anjana Dhir

BA Englisch KF, Geschichte NF 3. Semester Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3 2. The French – Creole society of Louisiana 4 2.1 Cultural background 4 2.2 French-Creole women 5 3. The Role of Women 6 4.1 Edna vs. Madame Ratignolle 7 3.1.1 “A Valuable Piece of Property” 7 3.1.2 Edna – The Unusual Woman 9 3.1.3 Adèle Ratignolle – The Archetype Woman 14 3.2 “Mother Woman” – The Patriarchal Ideology 16 4. Chopin’s Imagery 18 5. Conclusion - Edna’s Suicide 19 6. Bibliography 21

1. Introduction

A certain ungovernable dread hung about her when in the water, unless there was a hand nearby that might reach out and reassure her. But that night she was like a little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over confidence. […]
A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.

This scene in Kate Chopin’s novel describes the moment in which the lead character Edna Pontellier experiences her first successful attempt to swim by herself. At the same time, the passage is a metaphor for the first step towards her “awakening” to discovering her individuality and becoming a woman well ahead of her time.
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