...sense…but unthinkingly,” readers see a development of Edna’s awakening through critical diction used to critique her reawakened self. Use of words such as “unthinkingly,” used draw attention to the follies of her willingness to conform, which denotes a critical and reflective tone which highlights Edna’s mental realization of her desire to act with newfound individuality. Previous and following short sentences and the overall...
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...Social acceptance or freedom, love or lust, these conflicts arise in The Awakening by Kate Chopin as Edna Pontellier struggles with her internal conflicts. In a time where women are expected to be subordinates, Edna begins to defy the standards and her oppressive husband. The first set of foils include Robert and Alcee, or love and lust respectively. In addition, compliance and individualism are exemplified by two polar characters: Adèle Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. These women act as foils and provide references to the reader in understanding Edna’s awakening. On one hand, Adèle epitomizes the ideal woman of the nineteenth century, but Reisz represents the feminist movement; Robert and Alcee also develop as foils that impact Edna. Which...
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...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...
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... Underneath it All Yakini Kemp and Kate Chopin use similar motifs to depict their characters. Covering of the body and art are pieces used to reflect the characters of each piece. Both women deceive their husbands in a fashion by using a “cover up”. Covering in both stories ranges from a piece of cloth to the crown of hair on ones head. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier goes through stages of shedding her body covering. In the beginning of the novel Edna is fully clothed. As the novel progresses she slowly alters her attire. In one instance Mrs. Pontellier went from wearing glamorous “reception gowns” on Tuesdays, her “reception day”, to wearing an “ordinary house dress”. This showed the beginning of her distancing herself from society. On another occasion the actor noticed that she had “transformed” and reminded him of a “sleek animal waking up”. At the end of the novel the shedding of her clothing shows Edna shedding the societal views in her life and her attachment to the world. “She stood naked in the open air for the first time”. To Edna the release of her clothing was an awakening, she felt like a “new born”. When Edna commits suicide she is finally naked, she has shed everything she has in her quest for selfhood. Women in Edna’s community was very cautious of their complexion “twined gauze veil about her head, dogskin gloves, with gauntlets that protected the wrists and a dressed in pure white dresses with fluffiness of ruffles” (Chopin-...
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...“ Common Themes Found in Kate Chopin's Short Stories Kimberley J. Dorsey Stevenson University English 152, Writing About Literature 152-OME1 Charlotte Wulf November 14, 2010 Abstract Many of Kate Chopin’s short stories share the common themes of female oppression. The females in her stories are trying to find a way to escape their oppression and have a sense freedom and individuality. They either commit adultery or fantasize about it as a way to explore their feminine sexuality and obtain a sense of freedom. Common Themes Found in Kate Chopin's Short Stories Kate Chopin, an American novelist and short story writer. Born in 1851 and died in 1904 (cerebral hemorrhage). Chopin lived in Louisiana during her marriage to a Louisiana businessman and began writing after her husband’s death; being left to raise six children alone. Many of her stories are based on her knowledge of Creole and Cajun life during the time she lived there. She is best known for her novel “The Awakening,” considered Chopin’s masterpiece was subject to harsh criticism at the time criticism for its frank approach to sexual themes (Toth, 1988-1999, p. 1). Her attitude seen throughout her writing’s are about a woman’s place as being in the home and her purpose in life is to nurture her husband and children. Being against oppression Chopin chose to write about these issues through fiction, expressing...
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...The Awakening was published at a period in time whereby the contents of the book was considered vulgar and terrible. The book was rejected and looked down upon as being some type of scandal. The novel wasn’t recognized until after Kate Chopin dead. After her death readers began to recognize the book as being a feminist because of the fact that people began to understand the contents of the book in the newer era. The novel, “The Awakening” embodies a woman’s creativity, marriage, motherhood, and a woman’s place in society. An important part of the novel that stood out would be when Edna makes an attempt to escape the obligations and constraints of New Orleans social milieu. Every move made by Edna is caused by the tenet of society. Edna is...
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...Edna’s “awakening” begins to take form inside of her as a light. Chopin describes this evolution in this way because it depicts Edna as an individual who decides for herself, which we, the audience, observe as she makes the decision to go onto the beach with someone else. The character is unsure about this new personality growing inside of her that allows her to have her own opinions. Chopin then goes on to narrate from a 3rd person point of view about how most people do not make their way through this experience, suggesting the idea that Edna is a potential symbol for female empowerment/courage in the text. This passage is more of a big technique used by Chopin as the author alternates between using Edna’s husbands m=name and her simplistic...
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...position as a social truth. However, I would argues that, in The Awakening written by Kate Chopin, Edna sets an impressive example that presents us with a figure who takes a weary and tough journey in seeking liberation and authentic identity in a complex society, along with exploring self. The courageous soul seems to be the essential beacon guiding her through this tough tunnel, whereas, she finally understands that being herself in an authentic society will be the first step in truly achieving liberation. Quite a few people claim that Edna already has an authentic life, since she is well protected by her husband, who looks at his wife “as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (The Awakening, Page 4) My view, however, is that this has the same meaning as Edna being a caged bird who is not fully understood by others. The author writes: “Her eyebrows were a shade darker than her hair. They were thick and almost horizontal, emphasizing the depth of her eyes. She was rather handsome than beautiful.” (The Awakening, Page 5) We learn that Edna’s powerful and serious impression foreshadows her internal strength and masculinity. According to Chopin’s description, Edna defines herself properly: “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-woman seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle […] fluttering about with extended, protecting wings.” (The Awakening, Page 9) Firstly, the mother-woman depicts a typical-identity...
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...Her Female Role in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening English C-Uppsats Date/Term: Supervisor: Examiner: Serial Number: Höstterminen 2006 Åke Bergvall Mark Troy X-XX XX XX Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad Tfn 054-700 10 00 Fax 054-700 14 60 Information@kau.se www.kau.se Kate Chopin is known for writing about women and their struggles in patriarchal society. In her three works The Awakening, “A Point at Issue” and “Wiser than a God”, she portrays women who have taken on different types of female roles. Per Seyersted calls these roles the “patriarchal woman”, which I choose too exemplify by Mme. Ratignolle from The Awakening, the “modern woman,” who Seyersted exemplifies by Eleanor from “A Point of Issue,” and the “emancipated woman,” who Seyersted exemplifies by Paula from “Wiser than a God” (Seyersted 102-105). One can say that these women have accepted and internalized a female role in society, by either following the rules of patriarchal society or breaking them. Edna, the protagonist of The Awakening, is a woman in search of her female identity. She is uncomfortable in her role as the “patriarchal woman” and has trouble obtaining either of the other two roles. This essay will focus on Edna’s inability to find her female role. Comparing her to the three other types of women in Chopin’s works, I will show why she cannot conform to any one of these roles, and how the resulting suicide is a conscious choice very much in character with Chopin’s portrayal of her. To understand...
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...Throughout the novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontelier’s struggles with the discovery of her personal identity due to society’s social conduct which she had previously been blindly following. After undergoing an “awakening” to such confinements, it is highly suggested at the end of the novel that Edna committed suicide. Edna’s suicide is surrounded by a sense of ambiguity in regards to the motives influencing it, thus making it one of the more fascinating aspects of the novel. The quote is significant because it allows the reader to draw their own conclusions and interpretations, as Chopin does not outwardly express any particular point of view regarding Edna’s suicide. Therefore, the connotation of and motivation for her death is called into...
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...sensual pull of the ocean attracts Edna to freedom. The novella The Awakening is set around the ocean. Chopin sets her main character Edna, in New Orleans and the Grand Isle to constantly entice Edna with the ocean and the freedom that it represents. At the beginning of the book Edna’s connection to the ocean is weak due to her inability to swim. After Edna swims for the first time and continues to practice the ocean’s sensuality starts to pull her in. Chopin relates Edna to the ocean in a parallel way to help express Edna’s crave for freedom. The last chapter in The Awakening Edna takes her life in the ocean that has been enticing her throughout the novella through sensualism and sets herself free. The ocean is a symbol...
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...The Awakening The Awakening explores different details of a woman living life through the 1800's. The main character that is discussed is Edna Pontellier. She is married to Leonce Pontellier and they have two children together, Etienne and Raoul. The story behind Edna is her desire and struggles to be an independent woman and live fully within her true self. She has struggles learning this about herself and the purpose of a happy life that in turn it causes friction with her friends and family. There are many symbols and perspectives in the story that will help decide whether or not Edna did the right thing in the end. 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. A critical analysis consists of choosing a certain lens that would point out certain characteristics of a book and summarize the findings. From the weekly reading “When you analyze a piece of literature or portion of it, it is important to look at various parts of the work—characters, setting, figurative language, and symbolism” (South University, Lecture, wk.2). There are three perspectives that were included in The Awakening, Feminist, Psychoanalytical and Historical. While writing this paper from a feminist perspective there will also be comparisons from the other two. As Sigmund Freud stated “the mind has two parts,...
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...In Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is used to highlight the oppressive, sexist roles imposed on women in 19th century Louisiana. Wife and mother of two, she is expected to be a perfect “mother-woman” like the creole women her family is surrounded by in Grand Isle. She is not prepared to sacrifice every fiber of her being for her husband, children, and home. Edna continually sacrifices her desires in order to keep the perfect Victorian household, so common in french creole communities. As time goes on, Edna no longer can conform to society’s norms, preferring to committing suicide rather than endure the burden of her time. At the beginning of the novel, we see that Edna has given up on her teenage desires, settled down with Mr. Pontellier, and had two children, reluctantly accepting her role in society. Edna gave into the...
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...Concept of liberty and femininity in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Awakening I decided to examine the concept of femininity and liberty in a short story “The Yellow Wall-paper” from the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman and in the book “The Awakening” from Kate Chopin. I chose these two books in order to demonstrate how society in the nineteenth century treated woman and how those woman were trying to escape from this concept. Femininity refers to set of behaviours and roles which are appropriate for women and judged by certain culture. In the nineteenth century were women expected to stay at home and wait for their husbands´ return each evening. Women should have these four attributes: piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. (Rula Quawas,2006) Women who had these attributes were considered happy and satisfied. It was also believed that there is a sharp line between home, the woman sanctuary, and the economic world because it is a hard world only for men. The Yellow Wallpaper The story begun with moving of the main hero and her husband to the colonial mansion. Her husband´s name is John and he is a high standing physician. They moved for a while because she had to undergo a rest-cure. This method of treatment of the main hero of The Yellow Wallpaper is Dr. Mitchell´s rest-cure for women which included no intellectual stimulation and no writing. Her brother is a physician as well and agrees with her husband, but she doesn’t think that the way they cure her is...
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...passage above is an example of a. Puritanism * * 8. Thomas Pain’s Common Sense had a direct influence on which of the following Revolutionary era works? * c. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence * 9. The passage above is from * a. William Bradford’s The History of Plimouth Plantation 10. All of the following are writers of the Colonial era EXCEPT b. Margaret Fuller 11. The passage would best be described as an example of d. Sentimentalism 12. The first paragraph of the passage provides an example of which of the following figures of speech ? c. Apostrophe 13. Which of the following best describes a theme of Whitman’s poem “ Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking’’? e. The awakening of the poet to his vocation 14. Which of the following did NOT write a slave narrative? d. Charles Brockden Brown 15. The sentences are taken from the opening pages of e. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden 16. The phrase “the furniture of my mind was all undusted...
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