...It has been around since before the civil rights movement and before the suffragettes. The woman’s plight to be seen just as serious and strong as men and assume more prominent roles in society transcends time and place. We can see examples of it in classic literature like The Awakening by Kate Chopin and in short stories like “The Yellow Wall Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Both works, written in the late 1800s, carry examples of the age old struggle for equality. Women historically have been trivialized and seen as having “a slight hysterical tendency,” (Gilman, 1892). In “The Yellow Wall Paper”, the narrator goes mad while her husband insists that she rest all day in bed, while in The Awakening, Edna struggles to find and identity outside of her role as a mother and wife. Both women are tied to their house by the expectations of men, but this is not meant to villainize the men. Rather, it is meant to draw attention to and criticize the idea that men and women should each play into these dangerous gender roles. While some may say that this is an issue of the past, today women are still expected to fulfill those same duties as a mother and wife and those who deviate from this norm are looked down upon. One can say that they...
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...Mainiero, Linda. American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide From Colonial Times To The Present. New York: Fredrick Ungar Publish Co., 1979. After Kate Chopin graduated from Scared Heart Convent, she married Oscar Chopin, a native of Louisiana. In 1870 she moved to New Orleans with her husband and had 5 children. Her first poem “If it might be” was published in 1899. “At Fault” her first novel was established in 1890. Toth, Emily . Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson, Miss: University Press of Mississippi, 1999. When Kate Chopin began publishing fiction in national magazines, she was doing something no other women in St. Louis had ever done. Kate was surrounded by the voices of women – from her mammy to her mother and grandmother, to the Sacred Heart nuns, to her best friend Kitty Garesche....
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...theory of sexual selection in Kate Chopin works. She describes the sexual attraction use by Chopin in her works according to Darwin’s theory. Holtman, Janet. "Failing Fictions: The Conflicting and Shifting Social Emphases Of Kate Chopin's "Local Color" Stories." Southern Quarterly 42.2 (2004): 73-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Apr. 2013 The presents work analyses the concept of skin color used by Kate Chopin her works. It discuss the way Southern discourses of race and class influences Chopin novels “Bayou Folk” and “A night in Acadie”. "Kate Chopin: Her Novels and Stories." Kate Chopin: The Awakening, The Storm, Stories, Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. The website provides information about the all the novels and stories wrote by Kate Chopin. It also has her biography and a list of books, articles and essays about Kate Chopin and her works. In addition, the website has series of questions about Kate Chopin personal life and her reputation as a feminist reformer. Tolentino, Jasdomin, "Kate Chopin's Life and Personal Influence" (2008).Excellence in Research Awards.Paper 2 In this paper, Tolentino discuss Kate Chopin life and her personal influence. He explain how the relations with the members of her family, the environment in which she lives and the close people who died in her life affected her of writing her short stories “The Storm” and “ The Story of an Hour”. Bradley, Patricia L. "The Birth Of Tragedy" And "The Awakening": Influences And Intertextualities...
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...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...
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...Sexual Desire The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel about a woman who leads the typical life of a nineteenth century woman. During this era, a woman's role is to be a wife and mother. The main character, Edna Pontellier, begins to struggle with this obligatory role in society. Even though she is an upper woman in society, she has feelings of suffocation and frustration. She begins to neglect her duties such as caring for her children, housekeeping, and social visitations. She is also starting to have feelings for men other than her husband. Through Edna's Creole friends, she learns a great deal about freedom of expression. As a result, Edna Pontellier goes on a journey of self discovery and sexual desires through a series of life awakenings. In Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier and her family are vacationing at Grand Isle in southern Louisiana. While there, Edna becomes close to a gentlemen by the name of Robert Lebrun. Robert each summer at Grand Isle had constituted himself the devoted attendant of some fair damsel (Chopin 13). Throughout the summer, Edna spends time with Creole women who liberate her to seek independence from social norms. Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her (Chopin 12). Edna's character goes on a journey of self discovery and experiences a series of awakenings that lead to her death. Carney 2 The Awakening depicts the lifestyle for...
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...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 real women. Kate Chopin is considered...
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...A Journey for the Lost Soul The Awakening by Kate Chopin was written during the 1800’s and was published in the year of 1899. During this time, the novel struck controversial subjects using a strong feminist tone, which underlined Chopin’s views on sex, marriage, and women of that period. In this novel, it is evident that freedom and feminism are used as interrelations of each other to express her feelings towards each subject. Some characters in The Awakening served as an encouraging force pushing Edna to go forth with her self-discoveries. In her journey, Edna travels through many stages of freedom to find herself; from exploring her creativity, to being freely aware of her sexually desires in the novel. Chopin uses the self-defining journey of Edna Pontellier to reveal her views of freedom as it relates to women, through a feminist lens during the 1800’s. According to Annetta Kelley, author of The Sparkle of Diamonds: Kate Chopin's Usage of Subtext in Stories and Novels, "The novel's most stirring poetic semblance is its continuous subliminal whispering of "the seductive, murmuring sea" (Kelley 334). Chopin uses Edna Pontellier to represent independence and free will, and the sea to represent Edna. She uses this character as a tool to exemplify her own thoughts on subjects such as sex, marriage, and what it is to be a free woman. The freedom Edna Pontellier desires so much throughout the novel becomes apparent to her primarily when she is at the beach with her...
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...Kate Chopin Catherine (Kate) O'Flaherty was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 8, 1850, the second child of Thomas O'Flaherty of County Galway, Ireland, and Eliza Faris of St. Louis. Kate's family on her mother's side was of French extraction, and Kate grew up speaking both French and English. She was bilingual and bicultural--feeling at home in different communities with quite different values--and the influence of French life and literature on her thinking is noticeable throughout her fiction. From 1855 to 1868 Kate attended the St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart, with one year at the Academy of the Visitation. As a girl, she was mentored by woman--by her mother, her grandmother, and her great grandmother, as well as by the Sacred Heart nuns. Kate formed deep bonds with her family members, with the sisters who taught her at school, and with her life-long friend Kitty Garasché. Much of the fiction Kate wrote as an adult draws on the nurturing she received from women as she was growing up. Her early life had a great deal of trauma. In 1855, her father was killed in a railroad accident. In 1863 her beloved French-speaking great grandmother died. Kate spent the Civil War in St. Louis, a city where residents supported both the Union and the Confederacy and where her family had slaves in the house. Her half brother enlisted in the Confederate army, was captured by Union forces, and died of typhoid fever. From 1867 to 1870 Kate kept a commonplace book in which she recorded...
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...Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, was originally published in 1899. At the time, society expected a woman’s life to revolve around her husband and children, and few women looked for fulfillment outside their family. The novel was banned from the St. Louis Mercantile Library, where Chopin lived, because the story was about a young woman, Edna Pontellier, who is awakened to her own desires and longing for fulfillment outside her family. She discovers she wishes for more than being her husband, Léonce Pontellier’s, possession. She wants to be independent and discover her sexuality. On summer vacation, Edna discovers her true love, Robert Lebrun, and despite the strict morals of the late 1800s, she explores that love. Chopin’s novel was considered,...
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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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...ENGL 1102 26 November 2013 The Birds In Kate Chopin’s book, The Awakening, she expresses the account of a youthful woman who begins to live her life for herself, breaking out of the numerous obstacles set by humanity and her family during the Victorian Era. When Chopin wrote The Awakening in the 1890s, a variety of social differences and tensions, which brought women’s rights into public conversation that prompted Chopin’s narrative. In Louisiana, which is the setting for The Awakening, most women at the time were their husbands' legitimate property. In addition, this was a prominently Catholic state meaning divorce was tremendously uncommon, and women expected to stay loyal and faithful to their husbands. This explains some reactions The Awakening received in after its publication in 1899. Chopin uses symbolism as an excellent device to insert her personal views to the reader giving them a foretaste into the life of this young woman at a time when women had no political rights and many restraints. In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening,” she uses a variety of birds as symbols to illuminate Edna’s journey through life. The essential significance throughout the story is the desire to break away from the traditional views of women during the Victorian Era. However, Edna struggles with the backlash she would receive if she chose to fulfill her own desires, signifying what she...
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...reinforced the idea of that a domestic women's life should be separate from the public world of men. Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. Feminism in 1900s pursued many freedoms that were considered scandalous before the turn of the century, and still today many believe woman should hold the classic stay at home mother role. When it was published in 1899, The Awakening by Kate Chopin was considered scandalous on many levels. Through the main character, Mrs. Edna Pontellier, Chopin presents many feminist ideas that were to come in the next century. Feminism tries to battle the idea that a woman’s only job is to raise her children. Sometimes women even believe that they may want something or that we like something just because it is all we know and how society has influenced us to be often without our even realizing it. Women at this time did not pursue anything entertaining for themselves. Edna, in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening knew when she married Mr. Pontellier that she did not love him, she was married off because that was the standard of women at that time. She originally does fall into the classic woman’s role by having children for her husband. Edna later realizes that she cannot be the perfect wife and mother like society expects her to be, a concept far before her time. This is well explained in the lines of chapter VI. In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize...
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...other. Motherhood from the “Realistic” point of view seems horrible! If someone were to ask me who I am, there is a whole list of words that I could use to describe myself, such as housewife, student, and caregiver. The social commentary of the late 19th century time period is just starting to look past the ideal woman, who was described as the “mother-woman,” to the version of femininity that is trying to be more of an equal with men. The definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (MW 236). Nothing in that definition leads me to conclude, as Edna seems to believe, that motherhood is the one thing that will retard her individual growth. Although feminists claim that The Awakening by Kate Chopin portrays a woman stifled by a society controlled by men, ultimately the decision to act selfishly or selflessly belongs to Edna. There is more than one choice given in the text of who and what Edna could be. Edna could become the selfless “mother woman” that society is looking for, or the more selfishly motivated single woman who makes her own way in the world, but what Edna also fails to realize is that every individual has their own way of fulfilling each role. Edna has a concrete example of each of these roles to follow in her life, in Mademmoiselle Reisz and Adele Ratignolle. Both of Edna’s role models are set into certain “types” yet find a way to stray from them, and make them unique to their situation. Change doesn’t...
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...Tony Dass Prof Shaw Egl 2219 March 2nd 2016 Kate Chopin who had an Irish father and a French-creole mother, she was born on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri. The O'Flahertys were members of the Creole social elite and were fairly well-off. When Kate was very young, her father Thomas O'Flaherty died in a work-related accident. He left behind a family of four generations of women all living in the same house. Kate was very close to her maternal great-grandmother, Madame Charleville, who first introduced her to the world of storytelling. Madame Charleville spoke only French to Kate and told her elaborate, somewhat risqué stories. Family tragedy surrounded the young Kate. When she was eleven, Madame Charleville died, and her half-brother George was killed while fighting in the Civil War for the Confederate side. Yet, Kate seems not to have completely despaired; she earned a reputation as the "Littlest Rebel" when she tore down a Union flag that had been tied to her front porch by Yankee soldiers. Had Kate not been a young girl at the time, the incident might have resulted in serious consequences, but since she was, her act became famous as local legend. While attending a Catholic high school, Kate studied both French and English literature and became an accomplished pianist. She attended numerous social events and became very popular in St. Louis high society. She also became interested in the movement for women's suffrage although she never became very politically active...
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...Ecocriticism in The Awakening Nature in The Awakening was used symbolically to represent the freedom to break free from the traditional placement of women during the nineteenth century. Although The Awakening is not typically applauded for its emphasis on “nature writing”, the direct correlation between the environment and the main character’s (Edna) choice to break free from society’s tendency to categorize women as sinners or saints. Using The Awakening and Glotfelty’s definition of ecocriticism, it will be shown that the environment plays a major part in the theme of the novel. In order to fully grasp the environmental connection between what is usually determined as a “gender” novel, because of the character’s fight for an alternative path for women, it must be realized how Kate Chopin addresses nature as an alternative escape from “good or evil.” According to Glotfelty, ecocriticism “shares the fundamental premise that human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it” (Glotfelty). The first connection between the physical world and The Awakening would be the fact that Edna is on an island. The island represents her physical body and mind stuck in one place. The island is described as, “a breeze blowing, choppy stiff wind that whipped water into froth. It fluttered the skirts of the two women (Edna and her friend) and kept them for a while engaged in adjusting, readjusting, tucking in, securing hair pins and hat pins” (Chopin p. 16). The importance...
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