Essay about Finding True Freedom in Kate Chopins The...

Finding True Freedom in The Awakening Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening details the endeavors of heroine Edna Pontellier to cope with the realization that she is not, nor can she ever be, the woman she wants to be. Edna has settled for less. She is married for all the wrong reasons, saddled with the burden of motherhood, and trapped by social roles that would never release her. The passage below is only one of the many tender and exquisitely sensory passages that reveal Edna’s soul to the reader. The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, dancing, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the†¦show more content†¦She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them (37). There is nothing wrong with lacking the maternal instincts that Edna does. What is wrong is living in a society that makes you feel guilty for not bearing litter after litter, and then fussing about them until your dying day. Thus, Edna endures her thoughts in secret shame: Their absence was a relief, though she did not admit this, even to herself. It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her (37). Mrs. Pontellier was not meant to be some matronly icon. This situation is a prime example of the life she did not voluntarily choose, but was forced to live. Edna was, in tru th, no less of a woman for her instincts (or lack thereof). She only had the misfortune of living at a time when such choices were unacceptable, when women were still judged by the softness of their bread and the size of their brood. In addition, Edna had more or less stumbled into her marriage, which was purely an accident (36). She did it to spite her parents, because Leonce worshipped her (37), and because she realized that no trace of passion or excessive and fictitious warmth colored her affection, thereby threatening its dissolution (37). While this is practical and realistic, it sounds remarkably unlike a marriage out of love; a marriage that would fulfill her desires. Edna mayShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening Ednas Suicide1304 Words   |  6 Pages Edna’s Victorious Suicide In the iconic debated novel â€Å"The Awakening†, Kate Chopin’s novel takes place in the Victorian Era, which is in the 19th- century, similarly the novel was published in 1899. Edna is depicted as a woman longing for more, a woman who was looking for more than just a life of complacency and living in the eyes of society. The story uses Edna to exemplify the expectations of women during this era. For example, a woman’s expression of independenceRead MoreFemale Empowerment in Kate Chopins The Awakening7915 Words   |  32 PagesHeinrich-Heine-Università ¤t 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 â€Å"The Awakening† Anjana Dhir BA Englisch KF, Geschichte NF 3. Semester Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The FrenchRead MoreThe Co Existence Of Feminism And Naturalism1625 Words   |  7 PagesClaire Schenken Mr. Carroll English IV AP 20 October 2014 The Co-Existence of Feminism and Naturalism in The Awakening As the book that simultaneously killed Kate Chopin’s career and synthesized traditional literary features, such as romanticism, with their new opponents feminism and naturalism, The Awakening bares a weighted name. 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Similarly, Edna takes on a different identity in her vacation setting in Grand Isle, in her independent home in New Orleans, and in just about every otherRead MoreEssay about Restrictions of Society in The Awakening2019 Words   |  9 Pages Edna Pontellier’s Struggle for Freedom in The Awakening by Kate Chopin 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 sheRead MoreGender in Literature Essay2083 Words   |  9 Pagesthose who lived and wrote during times of repression of groups and urges for social change, wrote â€Å"outcast† characters that were shocking to the time. Kate Chopin and Sandra Cisneros, two authors from two separate eras of history, portray the main characters in their stories as outsiders within their respective environments. In Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), Edna Pontellier struggles with the demands that society expects her to fulfill. In Cisneros story, â€Å"Woman Hollering Cre ek† (1991), Cleà ³filas hasRead MoreThe Story of an Hour1203 Words   |  5 Pagesmidnight, the wind blew softly as the petals of rose dropped down, dry leaves from off the tree, Ms. Mallard groaned out softly – she had breathe her last, he turned on the light and before he could say a word she was gone†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦an inevitable quiet end. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was written in last decade of the nineteenth century. Thematically, she writes of the oppression and repression of women of such era where they were expected to keep the home, cook, bear and rear children. Chopin describesRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1638 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The author of the book is Kate Chopin, the title is The Awakening and the main focus point of this essay is to talk about Eden’s interaction and relationships with men throughout the novel. It is important to figure out how these relationships affected Edna and her ‘awakening’ and realization of herself. Edna Pontellier is the main character in this reading and her devotion to her family is questioned when her husband Leonce Pontellier starts to make demands that she can not meet. ThroughoutRead MoreDesiree s Baby And The Awakening1238 Words   |  5 PagesKate Chopin first published â€Å"The Father of Desiree’s Baby,† later changed to â€Å"Desiree’s Baby,† in 1892 in Vogue magazine (Gilbert 167). In 1899, Chopin published The Awakening. These two stories, Chopin writes how women’s personal identities and independence are concealed by society through her different female characters in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† and T he Awakening. The main female character in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is Desiree and Chopin portrays her protagonist, Desiree, as a submissive character. On the other