Free Essays on The Awakening

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the main character, has three important men in her life. All of whom she looks at differently and has different emotions for. Throughout her life Edna feels the need for attention from all men. This explains why she marries Leonce Pontellier, her deep feelings for Robert Leburn, and her sexual affairs with Alcee Arobin. Because her husband spends most of his time away from home on business trips, Edna is left with a great deal of time for herself. Leonce spends little time worrying about family matters. He constantly criticizes Edna and only cares about money and his own reputation. Edna knows she need to be with Leonce for his financial support and stability. Edna is not sure if she is in love with him or if she has ever been. She slowly grows to despise Leonce. Robert Leburn, with whom Edna falls in love with, has a history of being very close to married women. With Edna his feelings are different. He is very devoted to her, and she loves him in return. Though they wish to be together they know that society frowns against it. Edna’s deep love for Robert pushes her further and further away from her husband and children. She longs to be with Robert but knows that it would be frowned upon by others who know them. Edna has a love affair with Alcee Arobin. He has the reputation of a â€Å"ladies man†. Alcee enjoys flirting with women, especially married women. Even though Edna does have sexual relations with Alcee, she does not love him. She had fun with Alcee. There were no strings attached because they did not love each other. All three of these men men played different roles in Edna’s heart. Edna had money and support from Leonce, love from Robert, and sexual relations with Alcee. Her flirty ways made her fall in love with the only man she should have been with all along, Robert Leburn.... Free Essays on The Awakening Free Essays on The Awakening In Kate Chopin’s novel, â€Å"The Awakening†, a confused middle age woman deals with a torn heart in the center . Edna, who is not really in love with her husband, begins to have mixed feelings and, as a result, begins to realize who she truly is. Edna feels that something is lacking in her life. The author uses the ocean to personify and symbolize what is missing in Edna’s lifethe love of a man and freedom of the soul. On several occasions Chopin uses the sea as a personification of Edna’s longing for the love of a man. Although Edna is married, she does not have the feelings for her husband, which coincide with being in love. In one example, Chopin describes the sea: â€Å"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude, to lose itself in mazes of contemplation† (13). The sea calls to Edna: â€Å"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace† (13). Chopin is describing the sea as though it was a man with whom Edna is in love and for whom she feels a strong attraction, not just someone she can make love to but someone she can loose herself in. Later, the young man, Robert Lebrun, who is stirring up all these feelings in Edna, asks her if she is going swimming; she answers him no and tells him she is too tired. Chopin describes Edna’s actions afterwards: â€Å"Her glance wandered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty† (12). Chopin is projecting Edna’s feelings for Robert, whether Edna is conscious of these feelings or not, onto the sea because a part of Edna does want to go swimming with him. Edna also has a strong need for freedom and Chopin, with respect to Edna’s character, makes reference to the sea to express this need. On one occasion, Edna and Madame Ratignolle, her... Free Essays on The Awakening Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual† (93) 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. In this paper I will describe Edna’s journey of self-discovery and explain why her struggle for independence is no easy task. I will also discuss the relationship Edna has with two other main women characters and describe how these women conform or rebel against a society with many social constraints. Finally I will discuss how the issues brought up in Chopin’s novel are still relevant today. The Journey The Awakening begins in the vacation spot of Grand Isle. At first we believe that Grand Isle is a utopia, wealthy families relaxing at oceanside, but it is here where Edna first begins to realize her unhappiness. The first sign of dissatisfaction is when Edna allows herself to feel that her marriage is unsatisfying; yet she must agree with the other women that Leonce Pontellier is the perfect husband. Edna can now ask herself if she has a good husband and is not happy than should marriage be a component of her life. Edna has two close relationships with other males in the book but both prove unsatisfying, and a block to her independence. The first relationship is with Robert Lebrun. They swim, they chat on the porch and offer each other companionship. This is a flirtatious relationship; a relationship similar to those Robert has had previous summers with other married women; but different because Edna, being a â€Å"foreigner† allows herself to take Robert seriously and she falls in love with him. This proves tragic because during the course of the novel the two will pine for each other but Robert not wanting to mar his reputation as a â€Å"gentleman† move... Free Essays on The Awakening The Awakening The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, tells the story of a woman, Edna Pontellier, who undergoes a transformation from an obedient housewife to a person who is alive with strength, character, and emotions that she no longer has to repress. This metamorphosis is shaped by her surroundings. Just as her behavior is more shocking and horrifying because of her position in Grande Isle society, it is that very position which causes her to feel restrained and makes her yearn to rebel. Adele Ratignolle is Edna’s close friend and confidante. However, the two women are nothing alike. Adele is the perfect housewife and mother, and the epitome of what a Creole woman should be. Adele lives her life for her children, always being sure that they are properly cared for, clothed, and educated. Unlike Adele, whose life is fulfilled through loving and caring for her children; Edna is â€Å"fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way.† Nevertheless, her children are not enough to justify her life. Adele cannot understand hoe Edna could say that she â€Å"[will] never sacrifice herself to her children, or for anyone.† Edna’s being is taken on a new importance in her life. She is starting to realize just how important it is to be true to herself. She goes along with the way things are supposed to be, holds her socials, and tends to her house until she becomes aware that she needs more from her life. Also, Edna’s marriage to Leonce is safe , but there is no passion or excitemen! t. She simply â€Å"[grows] fond of her husband, realizing with some unaccountable satisfaction that no trace of passion or excessive and fictitious warmth color her affection.† While this lack of emotion is enough to satisfy Edna for the majority of her marriage, after she begins to allow her true self to come forth, she feels trapped and seeks a way to escape. She realizes that she need dot fit the mold of the typical Creole woman. Her lifestyle suffocate... Free Essays on The Awakening The Awakening by Kate Chopin In her novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin is an artist who paints a picture for readers with every word for example:"The sun was low in the west, and the breeze was soft and languorous that came up from the south, charged with the seductive odor of the sea." (Page 12) The inclusion of such alluring and dramatic images allows readers to see, hear, feel, smell, and live in the scene which she creates. Chopin writes to awaken senses, and her style is beautiful and unique. As if stroking a paint brush across a canvas, or playing a note on the piano, Chopin’s use of expressive, descriptive, and poignant writing is evident throughout this novel, thus adding to its overall effect. Chopin incorporates a number of images and emotional phrases which reflect the beauty of her writing. A recurring image throughout this novel is that of the sea: "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, 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 soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace." ( Page 13) Chopin gives us the ability to feel the sentiments of her characters as they wander along the shore. We can hear the soft crashes of the waves and smell the sweet, cool odor of the sea. Chopin allows us to feel the warmth and serenity that Edna feels towards the ocean. The sea is a place of comfort and contentment for Edna. Chopin uses adjectives such as "seductive" and "whispering" to illustrate this. Compelling lines such as the aforementioned are not lacking within the work. In each chapter Chopi n writes with a flowing, descriptive style that allows a reader to be affected by her words:"It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire." (Page 83) Chopin does not simply wri... Free Essays on The Awakening Life Is A Dream Response To The Awakening â€Å"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting, the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.† The Awakening, Kate Chopin That summer at Grand Isle changed her life forever. The sea, the people, the atmosphere in general all gave way to Edna Pontellier’s â€Å"awakenings.† In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, Edna undergoes a process of serious self-examination into her life as a mother, wife, and a woman stuck under the pressures of high society. These awakenings all seem to focus around Edna’s search to find her soul underneath the shrouds of formality and her roles in society. In addition, Edna seems to focus around the idea that her life is a dream, an illusion before her summer at Grand Isle. The idea of the soul plays a very important part in the novel. Edna is constantly distracted by frequent bouts of â€Å"inward contemplation.† Early on in the novel Edna recognizes that she has lived â€Å"a small life all within herself† (Chopin, 35). She knows she has let herself conform, but she also finds herself questioning life and her existence. Grand Isle was the place where these private inhibitions began to stir and wrap around her interest like â€Å"foamy wavelets [curling] like serpents around her ankles† (301). These serpent-like wavelets, this temptation, take her on a journey into her soul. One night at Grand Isle, Edna decides to stay outside on the hammock until late. This decision upsets her husband, Leonce- Edna is a fragile being and needs rest- according to him. But this resistance does not faze Edna. Instead she resists her husband’s request to go inside. This stirs something in her; â€Å"[she] began to feel like one who awakens gradually out of a dream, a delicious, grotesque, impossible dream, to feel again the realities pressing int... Free Essays on The Awakening According to literary critic, Michael Gilmore, Edna commits suicide as a way out of the society she was entrapped in. He says, â€Å"She can find no room for her newly awakened self in the present social system†¦there is no way for the world she inhabits to accommodate the change in her.† The society of Grand Isle places towering expectations on the women to become men’s property devote a majority of their lives to their children. Edna Pontellier is sourouded by what she declares the â€Å"mother-women†, women who â€Å"idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it to a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals.† Every aspect of her life contributes to the portrayal of the image she cannot ensue; Her husband, lovers, children, and friends all directly contribute to Edna’s tragic demise. Kate Chopin explains that it isn’t that Edna neglects her children, but rather she abandons her mother-woman image. Edna attempts to explain her outlook when she says, â€Å"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money; I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.† This attitude specificly contrasts the mother-woman idea of self-sacrificing for your husband and children. Also, the '†something . . . which is revealing itself† does not become completely clear to Edna herself until just before the end, when she does indeed give her life, but not her self for her children's sake. Just as Edna’s rapport with her children deducted from her sense of self, so too did her relationship with her husband, Leonce. The Grand Isle society defines the role of wife as fully devoted and self-sacrificing to their husband. Edna didn’t fulfill societies definition. This is clear when the other ladies at Grand Isle â€Å"all declared that Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world.† A... Free Essays on The Awakening The Awakening: A Woman's Fight for Independence Right from the beginning the plot is almost conveniently evident. You find a woman, Edna Pontellier, tired of living her life as a pampered and "owned" wife and mother. She is searching for much more in her life, some sort of meaning for her whole existence. She searches for a long time but in the end, the inevitability of her life's pattern and direction wraps around her, suffocating her. She is overcome with wonder, confusion, and guilt for what she believes and what she does to express her beliefs. She finally finds a way to beat the "proper" 1890's lifestyle by committing suicide. During this story Edna struggles with three main opposing powers. First, there is the society's opinion of what a woman's "roles" in life was and how they should act, look, and feel. Second, is her independent nature. The last opposing power she comes across is her undying love for the charming Robert Lebrun. It is the unwritten rule that a woman should marry, have children, and be happy and content with that as their life. Society portrays this to be a woman's rightful job and duty. A woman should act and look "proper" at all times. This is what Edna is fighting against in this novel. She feels that, though many women agree with this "known" rule, it isn't fair. For six years Edna conforms to these ideas by being a "proper" wife and mother, holding Tuesday socials and going to operas, following the same enduring schedule. It is only after her summer spent at Grand Isle that her "mechanical" lifestyle becomes apparent to her. She sees how much she is unhappy with the expectations, held by society, of her life and she wishes to erase them and live her life as she wants. Edna has an independent, almost self centered, nature about her. Her need for an uncontrolled lifestyle is what leaves her feeling "owned" and wanting to break that label; she fights to do as ... Free Essays on The Awakening Music as one of the main themes in The Awakening: How do different characters perceive music? The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel of intellectual, spiritual, and moral evolution, as well as a novel of artistic development. In this essay I would like to focus on the artistic side of the work and analyze the impact of art, and especially music, on the novel’s characters. My aim is to prove that music plays a key role in the novel and serves as the main instrument of Edna’s awakening. Edna Pontellier, the twenty-eight-year old wife of a New Orleans businessman, is the protagonist of the novel, the title of which refers to Edna’s development throughout the story. After a series of impulses, Edna realizes how dissatisfied she is in her role as a wife and mother and she begins to act upon her newly discovered wishes and passions. She, through a set of â€Å"awakenings† – experiences which enliven her suppressed emotional ego, works herself up to a state of total self-awareness, discovers her own identity, and pursues her emotional and sexual desires. Edna becomes a woman far too independent for the Victorian society and, in the end, finds that people who had lead her to that state left her to experience it solely by herself. As I have pointed out earlier, music has the greatest influence over Edna’s process of awakening. At the beginning of the novel, Chopin describes Edna Pontellier’s feelings and perceptions upon hearing music. Edna is described as having pictures and fantasies conjuring up in her head while listening to music. â€Å"Edna was what she herself called very fond of music. Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind. She sometimes liked to sit in the room of mornings when Madame Ratignolle played or practiced. [†¦] When she heard it there came before her imagination [†¦]† (Chopin, The Awakening) However, when Edna first listens to Mademoiselle Reisz play, she experiences ... Free Essays on The Awakening Drowning in a Sea of Freedom: Edna’s Representation of Feminism in The Awakening In The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the author makes several political statements. Chopin acknowledges sexual issues as well as women’s rights. During a time period when the discussion of such topics was considered to be unacceptable, Chopin was assertive with the character of Edna Pontellier. Edna epitomized the feminist role of the strong-willed woman who no longer wanted to adhere to the boundaries of a society where she could not live freely as she had wanted. Edna found the limitations that were placed on her by society to be too restricting for her. Women in her day had very few options. It was often the backseat role of wife and mother that was most commonly enforced. Michael Ryan wrote, â€Å"The assumed norm in many societies is for women to be in charge of domestic labor and childrearing. . . .† (101). Edna found herself in this situation and was discontented by it. She did not desire to conform to the barriers that society placed around her. She was a unique, free spirit who had no right to practice the freedom she so desperately yearned for. Though many scholars view the character of Edna as female yearning to break free into her male-counterpart, as she truly felt she was, Edna can be viewed as a female who simply yearned for equal opportunity. Bringing into consideration theories pertaining to gender studies as well, she did not want to take on the role of a male, but rather wanted the same independence that the male was afforded. Edna’s â€Å"awakening† happened equally emotionally and physically, but both sexually to some extent. With Robert Lebrun, she experienced the emotional aspect of love and passion. With Arobin, she experienced the physical aspect of love and passion. But Arobin could not control Edna’s emotions and therefore she distanced herself from him so as not to become too emotionally attached. ... Free Essays on The Awakening When she published The Awakening in 1899, Kate Chopin startled her public with a frank portrayal of a woman’s social, sexual, and spiritual awakening. Her public disapproved of the novel because it told a particular truth without judgment or censure. The idea of a true autonomy for women, or more astoundingly yet, a single sexual standard for men and women, was too much to imagine. Kate Chopin’s presentation of the awakening of her heroine, Edna Pontellier, her unblinking recognition that respectable women did indeed have sexual feelings proved too strong for many who read her novel. The Awakening would mark the end of Chopin’s career: â€Å"The reading public was shocked by such a sympathetic view towards the actions and emotions of the sexually aware and independent female protagonist† (Burris 2). The Awakening is as much a portrait of society’s values as it is the protagonist, Edna. The first look we have at Edna’s life is her existence at Madame Lebrun’s summer home in Grand Isle. This setting is filled with those tangible items that we typically associate with family and traditional values. On the literary website â€Å"Symbols in The Awakening,† the setting is described as portraying a â€Å"women’s sphere†: â€Å"Porches and pianos, mothers and children, skirts and sunshades – all these are the props and properties of domesticity, the key elements of what in the nineteenth century was called â€Å"women’s sphere,† and it is in this sphere, on the edge of a blue gulf, that Edna Pontellier is securely caged when she first appears†¦She is confined in what is not only literally a â€Å"women’s sphere† but, symbolically speaking, the Woman’s House†¦ Every object and figure has not only a literal domestic function and a dreamlike symbolic radiance but a distinctively female symbolic significance† (Burris 1). Chopin has masterfully tucked other physical symbols into The Awakening: â€Å"A green and yellow ... Free Essays on The Awakening Tortuous Freedom The Awakening by Kate Chopin opens with the brash squawking of a parrot. â€Å"Go away! Go away! For god’s sake! That’s alright!† Although these opening words are few and may seem to have little significance, they come to represent the role Edna plays in society and the transformation she undergoes in her awakening. Edna’s awakening completely reshapes her thoughts, opinions and lifestyle, which eventually prove to be intoxicating and dreadful. At age 28 Edna comes to realize she is an individual. This marks the beginning of her awakening from a dream to life’s reality that is represented through many the choices she makes. Edna doesn’t comply with requests from Leonce, refusing to go to New York with him. She befriends both Mademoiselles Reisz and Ratignolle and proceeds to have an affair with Alcee Arobin while Robert was in New York. â€Å"Every step she took toward relieving herself of obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual.† While Edna used her actions to grow personally, they eventually leave her in great distress, as she continues to love Robert, but he leaves her, leaving just a note reading, â€Å"I love you, goodbye, because I love you.† Edna’s solitude is intoxicating as it causes her to be unperceptive to other’s views. Mademoiselle Reisz says to Edna, â€Å"The bird that would soar above the level of plain tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.† This is a message that can be interpreted as a forewarning of the events at the end of the novel; Edna sees the bird flutter and fall into the sea just shortly before she herself swims out too far and drowns/commits suicide. Edna, however, does not comprehend Mademoiselle Reisz’s warning and is determined to eliminate any aspects of a typical housewife in her life, and â€Å"fly free†. Absolute freedom is what Edna really des... Free Essays on The Awakening At the beginning of The Awakening, Edna Pontellier alienates herself from society only on an emotional level. She felt as if â€Å"a certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her, – the light which, showing the way, forbids it† (17). As the novel progresses, she voices her feelings and begins to put them into action. However, Edna must face the fact that her ideas are not socially acceptable. When Edna’s beliefs contradict those in her community, the community’s moral values are revealed by the society’s reactions to Edna’s role as a mother, her treatment of her husband, and her desire for other men. Edna’s behavior toward her children was viewed by society as being abnormal. She did not neglect her children, however her participation in their lives was unconcerned and apathetic. She would often leave them with a nanny, rather than take care of them herself. â€Å"She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them† (24). This contrasted the perfect motherly figure of her times. Madame Ratignolle is an example of this ideal motherly figure that devoted her life to her children. When Edna tells Madame Ratignolle that she would not sacrifice herself for her children, this stirs up â€Å"a rather heated argument; the two women did not appear to understand each other† (62). This shows how the society believes that a woman should give her life for her children. Mr. Pontellier is described as a typical ‘good’ husband and is viewed that way in society. He kisses his children and promises â€Å"to bring them back bonbons and peanuts† (4). Nevertheless, Edna would not agree with society’s views. She feels that Mr. Pontellier perceives her as a possession and does not spend adequate time with his family. Edna begins her development of her new, independent self when she disobeys her husband by refusing his reque... Free Essays on The Awakening In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the main character, has three important men in her life. All of whom she looks at differently and has different emotions for. Throughout her life Edna feels the need for attention from all men. This explains why she marries Leonce Pontellier, her deep feelings for Robert Leburn, and her sexual affairs with Alcee Arobin. Because her husband spends most of his time away from home on business trips, Edna is left with a great deal of time for herself. Leonce spends little time worrying about family matters. He constantly criticizes Edna and only cares about money and his own reputation. Edna knows she need to be with Leonce for his financial support and stability. Edna is not sure if she is in love with him or if she has ever been. She slowly grows to despise Leonce. Robert Leburn, with whom Edna falls in love with, has a history of being very close to married women. With Edna his feelings are different. He is very devoted to her, and she loves him in return. Though they wish to be together they know that society frowns against it. Edna’s deep love for Robert pushes her further and further away from her husband and children. She longs to be with Robert but knows that it would be frowned upon by others who know them. Edna has a love affair with Alcee Arobin. He has the reputation of a â€Å"ladies man†. Alcee enjoys flirting with women, especially married women. Even though Edna does have sexual relations with Alcee, she does not love him. She had fun with Alcee. There were no strings attached because they did not love each other. All three of these men men played different roles in Edna’s heart. Edna had money and support from Leonce, love from Robert, and sexual relations with Alcee. Her flirty ways made her fall in love with the only man she should have been with all along, Robert Leburn....