The Awakening of Edna Pontellier - 2487 Words

The Awakening of Edna Pontellier Kate Chopin’s short story The Awakening is set during a time where women were expected to live in a patriarchal society. More specifically, this story tells of the well-to-do Creole lifestyles in New Orleans during the mid to late Nineteenth Century. Chopin’s personal experiences as a woman during this oppressive time and her growth as an individual inspired her to write about Edna Pontellier, a woman who tries to break from the expectations of society to be her own woman. As Edna Pontellier in The Awakening experiments with the oppositional or alternative roles of Adele Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Reisz and of herself in the role of a free woman, she gradually transforms into an individual apart†¦show more content†¦It was during this conversation that Edna was called to Adele’s side during the painful and dangerous childbirth of her fourth child. She asks Robert to wait for her return and leaves him alone in her home. Adele senses that Edna is changing even more and asks her to please think of her children before she completely rejects the patriarchal lifestyle that was expected of them. Edna, after seeing Adele, begins to feel guilty and thinks maybe she has acted too selfishly. She returns home and finds a note from Robert saying good-bye. Understanding that Robert wasn’t capable of breaking free of the constraints and expectations of him even if he did love and want to be with her coupled with Adele’s advice wakes Edna up to a reality that devastates her. Feeling that she is alone and unable to belong in the world she returns to Grand Isle, the location where she achieved her new sense of freedom. Her final escape is swimming out to sea thinking of all those who never understood her but knowing that she could never give herself to them in the way that they all expected and needed (The Awakening and Other Short Stories 1-240). In her critical analysis of The Awakening, Jenni fer B. Gray believes that â€Å"Edna’s awakening allows her to resist the various â€Å"interpellations† of the dominant patriarchal ideology and experiment with both alternative and oppositional roles† (Gray 53-73).Show MoreRelatedThe Awakening by Edna Pontellier Essay1104 Words   |  5 PagesThe Awakening, not only is this the quote that Edna Pontellier identifies with when Mrs. Ratignolle plays piano for her, but it is also the perfect description of the struggle in which Mrs. Pontellier faces. Though, The Awakening was considered sexually charged and risquà © for its time, when one analyzes this quote and the original title of Kate Chopin’s story, A Solitary Soul, they come to the realization that there is more to this story than just sex (562). The Awakening is a story about Edna Pontellier’sRead More The Transformation of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening Essay950 Words   |  4 Pagessomething, anything: she did not know what† (Chopin). In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a passionate, rebellious woman. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent how unsettled Edna feels about her life. The reader can identify this by her thoughts, desires, and actions, which are highly inappropriate for an affluent woman of the time. In the novel, Edna has an awakening and finds the courage to make the changes she sees necessary. Kate Chopin is ableRead MoreEssay about The Awakening by Edna Pontellier601 Words   |  3 PagesThe Awakening by Edna Pontellier 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. 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 unhappinessRead MoreEdna Pontellier as a Feminist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening765 Words   |  3 Pagesnot every story is so successful. In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Awakening†, Edna Pontellier finds herself fighting this very battle that, although begins with a positive outlook, ultimately ends in her demise. Throughout â€Å"The Awakening†, Edna is immersed in a constant clash with society over the significance of the difference between her life and her self. To Edna, the question of whether or not she would die for her children is somewhat simple. Edna attempts to explain this concept to her good friend, AdeleRead MoreThe Hours And The Awakening By Edna Pontellier And Laura Brown1341 Words   |  6 Pagesstarted a trend of succumbing to temptations throughout human history. Even in the novels The Hours and The Awakening, the characters are tempted by someone else or a different idea; however, some of these characters exhibit strong self control and avoid their demise. The fine line between success and failure when it comes to avoiding temptation is most obviously demonstrated by Edna Pontellier and Laura Brown, and these two women showcase the destructive power of seduction and the strength of willRead More growaw Epiphany of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopins The Awakening809 W ords   |  4 PagesEpiphany in The Awakening      Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, presents the struggle of an American woman at the turn of the century to find her own identity.   At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, seems to define her identity in terms of being a wife, a mother and a member of her community.   As the story progresses, Edna seeks to define herself as an individual.   The turning point in her struggle can be seen clearly in a scene in which Edna realizes for theRead More The Awakening: America Was Not Ready For Edna Pontellier Essay1868 Words   |  8 Pagesinvention, Edna Pontellier. Madame Edna Pontellier, wife of wealthy and much respected Leonce Pontellier, had the perfect life. Vacationing in Grand Isle, living in a mansion, raising her two boys, Edna seemed untroubled and well cared for. But one cannot see another’s private distresses from the outside. Entrapped by the sequestering tomb of the mindsets of her time and starved for freedom and expression, Edna was willing to give up her life to break free. Because of these traits, Edna exemplifiedRead More Edna Pontellier and Social Limitations in Kate Chopins Awakening4858 Words   |  20 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In discussing Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening, critic Susan Rosowski categorizes the novel under the heading of the novel of awakening and differentiates it from the bildungsroman, the apprentice novel, in which the usually male protagonist learn the nature of the world, discover its meaning and pattern, and acquire a philosophy of life and ‘the art of living (Bloom 43). In the novel of awakening, the female protagonist similarly learns about the world, but for the heroine, theRead MoreEdna Pontellier of The Awakening: A Woman before Her Time Essay896 Words   |  4 Pages Edna Pontellier is a woman of great needs. Although she has a husband who cares for her and two children, she is very unhappy. She plays her roles as a mother and wife often, but still keeps doing things unmarried, barren women should do: enjoy the company of other men, ignore her childrens cries, dress unladylike for the times. The story is set in the late 1800s, when women were to be in the kitchen preparing a meal for their family, giving birth to more children to help with dailyRead MoreEdna Pontellier Rejects Her Woman/Mother Image in The Awakening1069 Words   |  5 Pages A bird view of the historical context of The Awakening gives me ample evidence to reinstate the thesis statement: Edna Pontellelier does not reject her children; she neglects only her women/mother image. The novel The Awakening was written at the end of the nineteenth century which was fundamentally characterized by change. A wide spectrum of disciplines and structures were facing created tensions between old and new. It was the time of industrialization, urbanization which contributed