Preview

Comparison Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Life And Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
859 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Life And Society
Life and Society

In Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, the constant boundaries and restrictions

placed on Edna Pontellier by society will lead to her ultimate struggle for freedom. Her

husband Leonce Pontellier, the current women of society, and the Grand Isle make it

apparent 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 patriarchal society that she despises.

The sea, Robert Lebrun, and Mademoiselle Reisz serve as Edna's exits from this

traditional way of life.

Edna is a young Creole wife and mother in a high-class society. The novel unfolds

the life of a woman who feels dissatisfied and restrained by the expectations
…show more content…
She realizes through Robert that her husband is a person who she married

without love as an excuse. Another person who influences society and Edna's freedom is Mademoiselle Reisz.

"The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor

down Mrs. Pontellier's spinal column. It was not the first time she had heard an artist at

the piano" (Chopin 26). Madam Reisz was a major factor in the life of Edna. She

compels Edna to lift her courage and she also supplies her with the proper motivation to

have her awakening. "You are the only one worth playing for. Those others, Bah!"

(Chopin 26). Madam Reisz is a deep influence upon the lifestyle of Edna. Madam Reisz

possesses the ability to fully understand Edna, strengthening the moral support that she

provides her with.

As the novel unfolds, Edna withdraws from her husband while she continues to

think of Robert. When she thinks she has no chance with Robert, she begins an affair

based purely upon sex with a New Orleans man named Alcee Arobin. She still loves

Robert, but when he returns to New Orleans to visit relatives a few years
…show more content…
When she returns, Robert has left

and she finds a note that says, "Good-by--because, I love you." Edna is devastated by

Robert's rejection and becomes unhappy because none of the men in her life respect her

need to control her own life. Edna recalls Reisz stating, "And you call yourself an artist!

What pretensions, Madam! The artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and

defies" (Chopin 116). Edna then returns to the beach at the Grand Isle and drowns

herself with a feeling of found freedom.

Edna could have made better choices in her life by not getting married to Leonce.

That was her first mistake. If she found Robert as her first love, there would be no need

for Edna to search for her "true" self. Edna should have also tried to not let society get

the best of her. By not letting the atmosphere of society get to her, Edna would not have

to pursue on an endless search for freedom. Throughout the novel, Edna seeks independence from society. Her series of

awakenings are mostly about achieving this goal. The sea, Robert Lebrun, and

Mademoiselle Reisz are all influences on her awakenings. In the end, Edna's

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    This quote from Edna makes me think she felt astray from herself for a long time. In the first sentence, Edna states she’s easily able to give everything else to her children. The unessential, and money, yet the one thing she declines to give is herself. Usually a mother would want to give everything plus the whole world to their child, however the last sentence displays Edna’s desperateness to finally get a grasp at what she has been missing for a long time. Edna’s character from the beginning of the story seemed as if she was unhappy, so it’s of no surprise.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    None of this allowed her to be happy though. She felt as though she would let her kids down if she left with Robert. Her love could never be and the only way to escape this sadness and emptiness was to kill her…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In a traditional society, Edna feels stuck between what is right for her and what makes society happy. She is expected to be a good wife and mother, however; she falls short of this…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edna’s independence causes familial tension. Edna’s resistance to her husband’s orders angers Leonce. For example, when Mr. Pontellier learns that Edna did not stay at home for her regular Tuesday reception, he screams and says she had to continue the…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Isolde's Song Analysis

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page

    Mademoiselle Reisz inquired Edna how has she been using her time and is shocked to hear of Edna’s choice of becoming an artist. She warns her that an artist must be brave, possessing “a courageous soul that dares and defies.” Edna assures her that she has persistence if nothing else, and Mademoiselle Reisz laughs, hands over the letter to Edna, and begins to play the Chopin Impromptu that Edna asked to hear. The music deeply affects Edna, and she weeps as the pianist glides between the Impromptu and another piece, “Isolde’s song.” When Edna asks if she may visit again, Mademoiselle Reisz replies that she is welcome at all times.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    and it ultimately helps Edna to decide what she wants to do with her life.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edna is realizing her position as a human being and recognizes her relations with others in the world. She is having an individual self-discovery or sexual desire and her intellectual pursuits.…

    • 1757 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the beginning of the novel, Chopin´s main character Edna Pontellier lives the life of a typical woman in the 19th century. Society and her successful husband Léonce…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This quote is a summary of Leonce and Edna’s relationship. She doesn’t really love him, nor does she really believe that she ever did. She loves him for the reason that he is the father of her children, but not for much else. Later in the book, it even seems believable that she doesn’t care for her children either. However, it could be that she left her children to spare them from the hurt she would bring if she were to stay and be their ‘mother’.…

    • 2230 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Edna really did not wish to, she stays with Adele throughout the whole delivery, giving Edna a feeling of “vague dread” (148). Edna feels as if the scene is more torturous for her than for Adele giving birth, as it reminds her that women cannot escape this pain brought upon by nature. At this point, Edna comprehends that it is not only her lovers, but her children that make her feel shackled and presumably overpowered from complete freedom. It is as though her rebirth is juxtaposed against Adele giving birth to a new life, making Edna feel a wave of both guilt and resentment. After giving birth, Adele earnestly whispers, “Think of the children, Edna. Oh think of the children! Remember them!"(179). Adele has a major impact on Edna with these words, as Edna is trying so hard to forget her children, since they are the last obstacle to gaining her full freedom. Instead, Adele is explicitly reminding her to never neglect them, shattering Edna’s illusions of temporary joy and conflicting her with roles of a mother versus a newfound personality. Despite the fact that Edna does not initially realize it, she has been agonizing over it all along. Witnessing Adele’s childbirth ensures that Edna’s final impulses at the end are not motivated by only heartbreaks but more from the fact that she will forever be a dependent and feel like a slave to…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music and Ednas Awakening

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Chopin’s Impromptu arouses "the very passions ... within [Edna’s] soul"(p.34). The harmony, fluidity, subtle rhythm and poetic beauty of the Romantic composer make Edna loose herself in the music that stirs her emotions. The art completes, for her, what nature cannot bring to a finish. The exquisite, looping, and often fiery melodies of the Impromptu make a cut in Edna’s mind through the conventional beliefs about people and society. Because she is not a musician, her listening is based on intuition, allowing for a direct apprehension of the music by the soul and leading to a confrontation with the reality itself — the reality of "solitude, of hope, of longing, ... of despair"(p.34). This is the beginning of Edna’s awakening, for such emotions, especially despair, are not an end but a beginning because they take away the excuses and guilts, those toward herself, from which she suffers. This revelation of previously hidden conflicts gives birth to dramatic emotions within Edna. It is so powerful that Edna wonders if she "shall ever be stirred again as...Reisz’s playing moved" her that night (p.38).…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chopin reveals the excitement through Edna’s affairs. Edna and Robert fall in love, which goes against her marriage with Léonce. Not only is it going against her marriage, it also goes against the principles of women, especially during this time period. At first the meetings with Robert are subtle and not as important, but when Edna starts to spend time with Alcée Arobin, she digs herself into…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One example of this conflict are the two friends she has, Mademoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle. Mademoiselle Reisz represents the world where Edna can be free of societies binds, while Madame Ratignolle represents the world where she must abide the common culture where a woman is basically a possession to her husband. Being friends with both of them suggests the struggle of trying to be both. Another piece of evidence is some nights Edna will stay up for countless hours occasionally crying. This displays how hard and stressful this situation is for her. An example Edna’s emotional conflict is her starting to disobey the regular duties of a respectful housewife. Along with this, she also moves into another house of her own just to feel distanced from her husband and society. This indicates evidence that she is in conflict with separate worlds. She also feels guilty and conflicted about her children and what she is doing to them by proceeding with her actions. Another main piece of emotional…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To me, the biggest part in Edna's’ “transformation” was the swimming part that is coming next. In chapter 10 Edna started to head to the beach with the rest of the crowd. When she gets to the beach everyone gets in the water right away. But Edna was unable…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edna faces this struggle with her husband, Mr. Pontellier because she feels like he controls her. After her first awakening experience, Edna’s husband demands that she come inside and go to bed and it is noted that, “She wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command. Of course she had; she remembered that she had. But she could not realize why or how she should have yielded, feeling as she then did.” This realization that her husband used to control her and Edna’s refusal to continue obeying him demarks the first steps she takes toward taking control of her own life. The second prominent example of blatant disregard for her husband’s wishes is when Edna moves into her own house. No longer wishing to live in her husband’s house, she moves to her own as the narrator points out, “The pigeon-house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm… Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual.” This validates Edna’s desire to be free from her former life and highlights the fact that she is only able to truly flourish when she is on her own. Sadly, one must be willing to give up relationships in order to fully achieve this sense of…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays