Creole Society In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Late 19th Century Creole Society as it pertains to: Kate Chopin's The Awakening During the 1890?s, New Orleans was an interesting place to be. Characterized by strict social codes, both spoken and unspoken, a prosperous lifestyle was the reward for following these strict laws of the society. This conformity made for a strenuous situation for Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of Kate Chopin?s novel, The Awakening. It is of utmost necessity that Chopin places Edna in this unique setting, both because of the characters who inhabit it and the situations that are created and advanced in this late 1800?s society. It is the essence of the society and culture that dominates the novel and fuels the conflicts that are the body of the story. The singlemost
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?Under the Louisiana code, patterned after the Napoleonic code of France, a women belonged to her husband? (Wyatt 2). As if this wasn?t harsh enough for the Creole women, ?article 1388 established the absolute control of the male over the family? (Wyatt 2). It is easy to see why Edna felt out of place in this New Orleans society. Women were thought to be nearly useless. Under article 1124 married women were equated both with babies and the mentally ill, all three were deemed incompetent to make a contract (Wyatt 3). Despite this brutal treatment, and overall disrespect toward women, few women spoke out against this treatment, for women were supposed to be very conservative during this time period by virtue of both Puritan and Catholic beliefs. Wyatt describes the Creole women as being very conservative, perhaps the most conservative group in the nation during this time period. Louisiana had its own set of problems that added to the confused feelings of this society. It was a state created out of three different cultures. ?It is American in many ways, but it is also southern, and Creole? (Wyatt 1). The combination of theses cultural forces was very strong. The Creole culture was very different from others, it was Catholic in a Protestant country. All of this chaos contributes to Edna?s intense feelings and emotions that strongly oppose this late 19th century
?Under the Louisiana code, patterned after the Napoleonic code of France, a women belonged to her husband? (Wyatt 2). As if this wasn?t harsh enough for the Creole women, ?article 1388 established the absolute control of the male over the family? (Wyatt 2). It is easy to see why Edna felt out of place in this New Orleans society. Women were thought to be nearly useless. Under article 1124 married women were equated both with babies and the mentally ill, all three were deemed incompetent to make a contract (Wyatt 3). Despite this brutal treatment, and overall disrespect toward women, few women spoke out against this treatment, for women were supposed to be very conservative during this time period by virtue of both Puritan and Catholic beliefs. Wyatt describes the Creole women as being very conservative, perhaps the most conservative group in the nation during this time period. Louisiana had its own set of problems that added to the confused feelings of this society. It was a state created out of three different cultures. ?It is American in many ways, but it is also southern, and Creole? (Wyatt 1). The combination of theses cultural forces was very strong. The Creole culture was very different from others, it was Catholic in a Protestant country. All of this chaos contributes to Edna?s intense feelings and emotions that strongly oppose this late 19th century