Gender Roles In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
In her novel, “The Awakening,” Kate Chopin, a feminist author, examines the gender roles, and social and moral attitudes of the late nineteenth century in order to contest to these through the protagonist of her novel, Edna Pontellier. By utilizing a character such as Edna who is considered to act out in this time period daring to leave her husband, in addition to expressing her sexual desires, Chopin expresses the awakenings Edna has that ultimately go against the traditionalist society she lives in. Chopin’s purpose is to inform her audience of a time period when the female group were confined under the social and moral attitudes represented in the late nineteenth century, the time period in which she lived. She directs her novel to an audience
…show more content…
Chopin, like Edna was expected to conform to society’s standards of a submissive Creole wife. However, Chopin often “grew tired of domestic life and escaped to smoke cigarettes or take solitary walks” (“The Awakening”). While she was known to be a good wife and mother, she too, escaped the domestic housework duties of her wife role and took horseback rides through town in order to gain the attention and admiration of any man whom she passed. Chopin could be speaking out to contest to the societal expectations of gender roles and moral attitudes, but she could also be using Edna as a voice to her dissatisfaction with her own life. Despite whether she formed Edna based on her own life or she shaped Edna around what society expects, Edna was her escape route to speak out against the gender roles, and social and moral attitudes of this time period. Because women were expected to be submissive and conform to what society expected, the public disapproved and Chopin was bombarded with unfavorable literary criticism due to her depiction of the character Edna. The novel was perceived as “vulgar, unwholesome, unholy and a misappropriation of Chopin's exceptional literary talent” (“Kate”). Ultimately, Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, did not become accepted as a good piece of literary fiction until roughly the 1960’s when the 1960’s to 1970’s feminist movement took
Chopin, like Edna was expected to conform to society’s standards of a submissive Creole wife. However, Chopin often “grew tired of domestic life and escaped to smoke cigarettes or take solitary walks” (“The Awakening”). While she was known to be a good wife and mother, she too, escaped the domestic housework duties of her wife role and took horseback rides through town in order to gain the attention and admiration of any man whom she passed. Chopin could be speaking out to contest to the societal expectations of gender roles and moral attitudes, but she could also be using Edna as a voice to her dissatisfaction with her own life. Despite whether she formed Edna based on her own life or she shaped Edna around what society expects, Edna was her escape route to speak out against the gender roles, and social and moral attitudes of this time period. Because women were expected to be submissive and conform to what society expected, the public disapproved and Chopin was bombarded with unfavorable literary criticism due to her depiction of the character Edna. The novel was perceived as “vulgar, unwholesome, unholy and a misappropriation of Chopin's exceptional literary talent” (“Kate”). Ultimately, Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, did not become accepted as a good piece of literary fiction until roughly the 1960’s when the 1960’s to 1970’s feminist movement took