Suspense In The Awakening

The Awakening was about an average woman from late 19th century New Orleans named Edna Pontellier. This was a time in which women had expectations. Expectations to get married, raise their families, and care for their husbands like good little housewives. Edna has a great awakening (hence the title) and she makes it her mission to break free of the societal bonds and become independent. Kate Chopin, the author, had the incredible ability of making a simple woman’s thoughts and desires the most exciting, suspenseful, and thought provoking aspects of a controversial yet popular novel. Chopin gives these internal events a sense of excitement, suspense, and climax by telling the story through Edna's thoughts and actions. Edna happens to be a very
It all started the night of her “great awakening”. After the party, Edna came home with Robert and she laid down in a hammock. She laid there and basked in the glory of her new found independence until Robert left and Leonce returned. Leonce requested that she come inside to go to sleep but for the first time, she realizes that she has always submitted to her husband’s requests without question. She refuses to do as he says and he is frustrated by her defiance. The excitement from the awakening transitions to suspense. Chopin leaves readers afraid of what might happen as Leonce is quite irritated by her stubbornness. Eventually he yielded and sat outside with her, smoking his cigar. This was a small victory for Edna but it was a climax that she appreciated. This was only one small step to her personal freedom as this kind of refusal and stubbornness would be
It aided feminists in their struggle for gender equality and it was a controversial and criticized piece of literature because of it. What makes the novel so important is how Kate Chopin portrays the situations in the story. The action, conflict, and excitement are all psychological. It is amazing that Chopin could make nothing but a woman’s thoughts so meaningful. Edna’s goals, desires, and thoughts romanticize the goals of the early feminist movements. The way in which Chopin expresses significant psychological events is incredible and effective in portraying female struggle for independence and equality in the