Who Is Edna Not Only Oppressed By Her Husband Or A Woman?

Paragraph 1: Edna is not only oppressed by her husband, but instead she is held down by the

expectations and the social norms of her society.

During the 19th century and early 20th century, women were looked down upon as mere

property that was meant to cook, clean, and care for children. It was uncommon for women to

act promiscuously and for them to be rebellious towards their husbands who were supposed to

keep them obedient. In The Awakening Edna is limited to setting up dinner, caring for her

children, and staying home on Tuesdays for the reception days. She is described as

progressively becoming more and more saddened and far from the reality of her life. During the

middle of the novel her condition is described like depression by
She longs for freedom once meeting Robert and falling

in love with him. Being with Robert causes her to resent her husband and the duties that she

must perform on a daily basis. Once this begins she slowly becomes more belligerent and starts

to make important decisions that will affect not only her, but her entire family. One of these

decisions is her plan on moving into another house that is on the property once Leonce and the

kids are away. DON'T NEED SO MUCH ABOUT THE TIME PERIOD AS I AM YOUR

AUDIENCE…GET RIGHT TO THE POINT…ALSO MAKE SURE YOU ARE DIRECTLY

RELATING YOUR PARAGRAPHS TO YOUR THESIS…PUT AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE

…this is a bit brief

Paragraph 2: Like Edna, Grendel is oppressed by the rule of King Hrothgar and his soldiers who

consistently attack him when he poses no threats.

Throughout chapter 2 when Grendel describes his childhood, he talks about the curiosity he had

for the world and how he would adventure around in the kingdom. While exploring, he is

attacked by Hrothgar’s men which causes him to develop a hatred for humans. This transition
After being

oppressed for 12 years during by the so called “war”, Grendel embraces his true self as the

monster that he really is by going to the mead hall and killing multiple men. By jumping into the

chasm at the end of the novel, he frees himself from the world that he has so much hatred for.

careful of too much summary that doesn't directly communicate thesis

Paragraph 3: Edna frees herself from the oppression of her family through doing things that were

typically unheard of at the time rather than taking care of her responsibilities.

Edna expresses freedom and rebellion to her husband through swimming in the ocean. She uses

it to get away from the oppression brought on from her family. To show this, Chopin writes, "A

feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to

control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her

strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before"(Chopin 73). This

quote expresses how Edna is doing something not previously done before from someone of