Theme of Self-discovery in Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Edna Pontlierre experiences a theme of self-discovery throughout the entire
novel of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening. Within Edna's travel through self
discovery, Chopin successfully uses tone, style, and content to help the reader
understand a person challenging the beliefs of a naïve society at the beginning
of the twentieth century. Chopin's style and tone essentially helps the reader
understand the character of Edna and what her surrounding influences are. The
tone and style also helps the audience understand the rest of the characters
throughout the novel. The entire content is relevant to the time frame it was
written, expressing ideas of the forthcoming feminist movement and creating an
awareness of what was happening to the women of the early nineteenth century.
When "The Awakening" was first published, its popularity wasn't that of
modern day. In fact, it was widely rejected for years. Within the context, it
is considered a very liberal book from the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The ideas expressed within the content concern the women's movement and an
individual woman searching for who she really is. Ross C. Murfin in his
critical essay "The New Historicism and the Awakening", shows how Chopin uses
the entity of the hand to relate to both the entire women's issue and Edna
Pontlierre's self exploration:
"Chopin uses hands to raise the issues of women, property, self-possession, and
value. Women like Adele Ratignolle, represented by their perfectly pale or
gloved hands, are signs mainly of their husbands wealth, and therefor of what
Stange calls 'surplus value'. By insisting on supporting herself with her own
hands [through art] and having control of her own property [the place she moved
in to and her inheritance], Edna seeks to come into ownership of a self that is
more than a mere ornament. …She seeks to possess herself" (p 197).
Within in the content, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle represent
foils to Edna. Mademoiselle represents a single woman that everyone dislikes
who Edna typically confides in. Adele Ratignolle contrasts Edna because she
"dutifully plays the social role of 'mother-woman'". The reader learns how Edna
contrasts and transcends throughout the entire novel. From her refusal to
sacrifice herself for her children in the beginning of the novel to her moving
into her own house towards the end of the novel, the reader is effectively
aware of the realities that face the women of the early twentieth century
individually and as a society.
Chopin's style in "The Awakening" is intended to help the audience
understand the character of Edna and the dilemmas that she faces as a married
The Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; in spite of the expectations society has for her. The book follows Edna Pontellier as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy filling the role that society has created for her. She did not believe that she could break from this pattern because of the pressures of society. As a result she ends up taking her own life. However, readers should not sympathize with her for taking her own life.
The bourgeois crisis that Edna endures--the discrepancy between duty toward others and right toward herself[--] .
Society, although undoubtedly necessary, perpetuates an unduly restrictive set of expectations that few can live up to. In her novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin explores the psychological rebirth of protagonist Edna Pontellier, who comes to realize her dissatisfaction with her domestic role in nineteenth-century society. She cares for her husband Leonce and their two children, but seeks greater independence, risking Leonce’s disapproval by moving out of the house to pursue painting. In contrast, Edna’s friend Adele Ratignolle thrives as a housewife and mother, finding enjoyment in piano playing to benefit her household. In her attempt to achieve freedom, Edna finds inspiration in the reclusive pianist Mademoiselle Reisz, who advises Edna to rescind her societal ties in favor of becoming a true artist.
The contrast between men versus women is an important opposition in both plays. The women in the Greek society have no control of their life; the men are in control (Barlow 159). In The Bacchae Dionysus underminded the Greek society point view on women and empowers them. Pentheus is furious about Dionysus; he states in this first speech to his Grandfather Cadmus and Tiresias that the women have betrayed their houses to go off into the mountains to dance to Dionysus and are committing sexual acts (Bacchae 217-224). Pentheus is offended that an “effeminate looking stranger” has come into his land and is giving freedom to the women (353). There is a binary opposition between the way Greek society and Pentheus are treating the women (men) versus the way Dionysus treats them (women).
The Hmong culture is firmly rooted in their spiritual belief of animism, ancestral worship and reincarnation. These beliefs connect them to their sense of health and well-being. They view illness as having either a natural or a spiritual cause. A spiritual cause results in a “loss of souls” or is an action or misdeed that may have offended an ancestor’s spirit (California Department of Health Services, 2004, Purnell, 2013, p. 317). The soul escapes the body and may not be able to find its way back home. The Hmong also believe that a combination of natural and supernatural cause’s results in illness, and spells or curses, violation of taboos, accidents, fright, and infectious disease are other causes for illness (Centers for Disease Control
Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer who reformed 20th-century music, and incited disturbances with The Rite of Spring. Stravinsky composed masterpieces in every genre. Russian-born American composer Igor Stravinsky is widely considered one of the great geniuses of modern music. His innovations in tone, rhythm, and harmony were revolutionary in their day, and his compositions have been universally acclaimed. Stravinsky's was known for his stylistic diversity. He changed the way composers thought about rhythmic structure. Stravinsky pushed the boundaries of musical design.
When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.
In America the clashing of cultures is inevitable due to the different backgrounds that make up the country --- especially when it comes to treating patients medicinally or through more traditional ways. The conflict occurs in The Spirit Catches you and You Fall Down By Anne Fadiman, when the culture of western medicine collides with Hmong practices. A daughter of a Hmong family, Lia, suffers from epilepsy and is brought to the Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) to seek treatments that will alleviate the symptoms of her seizures. While the doctors and parents try to find ways to help Lia, they encounter cultural barriers such as their differences in practicing medicine that inhibit their ability to help her efficiently. The MCMC doctors and the parents are both responsible for the increasing cultural conflicts because of their negative biases towards each other long before they meet.These negative biases were later enforced by their lack of trust and respect as the book progressed.
Since the beginning of human civilization, women have often occupied inferior roles in society while the dominant role has been played by men. In Homer’s The Odyssey gender roles in Greek society are emphasized showing how men controlled society while women were undervalued and constantly disrespected. Although it may be argued that Homer poses some rather feminist views, it is evident by several elements that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text. First, women in the Odyssey were continually oppressed by men never having true free will. In addition, Women were depicted as symbols of lust, seduction, and evil who bring destruction to men, undermining the true values of women. Furthermore, Women were expected to remain loyal to men while men have no expectation for themselves which promoted gender inequality. Exemplified by these three elements, it is evident that The Odyssey is a misogynistic text depicting a society where women occupy subservient and inferior positions.
In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the setting is in the late 1800s on Grand Isle in Louisiana. The main character of the story is Edna Pontellier who is not a Creole. Other important characters are Adele Ratignolle, Mr. Ratgnolle, Robert Lebrun, and Leonce Pontellier who are all Creole's. In the Creole society the men are dominant. Seldom do the Creole's accept outsiders to their social circle, and women are expected to provide well-kept homes and have many children. Edna and Adele are friends who are very different because of their the way they were brought up and they way they treat their husbands. Adele is a loyal wife who always obeys her husband's commands. Edna is a woman who strays from her husband and does not obey her husband's commands. Kate Chopin uses Adele to emphasize the differences between her and Edna.
Could the actions of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening ever be justified? This question could be argued from two different perspectives. The social view of The Awakening would accuse Edna Pontellier of being selfish and unjustified in her actions. Yet, in terms of the story's romanticism, Edna was in many ways an admirable character. She liberated herself from her restraints and achieved nearly all that she desired. Chopin could have written this novel to glorify a woman in revolt against conventions of the period. Yet, since the social standpoint is more factual and straightforward, it is the basis of this paper. Therefore, no, her affairs, treatment of her family and lovers, and suicide were completely unwarranted. She was not denied love or support by any of those close to her. Ultimately Edna Pontellier was simply selfish.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother living in the upper crust of New Orleans in the 1890s. It depicts her journey as her standing shifts from one of entrapment to one of empowerment. As the story begins, Edna is blessed with wealth and the pleasure of an affluent lifestyle. She is a woman of leisure, excepting only in social obligations. This endowment, however, is hindered greatly by her gender.
In Hmong’s, they have their own traditional beliefs in which they hardly ever alter due to a different atmosphere. Some of the Hmong beliefs are they prefer traditional medicine, are culturally active, host ritual ceremonies, and are spirituality influenced. In the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, refers to the Hmong culture and their beliefs on medicine while their baby Lia Lee, is suffering from epilepsy in which they have a hard decision. Traditional Hmong’s have their own medicinal beliefs which they obey prior to obtaining Western medicine. The gulf between Western medicine and Hmong health beliefs is an impossible abyss. Also, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down describes the life of Hmong refugees assimilating to the American culture which brings challenge to Hmong traditions.
In the first passage, Edna is clearly set apart from what appears to be the status quo of female behavior in her society. She is not a mother-woman. The term, mother-woman is a reductive one which implies a singular purpose or value. The mother-woman is a mother; being one defines and regulates every aspect of her life. They “…esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels.” Chopin’s use of religious words and imagery is interesting; it certainly alludes to Victorian ideals of womanhood in which the woman is a vessel of purity and piousness. Viewing women as angels or pure, infallible beings elevates them, but also robs them somewhat of their humanity. In addition to this, it places restraining and unnecessary imperatives on their behavior, and encourages them to strive for the unattainable-a pursuit that will probably leave them feeling inadequate. The mother-women are described generally, however, in this passage, and seem entirely one-dimensional. Also, they possess an almost absurd and quality, “fluttering” about after their children, perceiving “imaginary” dangers everywhere. Chopin deals with the mother-women more complexly later through the character of Madame Ratignolle.
In America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young