A Reader Response to The Awakening
The Awakening is a story that was written when women weren't allowed to be independent. Kate Chopin was even criticized for the main character's conduct; "Certainly there is throughout the story an undercurrent of sympathy of Edna, and nowhere a single note of censure of her totally unjustifiable conduct" and another said; "the purport of the story can hardly be described in language fit for publication." But who can blame them. Edna was a bold woman. She was independent, kept male friends, felt passion, was disrespectful to her husband and did not spend much time with her children. Edna was an independent women when women were not allowed to be independent. She openly defied her husband. Remember at the lake when she decided she did not want to go inside when her husband told her to and the fact the she would not go to New York to be with her husband. After he left she decided to use her own money, and deliberately would not use his things in her new/ pigeon house was another example of this. She even made a big deal of having him "pay" for her party. She wanted to express herself and to become creative, which Chopin shows through her art. Edna also starts to associate with art-type people, musicians. I sometimes wonder why she started to hang around the pianist when she obviously didn't like her during the summer. Was this Edna's way to explore her artistic talents, or was it to get closer to Robert?
Edna's husband appears to be the stereotypical husband of his time. He stayed away most of the time in the summer, visiting on weekends at the beach cottage, but spending allot of time with his male friends playing card games. He appears to love his family, but is hugely critical of Edna. He complains to her about the children, the maids and the food. I don't remember their being pleasant and loving words between the two of them, there was show of emotion, but only when he was leaving. Mr. P. never realizes that his wife might want to be her own person, have her own interest beside having visitors, making sure his dinner is good and being his wife. When the Doctor tells him to be gentle to his wife and not quarrel with her, that things will pass, it gives him another reason to break free from a family that he has already emotionally distracted from anyway. I saw him as extremely self-centered. He was not concerned that Edna was moving out of the house, he was concerned what people would think about him. I know he says he cares for his children, but he forgets to bring them bonbons or appears to spend little or no time with them, its Robert that spends time with the children.
What do we think of Robert? I like his character and the fact that he left Mrs. P. instead of doing something that was not socially right. He did not write to Edna because I don't think he could. It would be to hard for him to write to her and express his friendship, when he wanted more. He also was a gentlemen in the fact that he knew he could not have Mrs. P. When this story was written, people did not divorce. They seemed to do what Mr. and Mrs. P did, they distanced themselves. Robert could not have Edna, legally, morally or ethically. If he ran away with her, his social reputation would have been destroyed along with hers and I don't think he wanted that.
Some things bothered me in the story, the fact that the children were raised by a nanny instead of their mother. Edna's disregard for her children made me feel uneasy. I wonder why Chopin made her a mother instead of just a wife. Was it to show more emotional ties between her husband or was it to show some lack of ethics? Were we to think that because she was not a good mother, then she was not a good person? Or was it just a part of life, you have children?
Another thing that bothered me was the end of the novel. We don't know if Edna, commits suicide or she unintentionally drowns. If we see her death as an awakening, then what was she being awakened to? If she kills herself, then wouldn't she be doomed anyway?
I know the story is called the awakening, but couldn't the awakening be seen her first swim not her last. At that point in the story when she realized she needed to change her life? I think the last swim, was her release from this life, after she realized that she was doomed to her confinement as her husbands wife, her fathers daughter and her children's mother. In her society, she would have never been allowed to be her own person.
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