The Awakening by Edna LeBlaine

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Recommended: How does a child/young person's environment affect their development

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Outline

TOPIC QUESTION: How do the settings in the novel relate to Edna’s journey to spiritual awakening to find space for herself in the universe?

THESIS: Even though the settings in The Awakening may initially appear to be no more than backgrounds for characters to act out their individual roles in Creole society, the places and buildings described in the novel are used by the author as symbols of the stages of Edna’s spiritual awakening in which she struggles to find a space for herself in the universe outside of the confines of social norms.

TOPIC SENTENCES:

1. The houses and places in described in The Awakening are symbols of Edna’s spiritual awakening.
2. Edna goes from home to home and place to place, in each instance trying to find a unique place for herself in the world free from the confines of society’s dictates.
3. Edna’s changing environment affects her inner world and ultimately leads to her downfall.
4. The houses and places in The Awakening are part of the “woman’s sphere” which feels like a cage to Edna.
5. The changing environments in Edna’s world are representative of her changing inner life and ultimately her outer world.

INTRODUCTION: Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening is set in nineteenth century Louisiana. The action takes place partly in New Orleans, a small and easygoing city, and partly in Grand Isle and the nearby island of Chêniére Caminada. The environment of the areas and the buildings affected the way the protagonist, Edna, experienced her inner life. With each change whether it is to a different area or building, came a change in Edna. Each setting was a catalyst to move her forward into the final stage of her awakening. Even though the settings in The Awaken...

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...Books, 1899.

Gilbert, Sandra M. "The Second Coming of Aphrodite: Kate Chopin's Fantasy of Desire." Kenyon Review. New Series, Vol. 5.No. 3 (Summer, 1998): 42-66. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .

LeBlane, Edna. "The Metaphorical Lesbian: Edna Pontellier in The Awakening." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature. 15.2 (Autumn, 1996): 289-307. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .

Margraf, Erik. "Kate Chopin's "The Awakening: as a Naturalistic Novel." American Literary Realism. 37.No. 2 (Winter, 2005): 93-116. Print. .

Muirhead, Marion. "Articulation and Artistry: A Conventional Analysis of "The Awakening"." Southern Literary Journal.. 33.No.1 (Fall, 2000): 42-54. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .

Thornton, Lawrence. "The Awakening: A Political Romance." American Literature. 52.1 (Mar. 1980): 50-66. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .

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