Controversial Gender Issues in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

1306 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Iowa writers workshop review The Awakening kate chopin

"Nothing any longer is given, anyone can be anything" (Jehlen 271). American controversy is a continual process. The last year of the twentieth century boiled over with suspension of Y2K (a newly coined term for the new millennium that was worn out by year-end), everybody waited with anticipation for the world to coming cashing to a halt and when nothing happened everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Today, four short years later, Y2K seems to be a distant memory and now our plates are full with fresh new questions to occupy our minds. Topic such as "The War on Terrorism", Presidential Campaigns and of course the highly controversial issue of Same Sex Marriage now plague the media's mind and the public's attention.

In February of 2004, President George W. Bush took his stand on Same Sex Marriage and called for a constitutional amendment to keep the sanctity of marriage in American alive. For some his stand is rational and for others the amendment could keep them from fulfilling their dream of matrimonial bliss. For the some it is natural for a man and a woman to be together, to procreate and to live the idyllic lifestyle that God intended, they who see marriage as a holy union between a man and a woman. For others their happiness lays not on what is intended but however it is on what their mind, body and souls feel is right. These controversies of happiness and nature have long been debated; in 1899, Kate Chopin writes The Awakening, spawning controversial issues of domesticity and gender. The protagonist, Edna, extenuates the need for liberation and individuality. On her journey to self-discovery, she breaks free of the ever-present ideology and social norms of the Victorian era, which controlled her life choices. The confo...

... middle of paper ...

...virtually all thought while, by most thinkers, unrecognized as such" (Jehlen, 272-273). Gender is certainly ambiguous without a clear understanding of what gender is it can be lost in translation. The controversy Chopin ignited in 1899 continues to be an issue today. With questions of who should be what and what roles a person should encompass is certainly a controversy that will plague our nation for years to come. Who has the right to force a person into a lifestyle that their mind, body and souls cannot accept? The government, the Church or the self? Though these questions of gender are unanswered, one fact must be realized, and that is that there is not one mold or one size fits all. People by nature are unique and as a civilization, we must readily accept the differences that make each and everyone a masterpiece ready to be unveiled by the individual.

Show More
Related

  • Identity and Society's Expectations In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier’s suicide is an assertion of her independence and contributes to Chopin’s message that to be independent one must choose between personal desires and societal expectations. Chopin conveys this message through Edna’s reasons for committing suicide and how doing so leads her to total independence.

    Read More

  • Conflicting Directions Of Ambitions in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    419 Words  | 1 Pages

    Often in novels, a character faces conflicting directions of ambitions, desires, and influences. In such a novel, like “The Awakening,'; the main character, Edna Pontellier, faces these types of conflicting ideas. In a controversial era for women, Edna faces the conflict of living in oppression but desiring freedom. The patriarchal time period has influenced women to live only under the husband’s thumb but at the same time, break away from such repression. These opposing conflicts illuminated the meaning of “social awakening'; in the novel.

    Read More

  • Identity Themes In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chopin’s novel is filled with different themes. Her themes are what really gets her message to her readers. one of her themes is identity because becoming the person that you want to be is what The Awakening is all about. Knowing who you are is a big component in becoming free. That is why Chopin created an identity theme in her novel. Edna is constantly trying to find out who is wants to be. Edna knows that she is not the perfect mother and wife like Madame Ratignolle, and she also knows that she would never want to live alone like Mademoiselle Reisz. Who is the true Edna P? That is what Edna is find out, and that is the question most women should ask themselves. Who is the true me? Chopin has another theme that pushes her message even more.

    Read More

  • The True Identity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the main protagonist, experiences multiple awakenings—the process in which Edna becomes aware of her life and the constraints place on it—through her struggles with interior emotional issues regarding her true identity: the confines of marriage vs. her yearning for intense passion and true love. As Edna begins to experience these awakenings she becomes enlightened of who she truly and of what she wants. As a result, Edna breaks away from what society deems acceptable and becomes awakened to the flaws of the many rules and expected behavior that are considered norms of the time. One could argue that Kate Chopin’s purpose in writing about Edna’s inner struggles and enlightenment was to

    Read More

  • Turning Point For Women In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was a game changer in both the Civil War and modern war efforts. Not only did Barton introduce new ways of bringing care to wounded soldiers, she also transformed the ways people viewed women working on the battlefield. Clara Barton was the first woman to stand up for the better of both soldiers on the battlefield and women in the working force. Similar to Clara Barton, Kate Chopin’s protagonist Edna Pontellier, in her novel, The Awakening, serves as a turning point in the Victorian Era for women through her feminist ideals and rebellions against the norms of society. For example, Edna pursues herself as an individual rather than conforming to the expectations of the world around her. Edna also pushes the envelope by exploring her sexuality, a scandalous action for a married woman in the

    Read More

  • Individualism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Individual will is a force that is significant, and yet can be manipulated by a more powerful source. In the Victorian Age setting within The Awakening by Kate Chopin, men have been manipulated by society. They are forced to reflect their norms on women. These norms have been caused repressive and manipulative behavior within men. Edna Pontellier, protagonist of the novel, confronts several men who confront her yearning for individualism. Each male plays a role ordained by society and as a result they develop characteristics that promote specific, yet conflicting images to the reader.

    Read More

  • Awakening

    2436 Words  | 5 Pages

    Most marriages end in divorce. Indeed, the degree and level of suffering and pain throughout the populace is almost unfathomable. Perhaps, Ms. Chopin was living out a vicarious reality through Edna in committing suicide...and perhaps, this may be the underlying reason for the great reception which this novel has enjoyed...as well as staying power. Similarly, it has also been appointed a kind of jewel of the vanguard of women's rights. Indeed, "The Awakening" is one novel which exemplifies the attempt -- even realization -- of American womanhood's escape from personal and domestic bondage.

    Read More

  • Edna’s Suicide in The Awakening

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pollard, Percival. "The Unlikely Awakening of a Married Woman." Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1994. 179-181.

    Read More

  • Female Characters In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the span of our short years we meet people who create a way for us to even better express ourselves, thoughts, and our character. These people are a catalyst to our personality and most often make us better as a person. On the other hand we also meet people whose personalities are stifling, repressing, and/or controlling of ours. These people are anchors, and are known to metaphorically put the real us in a cage. Throughout the course of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening we see that many of the male characters approach Edna and that they each tried to either repress, or control Edna in some way shape or form.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in "The Awakening"

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1890’s were an era of rapid social change in regards to women’s rights. In 1893, Colorado was the first state granting women the right to vote with Utah and Idaho following soon after in 1896. This soon set momentum towards of ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. It was in 1899 the Kate Chopin published The Awakening, a novel telling the tale of a suppressed mother, Edna Pontellier, and her desire for something more in her life. Literary scholars consider Chopin’s The Awakening as a subtle yet effective portrayal of women of the late 19th century and consider it as an important piece of the feminism movement. Throughout the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, women had felt controlled by men and the demands society put upon them. Men had held a discriminatory view of women throughout this era, for they merely saw women as property. Women were expected to bear a man’s child, care for the child, and watch over the household while the man was away. The Awakening was an eye-opening novel in that it challenged the social structure of the time in which men dominated society. This novel showed the discriminatory view of women and treatment of women. The novel also does a great job in showing the dissatisfaction in the women’s lives, particularily through the actions of Edna Pontellier. Due to society’s expectations, women were not allowed to pursue their psychological or sexual drives, for it was scorned by society. Edna pursues these drives as she eventually cannot tolerate her way of living. In The Awakening, Chopin’s use of three characters, Edna Pontellier, Adele Ratignolle, and Mademoiselle Reisz, exemplifies the accepted roles of women in the late 19th century.

    Read More

  • Characterism And Symbolism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is followed by the audience through her voyage of self-realization. As Edna’s journey unfolds, Chopin incorporates a vast variety of symbols in order to express Edna’s relationship with society. One of the most present symbols that Chopin uses is the way she addresses Edna’s clothing or its absence. As Edna’s character develops and her desire to liberate herself swells, she removes clothing that she feels are not only constricting to her body physically but to her soul emotionally. While Edna removes her clothing throughout the novel, she is contravening the social norms and rules that the society she lives in has presented to her. This is one of many ways that Edna

    Read More

  • Breaking the Social Norms: Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novella The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier “becomes profoundly alienated from traditional roles required by family, country, church, or other social institutions and is unable to reconcile the desire for connection with others with the need for self-expression” (Bogard). The novella takes place in the South during the 1800’s when societal views and appearances meant everything. There were numerous rules and expectations that must be upheld by both men and women, and for independent, stubborn, and curious women such as Edna, this made life challenging. Edna expressed thoughts and goals far beyond her time that made her question her role in life and struggle to identify herself, which caused her to break societal conventions, damage her relationships, and ultimately lose everything.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In 'The Awakening' By Kate Chopin

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 19th and 20th centuries were a time period of change. The world saw many changes from gender roles to racial treatment. Many books written during these time periods reflect these changes. Some caused mass outrage while others helped to bring about change. In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, gender roles can be seen throughout the novel. Some of the characters follow society’s “rules” on what a gender is suppose to do while others challenge it. Feminist Lens can be used to help infer and interpret the gender roles that the characters follow or rebel against. Madame Ratignolle and Leonce Pontellier follow eaches respective gender, while Alcee Arobin follows and rebels the male gender expectations during the time period.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Kate Chopin's Of An Hour

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    Today women have more rights and are treated differently than before. Society back then didn 't see how valuable women were. They didn 't see that women are capable of many things. They have suffered the most and always will. Men should give women their space and freedom. Feminism fights for equality between men and women, in the short story “Of An Hour’’ the main character fails to meet her expectations and how feminist is today 's changed. Certainly, feminism has always been a dilemma in the society . “A lack of economic opportunities , and the absence of voice is one of them”(The Women 's Rights movement 1). Before no one believed in women as being something else. They would just see them as a housewife , they would have them

    Read More

  • A Summary Of Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    7713 Words  | 16 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Controversial Gender Issues in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

Open Document