Mya Galinsky Period 5 1/14/17 The definition of the word awakening is :“a recognition, realization, or coming into awareness of something.”The term self realization means “fulfillment of one’s own potential.” In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the protagonist Edna Pontellier and her family vacation at the Grand Isle, a resort on an island near New Orleans. While on this trip Mrs. Pontellier experiences an awakening of self realization emotionally, creatively, sexually and intellectually. As the summer advances, Mrs.Pontellier becomes independent as she emerges from her old ways. This novel explores the discovery of one’s personal identity. Throughout Enda’s journey, the sea is her muse and where she finds peace. The sea represents …show more content…
Pontellier is getting some fresh air while she rests on the hammock. It is past 1 AM, however she is not ready to go inside. Mr. Pontellier is unhappy with Edna’s actions and orders her to come inside. Mrs.Pontellier tries to explain to her husband she is not going to follow his directions. Leonce does not agree and attempts again to get her inside. ““Leonce, go to bed” she said, I mean to stay out here. I don’t wish to go in, and I don’t intend to. Don’t speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you.””In stage three of Edna's awakening she is learning to respect herself. The sense of Edna’s higher self begins to grow …show more content…
Although there is no pre-ordained point or purpose to life, in stage five you now understand that the point and purpose of life can be anything that you choose.” I have no doubt in believing Enda completed stage four of awakening. Yet I have trouble believing she reaches stage five. To my understanding Edna’s awakening ends at stage four where she has no purpose to her life. As Edna’s journey to self discovery gives her the ability to express herself, people around her are no longer able to understand her. When Edna feels stuck again, she goes back to the place that is her is her muse and where she finds peace. The sea. “The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”(pg.120) I believe when Edna ends her life in the sea, it is the beginning of her re-birth. In conclusion Edna Pontellier discovers her independence through an awakening of self realization. An emotional, creative, sexual and intellectual journey. At the beginning of the novel Edna is in a semi-conscious state, as the summer progresses she explores her freedom. From her first swim to her last swim, the sea has been a reminder of the depth of the universe and of her own place as a human within that depth. The sea is a place where Edna
Throughout Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier, ventures through a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. Mrs.Pontellier is a mother and wife who begins to crave more from life, than her assigned societal roles. She encounters two opposite versions of herself, that leads her to question who she is and who she aims to be. Mrs. Pontellier’s journey depicts the struggle of overcoming the scrutiny women face, when denying the ideals set for them to abide. Most importantly the end of the novel depicts Mrs.Pontellier as committing suicide, as a result of her ongoing internal
In fact, Edna seems to drift from setting to setting in the novel, never really finding her true self - until the end of the novel. Chopin seems highly concerned with this question throughout her narrative. On a larger scale, the author seems to be probing even more deeply into the essence of the female experience: Do women in general have a place in the world, and is the life of a woman the cumbersome pursuit to find that very place? The Awakening struggles with this question, raising it to multiple levels of complexity. Edna finds liberation and happiness in various places throughout the novel, yet this is almost immediately countered by unhappiness and misery.
The passage of The Awakening which truly marks Edna Pontellier’s new manner of thought regarding her life revolves around her remembrance of a day of her childhood in Kentucky. She describes the scene to Madame Ratigonelle as the two women sit on the beach one summer day. The passage opens with a description of the sea and the sky on that particular day. This day and its components are expressed in lethargic terms such as “idly” and “motionless” and suggested a scene of calm sleep. Such a depiction establishes an image of serenity and tranquility, in other words the calm before the storm which derives from Edna’s “awakening.”
Fox-Genovese also emphasizes this point, when she says that both the feminist and the psychological aspect of “The Awakening,” “must be read together, for the grounds for choosing one rather than the other do not exist” (262). Other women may have, and do, find a way to exist in such a society and be happy with the little freedom they are allowed. Therefore, Edna Pontellier is portrayed a prisoner of her own upper-class society. Her surroundings demand of herself that she conforms to certain feminine ideals, which she however, is not willing to do. This final episode with Edna naked for the first time stresses the idea of rebirth in Edna; she is now "some new-born creature" (113) at the end of her life. Expression becomes a symbol of freedom for Edna. Fox-Genovese’s conclusion about “The Awakening” is that the novel tells the story of the progress in the Edna Pontellier’s character, as well as her mental regression. As Edna discovers the injustice of her male dominated society, rejecting its values, and managing to break away from society’s traditional gender roles, her stories furthermore depict her “psychological regression,” as Fox-Genovese has stated about Edna’s journey in “The Awakening” (262). Edna can only be herself when she is alone, without the
From a mother, wife, and society woman, Edna progresses to a unique woman of her own, free and independent. By deciding to choose her own paths to take in life, breaking the rules and expectations of the people around her, Edna achieves total control of her destiny. The backdrop of Edna's journey of her awakening is the tantalizing whisper of the ocean. The ocean awakens Edna's senses, teaches her the thrill of taking a risk and offers her inspiration to "dare and defy" (109).
“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” implies the tremendous joy that encourages her to shout, as well as underscores the significance of the experience in terms of the greater awakening, for the experience actually does provide Edna with the ability to control her own body and soul for the first time. Her “daring and reckless” behavior, her overestimation of strength, and the desire to “swim far out, where no woman had swum before” all suggest the tragic conclusion that awaits Edna. Whether her awakening leads her to want too much, or her desires are not fully compatible with the society in which she lives, she goes too far in her awakening. Amazed at the ease of her new power, she specifically does not join the other groups of people in the water, but rather goes off to swim alone. Indeed, her own awakening ultimately ends up being solitary, particularly in her refusals to join in social expectations. Here, the water presents her with space and solitude, with the “unlimited in which to lose herself.
With her mind already gone, Edna's body begins to swim out into the sea, not caring about what lies ahead: "She did not look back now, but went on and on, thinking of the blue-grass meadow that she had traversed when a little child, believing that it had no beginning and no end." (109)
The time Edna spends in water is a suspension of space and time; this is her first attempt at realizing Robert's impermanence. In a strange way, Edna is taking her self as an object of meditation, where at the extremity of self absorption, she should be able to see through her own selflessness. "As she swam she seemed to be reaching for the unlimited in which to lose herself[emphasis added]" (Chopin 74). Edna has left her earthly existence on the shore and looked forward to a new existence, with the "unlimited", or nirvana as a tantalizing prize on the other shore. Her mistake lies in looking back.
Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman who throughout the novella tries to find herself. Edna begins the story in the role of the typical mother-woman distinctive of Creole society but as the novelette furthers so does the distance she puts between herself and society. Edna's search for independence and a way to stray from society's rules and ways of life is depicted through symbolism with birds, clothing, and Edna's process of learning to swim.
A bustling town located along Louisiana’s gulf coast, New Orleans occupies one of two central locations in the novel. While serving as the Pontellier's home, New Orleans also features the center of Leonce’s business. Being wealthy, Edna and Leonce are entrenched at the top of the societal hierarchy. With this standing, Edna is forced to center her life around the obligations of a traditional Creole lifestyle. This gets in the way of both her art and happiness. As the novel progresses these social responsibilities become more and more of a restraint, leading to an eventual shirking of duties. Edna eventually decides to ignore her regular tuesday callers, and instead strolls through the streets of the city enjoying her time of solitude. When Robert returns to find that Edna ignored her callers without leaving an excuse, he becomes worried that Edna’s general unhappiness may be developing into something more serious. This results in him consulting a local doctor, a fruitless endeavor that does little to combat Edna’s awakening. Ironically, the Creole lifestyle Edna married into with Robert provides the emotional freedom to allow for her awakening, while also pushing her into the awakening with their constant rules and restrictions. Without the open emotion she learns from Robert, Adele, and Leonce; Edna most likely would have suppressed her feelings and continued on the path of unhappiness while remaining in her marriage. The setting of New Orleans also provides for unique subsettings that play a big role in Edna’s awakening. The race track provides the setting where she met Alcee, a regrettable fling that emerges as she wrestles with her love for Robert and her unhappiness with Leonce. That fling leaves Edna more confused, wondering how she could succumb to desire without love. Perhaps the most important setting also is in New Orleans, around the corner from
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.
In Chapter III Mr. Pontellier enters their room in Grand Isle late one night, waking Edna. He is full of self-importance as he talks to her while he begins to ready himself for bed. Since she has just been awakened, Edna does not respond with the enthusiasm Mr. Pontellier deems acceptable. "He thought it very discouraging that his wife … evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation." (12) To assert his dominance, Leonce demands that E...
The book begins and ends with Edna and her attraction to the water. Throughout the story, water plays a symbolic part in the unfolding of Edna and her relationship to Robert and also her awakening to a new outlook on life along with an independence that takes her away from her family and the socially constraining life in which she no longer can see herself a part of. Edna and Robert are at the beach enjoying each others company. They quickly return to the cottage where Leonce is, and he talks to them. They have had a good time down by the water and Leonce, being the proper business man that he is, does not understand why Robert would rather spend his time chatting with his wife than attending to other things.
During the summer of Edna's awakening, the sea's influence increases as she learns how to swim, an event which holds much more significance that her fellow vacationers realize. “To her friends, she has accomplished a simple feat; to Edna, she has accomplished a miracle” (Showalter 114). She has found a peace and tranquility in swimming which gives her the feeling of freedom. The narrator tells us that as she swims, "she seem[s] to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself" (Chopin 74). She sees the freedom t...
Edna Pontellier first faces a form of awakening when she encounters another character that plays a musical instrument. As the musician plays, the crowd reacts nonchalantly and for the most part disregards it as just another performance with the exception of Mrs. Pontellier whom breaks out into tears due to the vivid imagery that the music brings into her mind. The musician responds to Mrs. Pontellier by telling her that she is the only one who truly speaks her language. This form of awakening brings about one of the themes in the novel in that as a person learns to begin to express themselves, they find that there is a lesser concentration of people who can understand the way that one expresses themselves. This becomes of greater relevance as Edna begins to express herself through the use of her artwork.