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Jeremy Schuh Mr. Keehan CAPP American Lit. 15 March 2016 The Male Hierarchy of the 19th Century: A Marxist Approach American history and society has been dictated by the influence of white, bourgeois men, causing the oppression of a plethora of demographics and tension between different social classes. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin used the characters Robert Lebrun and Léonce Pontellier to exemplify the differences in class relations, so as to show the reader the toxicity that the white, upper class male complex held on society. This is most evident when examining and comparing how Léonce treated women, specifically Edna, against how Robert did. It is also observable when comparing how important material objects and status symbols were to the …show more content…
His societal impact was much more profound because being in possession of a plethora of material goods - which even includes Edna, because of the time period - affirmed his place in society. “‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 7). Léonce attempts to affirm his status as the dominant male by dehumanizing Edna, which takes away her feelings of power and continues the cycle of oppression. Individuals who were part of the bourgeoisie had the opportunity to raise their societal status by obtaining valuable furniture, intricate homes and by going on vacations (Malkmes 24-25). Following this line of thinking, it is evident that Léonce’s priority was to simply raise his status in order to attain more material success and societal prestige. The oppressive practice of treating women as property was simply part of the male strategy to secure their “dominance”. They did this because, as James Beard states, “The conservative mind, bound by its dualistic simplicity, sees women as either wives and mothers or dangerous and unpredictable” (19). Léonce was afraid of Edna ruining his status, leading him to participate in this sexist
This can be shown when Leone says, “ ‘You are burnt beyond recognition’, he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 2). Throughout the book, we also see that Leonce does not really pay enough attention to Edna. We mostly see him reading newspapers and being busy with his work. “Edna marries a man she does not love, “closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams” (Wolkenfeld 245). As a result, she realizes that Leonce was not the man for her, and that she must find another way in order free herself from such
...ifferent. Similar to the heroine, the story has a tragic ending for the main characters. Leonce is the least effected by Edna’s death because he has too many other things to worry about such as his children and his business. Alcee will definitely miss Edna but it is believed that his attention will be focused to a new female shortly, and Edna will be forgotten. Robert will take her suicide the hardest, because he really loved her. He will believe that he was the reason for her death and, will hold some guilt, and mourn the longest. He was the most compassionate and loving male in this book and when Kate Chopin was writing the Awakening, she wanted more males to become more like Robert and have the same principles and standards. Robert is who men should want to model themselves as. Kate Chopin shows diversity in her 3 main, as they are the typical men of this era.
He enforces his possessions and his role as a Victorian Age husband. He defies and remains blind to feminist action. He even expresses dissatisfaction to his own wife. “He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation.” (5) Leonce is a man who values the worth of a “perfect husband.” He provides money for Edna, departs on long trips, and on cares for his children. He favors the image of marriage far more the reality of it. He doesn’t deny what others ordain, instead he is just a player of the game. He follows along with the norms of society. In result, he finds absolutely nothing wrong with Edna’s position in society. He could not detect Edna’s urge to escape the society he encourages. For example, he refers to Edna more as an object than an individual. (5) He is blind and oblivious regarding Edna’s actions. He is a figure sought just to manipulate Edna along with the rest of society. Astonishingly, he isn’t obliviousness to the nature of society. “Why my dear, I should think you’d understand by this time that people don’t do such things; we’ve got to observe the conventions if we ever expect to get on and keep up with the procession.” (51) In one word, Leonce is a simpleton who follows under the rules established by society. He is heavily focused on
When Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" was published at the end of the 19th Century, many reviewers took issue with what they perceived to be the author's defiance of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a person and as a woman. Like Kate Chopin herself, Edna is an artist and a woman of sensitivity who believes that her identity as a woman involves more than being a wife and mother. It is this very type of independent thinking which was viewed as heretical in a society which sought to deny women any meaningful participation.
Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening. In Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening, the reader is introduced into. a society that is strictly male-dominated where women fill in the stereotypical role of watching the children, cooking, cleaning and keeping up with appearances. Writers often highlight the values of a certain society by introducing a character who is alienated from their culture by a trait such as gender, race, or creed.
However, Leonce is not just all about positive things; just like anyone else, he has his ugly side. Leonce is a wealthy man and is very possessive with his items. This is exactly how he thinks of Edna, as a valuable trophy and is extremely possessive of her. Leonce does not see, in his eyes, his wife in a way he should. He treats Edna as property and expects her to obey him and be obedient, just like a dog.
Authors like Chopin helped people realize what was going on during the 1800s. They were able to incorporate the thoughts of women, and what duties society expected them to fulfill during the era. Although these authors were criticized because of what they wrote, they were honest with their opinions and outlooks. According to the Los Angeles Sunday Times, Chopin “…wanted to preach the doctrine of the right of the individual to have what he wants, no matter whether or not it may be good for him” (4). The Los Angeles Sunday Times acknowledges that Chopin’s focus was to convey the rights of women no matter how consequential it might be. Kate Chopin’s upbringing, views on society, and the era she lived in are all incorporated in her novel The Awakening, which expresses the inequalities between male and female.
In Frances Porcher’s response to “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin published in May 1899, she felt as though the book is slightly pathetic. While she believes that one can get absorbed by the principles of the book, she writes that the story makes one feel like “it leaves one sick of human nature and so one feels cui bono!” Furthermore, in Porcher’s analysis, the book “is not a pleasant picture of soul-dissection.” The distress of Edna does not allow one to joyfully engage in the plight that is exhibited. In addition to ugly cross-section, the book makes readers feel, “for the moment, with a little sick feeling, if all women are like the one” that is studied in the book. While it is disheartening to read that women might feel this way about the
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.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a terrific read and I am hardly able to put it down! I am up to chapter XV and many of the characters are developing in very interesting ways. Edna is unfulfilled as a wife and mother even though she and her husband are financially well off. Her husband, Leonce Pontellier, is a good husband and father but he has only been paying attention to his own interests. At this point he is unaware of the fact that his wife's needs are not being met. Robert and the other characters are equally intriguing but something else has piqued my interest. Some of Chopin's characters are not fully developed. I know that these are important characters because they are representative of specific things; they are metaphoric characters. In particular, I've noticed the lovers and the lady in black. I'm fascinated by the fact that both the lovers and the lady in black are completely oblivious to the rest of the world. They are also in direct contrast with each another. For this week's reader response I am taking a different approach. Rather than analyzing the main characters, I will examine the lovers and the lady in black.
In The Awakening, Kate Chopin depicts the varying definitions of women and their role through her three major female characters, Edna Pontellier, Madamoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle. In the late 1800s, the role of women was strictly being caretakers for both their children and husbands. Edna Pontellier attempts to fit into society’s expectations by marrying Léonce Pontellier and raising two children, yet she struggles with feelings of oppression as she suffers through her unwanted role. Mademoiselle Reisz, a talented musician, is unmarried and childless, rejecting all of society’s ideals. Edna’s friend, Madame Ratignolle, greatly contrasts the two as she represents the model Louisiana women. However, while Edna, Madamoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle each depict a different idea of woman’s role in society, none of these three women reach their full individual potential.
The most prevalent and obvious gender issue present in the novella was that Edna challenged cultural norms and broke societal expectations in an attempt to define herself. Editors agree, “Edna Pontellier flouts social convention on almost every page…Edna consistently disregards her ‘duties’ to her husband, her children, and her ‘station’ in life” (Culley 120). Due to this, she did not uphold what was expected of her because she was trying to be superior, and women were expected to be subordinate to men. During that time, the women were viewed as possessions that men controlled. It was the woman’s job to clean the house, cook the meals, and take care of the children, yet Edna did none of these things. Her lifestyle was much different. She refused to listen to her husband as time progressed and continually pushed the boundaries of her role. For example, during that time period “the wife was bound to live with her husban...
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism is a major part of the short story, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, which is a story that portrays women’s lack of freedom in the1800s. Women had no rights, and had to cater to all of their husband’s needs. The main character in “The Story of an Hour” is a woman who suffers from heart trouble, named Mrs. Mallard. When Mrs. Mallard was told about her husband’s death, she was initially emotional, but because of her husband’s death she reaped freedom and became swept away with joy. The story is ironic because Mrs. Mallard learns her husband was not dead, and instead of exulting her husband’s sudden return she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. An analysis of “The Story if an Hour” through the historical and feminist lenses, suggests that the story is really about women’s self-identity in the 1800s male-dominated society, and how it caused women’s lack of freedom.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” female heroine Louise Mallard’s judgment is questioned after her inability to show emotion following her husband’s death. Instead of feeling desperate and hopeless, Louise feels a sense of freedom and liberation. This depiction of an independent woman prevails in The Awakening as Chopin discusses a woman who battles to fulfill traditional Victorian female ethics in the midst of undergoing a physical and emotional awakening. Edna and Louise are similar because neither woman is happy with accepting conventional gender roles. In The Awakening, Chopin discusses the different female roles that Edna Pontellier, Adele Ratignolle, and Mademoiselle Reiz’s represent to emphasize the different ideas that women
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.