Redefining Womanhood Through Rebellion in The Awakening

However, the Abolitionist Movement played a... ... middle of paper ... ...n File, 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Soderlund, Jean R. “Priorities and Power: The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.” The Abolitionist Sisterhood. Ed.

The great silent army of abolitionism: ordinary women in the antislavery movement. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. Rycenga, Jennifer. A greater awakening: women's intellect as a factor in early abolitionist movements, 1824-1834. N/A: Jennifer Rycenga, 2005.

Mintz, Steven & Susan Kellogg, Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life, (The Free Press, 1988) Shaw, Stephanie, Motherhood in Slavery. (New York Oxford University Press, 1991) Slaughter, Richard. The Library of Congress. Born in Slavery: The Slavery Narratives from the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936-1938. Virginia Narratives.

Flexner, Eleanor. Century of Struggle Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1959. 4. Riley, Glenda. Inventing the American Woman: An inclusive History vol 1 (Harlan Davidson, 2001).

In that time period, a woman was considered in some ways to be property of a man (Mahin 2). This is shown repeatedly in The Awakening, through the many relationships between the characters. As with many ideas throughout the book, this is depicted well through the contrast between Edna's marriage and Madame Ratignolle's (Klein 4). While Madame Ratignolle is happy to do whatever her husband wishes, Edna will not indulge her husband at all, at one point even telling him "Don't speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you" (Chopin 80). Edna also had extremely rebellious views on her family life, thinking of her children as passing pleasures rather than the sole purpose of her existence (Klein 4).

The horrifying effects of rape and what Celie thought was incest so greatly scarred her for the rest of her life that she lost the ability to love, became confused about her sexuality, and subconsciously denied her right to an identity. For a considerable amount of time Celie blindly accepted the fact that she would be treated like a slave in her own home. As a result, Celie demonstrated intense fear and a complete lack of love toward her husband. Because Mr. _____ had originally wanted to marry Celie’s older sister Nettie he felt that in settling for Celie he had the right to treat her as his property. Celie was completely aware of these arrangements “Mr.

Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair. New York: Norton & Company, 1988.

Marreco, Anne. The Rebel Countess, the Life and Times of Constance. New York: Chilton Book Company, 1967. Sonneborn, Liz. A to Z of Native American Women.

Works Cited Kennedy, David M., and Lizabeth Cohen. "Chapter 35, Manpower and Womanpower." The American Pageant Volume 2 Since 1865. Boston, MA: Wadworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 803-804.

It was during this convention women were denied the right to participate. They were told to sit behind a curtain and were unable to voice their opinions. This outraged Elizabeth, who hoped she would be able to advocate for the abolishment of slavery alongside her husband. This sparked her relationship with Lucretia Mott and several other women. "The general discontent I felt with woman's portion as wife, housekeeper, physician, and spiritual guide, the chaotic conditions into which everything fell without her constant supervision, and the wearied, anxious look of the majority of wo... ... middle of paper ... ... that held women back.