The Awakening Alienation Quotes

The Awakening Essay

The Awakening

There is a variety of people that are alienated by others for the view of their culture or society, it may be because of their gender, race, class, or creed. Edna Pontellier from The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is an example of a character who felt alienated from society. Edna Pontellier is in the Victorian era; a mother-women in the society amongst the Creoles who is one of the many restrained of society's beliefs and nature. The society she lives in believing a mother-women should “idolize their children, worshiped their husbands” ( ), a mother-woman who should put her family herself. Edna, however, is a mother-woman who is breaking away of these stereotypical beliefs because she did not find her true happiness

She felt a sense of fulfillment when she brought it with the money she had earned from the horse race she had gone with her father. It pleased her that “Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual” ( ). She was able to make the pigeon house her own, decorate it the way she wants it without others criticism. When her husband received the news of her actions he immediately felt a sense urgency of the fact that rumors may spread. Rumors about “ his financial integrity. It might get noised about that the Pontelliers had met with reverses... It might do incalculable mischief to his business prospects” ( ). He was afraid how his status as a creole will be damaged for the actions of his wife. This shows how distanced he is from his wife because he did not think about the reason for Edna’s actions. He sent her a letter telling her that she must return home, but he knew of “Enda’s whimsical turn of mind of late” ( ) and so he took matters into his own hands. He did not try to look for a reason for Edna’s actions because he is a creole, he does not feel alienated by others from the society he has lived in all his life. Edna has which is why she thought of him foolish, why should the people of the society care about her family affairs. Edna knew that society will not come to accept for who she really is, which made