The Awakening and Butterfly Burning

The Awakening and Butterfly Burning

The summaries do not add anything to the paper and could (should) have been skipped. Given the thesis of the paper, I would have liked to have seen a discussion of the male / female conflict, and a more detailed discussion of the individual / society conflict. The two women's struggles "to find their own sense of individuality" are, after all, attempts to free themselves from the expectations of their husbands and of the societies in which they live. Such an exploration might have led the writer to some conclusions about the major differences in the two novels. (Note that the conclusion basically summarizes similarities.) The writer of the paper might well have come to conclusions different than those I am about to describe -- the following comments, in other words, are meant to suggest the type of discussion that I would have liked to have seen.

Edna's husband (The Awakening) is financially much better off than is Phephelaphi's (Butterfly). He is, however, portrayed as not particularly loving -- he prefers to spend his time either at work, or gambling with his friends. Phephelaphi's husband spends time away from her, but he needs to do that in order to earn a living. Indeed, Edna's husband is basically indifferent about whatever she does. Phephelaphi's seems to care more about her, but he is clearly upset about her abortion. This leads, if I remember correctly, to his having sex with another woman, just the opposite of the situation in The Awakening, where Edna is the one whose extra-marital affairs are emphasized. Edna is, throughout the novel, much freer from her husband than Phephelaphi is from hers. Phephelaphi's is, in other words, the more difficult marital situation.

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...hin both novels. In Butterfly Burning, Fumbatha was older and more experienced in the ways of the world than was Phephelaphi. Conversely, in The Awakening, Robert was younger than Edna and much less experienced in life than was Edna. The age differences played key roles in each novel. Age seemed to be the difference in how the world was viewed and the responsibilities required of each person. In Butterfly Burning the man was the older, seemingly settled, and wiser where in The Awakening, the man was younger and much less worldly, settled, and content.

28 In summary, both novels were a reflection of a woman’s struggle and quest to find a new identity for herself. Both novels use water as a symbol of life, death, and a gentle friend. The novels were both an awakening of the spirit and a burning of a spirit crushed like the fragile wings of a butterfly.