The Importance of Male Characters to Kate Chopin
Why and how does she use them?
Kate Chopin is an author who examines the position of women in 19th
century Louisiana. She describes their plight, living in a society
designed by men, one that confines women’s behavior. It was
imperative for Kate Chopin to highlight her male characters, as they
ultimately are responsible for her heroines’ actions. The “Awakening”
and “Desiree’s Baby” are two examples that deal with the issues
resulting from a male dominant society, though the stories vary in
their approach. Men and marriage are however the common factors that
symbolize the obstacles that Kate Chopin’s women face.
In “The Awakening” Edna, the main character enjoys being married at
first but later she finds it to be very limiting and oppressive. A
free spirit by nature, she rebels against her husband and the life
that he stands for. She hates the implications that women in her
society “belong” to men, and that their place is at home doing
domestic chores and raising children. This impression is reinforced
when Kate Chopin lets the reader view the situation through Edna’s
eyes, saying that women are regarded “as one looks at a valuable piece
of property…” (p.11) Furthermore, men decide women’s role in life
declaring that “if it is not a (woman’s) place to look after children,
who on earth was it?” (p.15) This role is so precisely defined,
ensuring that women will stay within the walls of the house with their
families.
Marriage was the process by which men gained total control over women.
The author indicates that a marriage at that period of time was not
always carefully planned but was rather a spontaneous and passionate
act. For example, Edna’s “ma...
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... was arrogant and overconfident of himself
and his heritage, and was sure that the fault was Desiree’s never
questioning his own ancestry. By jumping to conclusions he never gave
her a chance to explain herself to him. At the end, Desiree who had
been overwhelmed and desperate drowned herself and her baby.
Kate Chopin developed her female characters as reaction to male
attitudes. She used men, marriage and the rules by which women were
confined to demonstrate her point. She described men as the ones who
placed obstacles in women’s way, created social rules and put
restrictions that confined their lives. These boundaries were at times
physical but almost always emotional, and eliciting defiant behavior
and reactions from the women involved. Placed by men, these
limitations helped in shaping the female character of Kate Chopin’s
heroines in her stories.
In the book, The Awakening, Kate Chopin addresses a common struggles woman face in society through the main character Edna Pontellier during the 1800s. Edna Pontellier is an American woman infused with charm and grace. Edna’s charm could not escape her. She moved gracefully among the crowds and appeared self-contained. Edna learned to master her feeling by not showing outward and spoken feelings of affections, either in herself or in others. This type of behavior appears common in society and understood within Edna’s the marriage relationship with her husband. However, one summer while vacationing at the Grand Isle, the reserved manner Edna always enveloped began to loosen a little and her soul began to awaken.
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
One example of gender criticism Chopin accounts in her writing is the love between the women in the novel which has been suppressed throughout history as “lesbian” encounters in order to uphold male power and privilege (LeBlanc 2). Edna’ friendships with Mademoiselle Reisz and Adele Ratignolle both act as different buffers into Edna’s sexual and personal “awakening.” Edna’s a...
Society of the 19th century gave a heightened meaning to what it meant to be a women. According to the commonly known “code of true womanhood” women are supposed to be docile, domestic creations whose main concerns in life were to be raising children and submissiveness to their husbands. In the book The Awakening written by Kate Chopin; introduces the protagonist, Edna Pontellier a rebellious twenty-eight year old woman who is dissatisfied with the role of being a wife and mother, a woman who desires independence and sexual freedom. She soon discovers she doesn’t quite fit into the role that has been given to her. Through the use of symbolism, imagery, and irony. Chopin exposes expectations for women in order to be accepted during the Victorian
The novel The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, sparked much controversy among the nation with topics of marital infidelity and most importantly, gender roles. This story set in Louisiana, centered on around a woman that questions and fails to meet societies standards, as well as roles as a wife and mother. Her failures and struggles as a woman allow us to gain a better understanding about gender roles in the late 1800s.
...Chopin’s character, Edna Pontellier, serves as a reminder that if a suburban housewife can seize and transform her destiny so too can the rest of womankind.
With an author ahead of her time, Kate Chopin challenged the ideas of how women should be seen socially. Chopin frankly portrays women as emotional, intelligent and sexual beings. While it might seem that Chopin offers positive examples of female characters, in actuality they are complicated, messy and ultimately negative. All of her main female character seem to experience self-awareness, something very important at that time period because while women had feelings and thoughts, they weren't recognized by society, these feelings of independence and discovery are often temporary, still bound to social limitations. In some cases, it requires the Chopin brings attention to women's internal struggles with themselves and who they are told to be in a society that dismisses female autonomy, she doesn't do anything to solve or change them. It often appears that there is a choice between being independent or being married because identity is often lost in marriage and characters are unable to find a balance, making the characters hopeless.
Kate Chopin is very well known for her extremely unique writing. Not only are her works striking of feminism, but the way she approached topics were not easily tolerated at that time especially for her gender. Many of her stories tie into marriage and the unhappiness that it brings. In Desiree’s Baby Chopin says, “And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him…” Comparing the woman’s husband to that of Satan shows the intensity of disgust between the two in the relationship. Strong statements such as these are often seen in “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour.” In Chopin’s life she was married, and her stories lead me to believe that she viewed her marriage as a trap and suffered from lack of privacy and control. Despite how provoking Chopin’s works were she was long ignored by readers and critics until her stories hit the surface in the 1960’s and became more popular. The women in her stories are constantly seeking freedom, lust, and attention.
Women of the 1800s struggled through life, and fought for the same rights that men had. They were often stuck in relationships that made them unhappy. Kate Chopin wrote The Awakening hoping to demonstrate the life of a woman searching for a new life. Chopin lived the life of a curious woman in the 1800s. Normally “… the role [of wifehood] has traditionally satisfied a woman’s love and for a feeling of belonging” (Skaggs, 2) but for Chopin, the circumstance was different. She believed that becoming a wife and a mother forced her to subordinate herself from masculine authority. She lost many people in her life and had to begin supporting her family at a very young age. Then, later in her life, “she found herself thrust into another new role, adjusting again to new relationships with people and to a new image of herself” (Skaggs, 2). All of these experiences in Chopin’s life helped her to develop the main character of her novel; a young woman striving for love, freedom and independence.
Elizabeth Fox Genovese of Emory University shared in a PBS interview that “She [Kate Chopin] was very important as one of the earliest examples of modernism in the United States or, if you wish, the cutting edge of modernism in American literature” (PBS – Interviews). Kate Chopin published At Fault, her first novel, in 1890 and The Awakening, her last novel, in 1898 (Guilds 924). During these years Chopin wrote numerous other works and most, like At Fault and The Awakening, centered around upper-middle class Creole or French women involved in womanly uncertainties; such as, extramarital affairs, acceptable behavior in society for females, duties as a wife, responsibilities as a mother, and religious beliefs. Chopin was an extraordinary woman, and no indication was made, during the investigation of this research paper, reflecting her having regrets regarding her position as a wife or mother. This document is an attempt at comparing the issues the main characters experienced and presenting Chopin’s unique skill in writing about the culture she observed during her years of living in Louisiana. The tragedy of this author’s existence is that during her life the literary world did not recognize such exceptional skill.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assigns gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically, Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolve around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom for women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dreams and impose their will on their wives (149).
During the nineteenth century, Chopin’s era, women were not allowed to vote, attend school or even hold some jobs. A woman’s role was to get married, have children
The time period, season, location, and surroundings of a character reveal a great deal about them. Kate Chopin's "The Story of An Hour" is an excellent example of how setting affects the reader's perception of the story. There is an enormous amount of symbolism expressed through the element of setting in this short story. So well, in fact, that words are hardly necessary to descriptively tell the story of Mrs. Mallard's hour of freedom. Analyzing the setting for "The Story of An Hour" will give a more complete understanding of the story itself. There are many individual parts that, when explained and pieced together, will both justify Mrs. Mallard's attitude and actions toward her husband's death and provide a visual expression of her steadily changing feelings throughout the story.
For many centuries, literature has been used to communicated various ideas and wisdom gained from experiences. The idea of masculinity and male superiority can be best portrayed in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. The novel takes place at a luxurious resort known as the Grand Isle, located in New Orleans, during the mid-1800s. Edna Pontellier, one of the main characters in the novel, struggles to find happiness, love, and freedom. Her attitude towards many aspects of life are much different than other married women around her. This novel is very unique mainly because of the time period it was written in. During this era, strict gender roles were enforced and women had many restrictions. The duties of women were strictly fixated on cooking, cleaning, and nurturing. Edna Pontellier craved for independence. She became depressed due to the monotonous and cookie cutter society that she was forced to conform in. The plot of the novel focuses on Edna’s journey to progress into an independent women in this male driven soc...
...ree for his problems and treats her with disrespect. The issues and problems in Kate Chopin?s stories also connect with issues in today?s society. There still exist many men in this world who hold low opinions of women, are hypocritical in their thoughts, dealings, and actions with women, and treat honorable, respectable women poorly, just as Charles and Armand did in Chopin?s stories. Women in ?Desiree?s Baby? and ?A Point at Issue? strive for personal freedom and equality which equates to modern times in that some women are still paid less for doing the same job as men and in some countries, women still cannot vote. The relationship between men and women in Chopin?s stories still, in some effect, directly apply to today?s world.