What Is Edna Pontellier's Role In The Awakening A Feminist Essay

943 Words2 Pages

In the late 18th century and early 19th century women's rights in American society were not of much importance. Women we known for maintaining and running the house. They were not allowed to future their education. Men would look at women as property not as a human. "The Awakening" written in late 18th century by Kate Chopin read under the feminist criticism perspective, Edna Pontellier a protagonist in search for her inner identity reaches out to the open world breaking the barrels of society where there are few changes towards women rights.
Edna Pontellier is a married woman with 2 children, who has a different objective in her future life. She wants to be different from all the women in the society and breaks societal rules in order …show more content…

Mr.Pontellier tells Edna, ““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). Mr.Pontellier looked at every married woman as a part of a property and the owner being the husband. Edna got married to Mr.Pontellier at a very young age. Studies have shown that “Child marriage … destroy childhoods,” (Chopra). In case of Edna her early marriage to Mr.Pontellier have resulted her to have no motherly affection towards her two sons. Edna left her sons and her husband for various reasons such as “expression in unprecedented levels of cruelty direction against women.” (Sirleaf) and for the want to be successful through education. In the world we live in today, “history will judge us not by what we say in this moment in time, but by what we do next to lift the lives of our … women.” (Sirleaf). Women are treated as property when they are enslaved in the societal regulation. Mr.Pontellier treated Edna as his slave not as his wife or the mother of his sons. He takes advantage of him being a man and daily abuses Edna. It was time that Edna spoke up for “women having equal rights” (Yousafzai) by leaving her old life and entering a new life about her only. Her new life included no impacts of the societal rules and regulation. It should be “the last time that a girl is forced

Show More
Related

  • growaw Personal Growth and Death of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier was on her way to an awakening. She realized during the book, she was not happy with her position in life. It is apparent that she had never really been fully unaware  However, because her own summary of this was some sort of blissful ignorance. Especially in the years of life before her newly appearing independence, THE READER SEES HOW she has never been content with the way her life had turned out. For example she admits she married Mr. Pontellier out of convenience rather than love. EDNA knew he loved her, but she did not love him. It was not that she did not know what love was, for she had BEEN INFATUATED BEFORE, AND BELIEVED IT WAS love. She consciously chose to marry Mr. Pontellier even though she did not love him. When she falls in love with Robert she regrets her decision TO MARRY Mr. Pontellier. HOWEVER, readers should not sympathize, because she was the one who set her own trap. She did not love her husband when she married him, but SHE never once ADMITS that it was a bad decision. She attributes all the problems of her marriage to the way IN WHICH SOCIETY HAS defined the roles of men and women. She does not ACCEPT ANY OF THE BLAME, AS HER OWN.  The only other example of married life, in the book, is Mr. and Mrs. Ratignolle, who portray the traditional role of married men and women of the time. Mr. Pontellier also seems to be a typical man of society. Edna, ON THE OTHER HAND, was not A TYPICAL WOMAN OF SOCIETY. Mr. Pontellier knew this but OBVIOUSLY HAD NOT ALWAYS. This shows IS APPARENT in the complete lack of constructive communication between the two. If she had been able to communicate with her husband they may have been able to work OUT THEIR PROBLEMS, WHICH MIGHT HAVE MADE Edna MORE SATISFIED WITH her life.

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier's Regression In The Awakening

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    Essentially, Edna is not able to fulfill any of the roles that are presented by Chopin in the novel: mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend, artist, lover to either man, and finally the traditional role of a woman in society. She does not quite fit into any niche, and thus her suicide at the end of the novel is the only way for Edna’s story to end. Chopin must have Edna die, as she cannot survive in this restrained society in which she does not belong to. The idea of giving yourself completely to serve another, Edna declares “that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, or for any one” (47). However, her awakening is also a realization of her underprivileged position in a male dominated society. The first sign that Edna is becoming comfortable with herself, and beginning to loosen the constrictions of not being an individual is when she asks Robert, her husband, to retrieve her shawl: "When he returned with the shawl she took it and kept it in her hand. She did not put it around her" (30). Edna is trying to establish herself as an artist in a society where there is no tradition of women as creative beings. For any woman to suggest a desire for a role outside the domestic sphere, as more than a mother or housewife, was perceived as

    Read More

  • growaw Epiphany of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...as a sexual being for the first time following her experience in the water.  She begins to glory in the beauty of her own body and begins a romantic liaison with a man who is not her husband.  For the first time in her adult life, Edna begins to live according to her own desires, not those of her husband or society.

    Read More

  • Awakening

    2436 Words  | 5 Pages

    Most marriages end in divorce. Indeed, the degree and level of suffering and pain throughout the populace is almost unfathomable. Perhaps, Ms. Chopin was living out a vicarious reality through Edna in committing suicide...and perhaps, this may be the underlying reason for the great reception which this novel has enjoyed...as well as staying power. Similarly, it has also been appointed a kind of jewel of the vanguard of women's rights. Indeed, "The Awakening" is one novel which exemplifies the attempt -- even realization -- of American womanhood's escape from personal and domestic bondage.

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's novella, The Awakening

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    how quickly women succumb to their "roles", and how easily people can. be shaped to consider a different and all too meaningless set of morals. The sexy of the sexy. Edna is strategically alienated in the novella so as to be the

    Read More

  • Naked and Free in The Awakening

    491 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Awakening, by Kate Chopin seems to fit neatly into twentieth century ideals.  Chopin addresses psychological issues that must have been difficult for people of the late nineteenth century to grasp.  Just as Edna died a premature death, Chopin's book died too.  The rejection of this book, at the time, ironically demonstrates the pressure many women must have felt to conform to society.  Chopin shows the reader, through Edna Pontellier, that society restricts women the right to individuality.  This restriction by society can be seen in the clothing Victorian women wore during the time.

    Read More

  • Domesticity And True Womanhood In The Awakening

    2089 Words  | 5 Pages

    At the beginning of the novel Edna’s position in life is that of wife and mother. It is expected by society that she is devoted and serve her husband and children. This is particularly evident when her husband says to her “ If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it?” (7).

    Read More

  • Feminism in "The Awakening"

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. According to dictionary.reference.com the word feminism means, “The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.” The Awakening takes place during the late eighteen hundreds to early nineteen hundreds, in New Orleans. The novel is about Edna Pontellier and her family on a summer vacation. Edna, who is a wife and mother, is inferior to her husband, Leonce, and must live by her husband’s desires. While on vacation Edna becomes close friends with Adele Ratignolle, who helps Edna discover she must be “awakened”. Adele is a character who represents the ideal woman. She is loving, compassionate, and motherly. Throughout the novel Edna seeks something more from life than what she has been living. Also, she is unhappy with her marriage, and all through the summer falls in love with Robert Lebrun. Furthermore, Edna attempts to become independent, free, and in control of her own destiny. During this time period the Feminist movement was taking place. The Feminist movement was a time when women fought to prove themselves equal to men. Women fought for the rights to vote, have jobs, and go to school. The late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds showcased the power the women had to prove their equality. According to the excerpt, “Women of Color in The Awakening” by Elizabeth Ammons, “… The Awakening is its heroine’s break for freedom.” Ultimately, this shows how most women, especially Edna Pontellier, try to break free from the burden of society. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, showcases the feminist critical approach through women’s roles, women characters, influences, and in...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in "The Awakening"

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna Pontellier is a delicate character, attempting to find happy ground between the devoted mother-woman, Adele, and the independent, cold woman, Reisz. I believe that through

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier’s Fall from Grace in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1991 Words  | 4 Pages

    The neglect of her duties as a wife and mother and as a woman of society are all affected by her mental state. Her choices to have affairs and disregard her vow of marriage represent her impaired judgment. The change in her attitude and interests becomes quite irresponsible, and that change, along with her final decision to commit suicide, tells the reader that Edna Pontellier is not capable of making valid judgments. Had Edna Pontellier been of sound mind and body, she would not have ended her young life by suicide. The fact that she can clearly and easily turn to such an alternative suggests that she is depressed and obviously in opposition to the church.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Importance of the Houses in The Awakening

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the novel starts out Edna is a housewife to her husband, Mr. Pontellier, and is not necessarily unhappy or depressed but knows something is missing. Her husband does not treat her well. "...looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." She is nothing but a piece of property to him; he has no true feelings for her and wants her for the sole purpose of withholding his reputation. "He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it?" Mr. Pontellier constantly brings her down for his own satisfaction not caring at all how if affects Edna.

    Read More

  • The Awakening

    1891 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Selfish Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Could the actions of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening ever be justified? This question could be argued from two different perspectives. The social view of The Awakening would accuse Edna Pontellier of being selfish and unjustified in her actions. Yet, in terms of the story's romanticism, Edna was in many ways an admirable character. She liberated herself from her restraints and achieved nearly all that she desired. Chopin could have written this novel to glorify a woman in revolt against conventions of the period. Yet, since the social standpoint is more factual and straightforward, it is the basis of this paper. Therefore, no, her affairs, treatment of her family and lovers, and suicide were completely unwarranted. She was not denied love or support by any of those close to her. Ultimately Edna Pontellier was simply selfish.

    Read More

  • Edna's Struggle for Power in Chopin's The Awakening

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a woman, she is completely at the mercy of her husband. He provides for her a lifestyle she could not obtain on her own and fixes her place in society. This vulnerability stops Edna from being truly empowered. To gain independence as a woman, and as a person, Edna must relinquish the stability and comfort she finds in the relationship with her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier's marriage comprises a series of power plays and responds well to Marxist and Feminist Theory. Leonce Pontellier looks "…at his wife as one who looks at a valuable piece of property…". He views her as an accessory that completes the ideal life for him. Edna, however, begins to desire autonomy and independence from Leonce, so true to the feminist point of view.

    Read More

  • Breaking the Social Norms: Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about What Is Edna Pontellier's Role In The Awakening A Feminist Essay

Open Document