Gender Stereotypes In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Breaking the Bonds of Gender Stereotypes Throughout history women have been accustomed to and forced into being house wives and caretakers of their husband and children. Having to put aside their dreams and desires that extend past their homes and families. In the novel The Awakening written by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier challenges the roles and duties placed upon her by the generations of women who came before her. She no longer let her wishes come second to the stereotypical gender roles of the late eighteenth century. Chopin portrays a woman’s desire to break away from social norms and live for herself through the main character Edna Pontellier buying her own house, having a relationship with another man while being married, and ultimately taking her own life when she felt she had no other way to be truly happy. In the late eighteenth century women were deemed as housewives within their husband's home by the social norms of society. Chopin challenges this idea many different times throughout the novel. One of the most noteable times would be when Edna Pontellier set out to purchase her own more modest home to live in without her husband. Within the novel it was stated, “The pigeon-house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself

Chopin portrayed a woman’s desire to break away from social norms and live for herself through the main character Edna Pontellier buying her own house, having a relationship with another man while being married, and ultimately taking her own life when she felt she had no other way to be truly happy. Chopin’s decision to write about such controversial views is what made this novel one to be remembered for years to come. This novel brought to light the challenges and prejudice that all women during that time period felt, and some women still might feel