Ambiguity in Kate Chopins The Awakening Essay - 3597 Words

Ambiguity in The Awakening Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopins The Awakening, becomes very perturbed when his wife, in the period of a few months, suddenly drops all of her responsibilities. After she admits that she has let things go, he angrily asks, on account of what? Edna is unable to provide a definite answer, and says, Oh! I dont know. Let me along; you bother me (108). The uncertainty she expresses springs out of the ambiguous nature of the transformation she has undergone. It is easy to read Ednas transformation in strictly negative terms†¹as a move away from the repressive expectations of her husband and society†¹or in strictly positive terms†¹as a move toward the love and†¦show more content†¦Edna realizes that she had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles (96). In the novel the struggle begins and it is against the demands of her husband and chi ldren. As she walks into the ocean at the end of the novel to escape her life she thinks, they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul (176). Emily Toth claims, an escape from confinement is the overriding theme of The Awakening (242). The primary means for this emotional confinement is the societal expectation, held over from the early Republican era of America, that the best way of a married woman to carry her points is to yield sometimes. Jan Lewis says that in early America it was the wife who had to bend (712). This remained true at the middle of the century when William Alcott declared the balance of concession devolves on the wife. Whether the husband concede or not, she must (32). Edna comes to understand that earlier in her life she followed this dictate without even thinking; she conceded in all cases, not with any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes, but unthinkingly, as we walk, move, sit, stand or go through the daily tread mill of the life which has been portioned out to us (78). But she now realizes that this pattern was a mere treadmill whose path was always determined byShow MoreRelatedThe Unique Style Of Kate Chopin s Writing1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe unique style of Kate Chopin’s writing has influenced and paved the way for many female authors. Although not verbally, Kate Chopin aired political and social issues affecting women and challenging the validity of such restrictions through fiction. Kate Chopin, a feminist in her time, prevailed against the notion that a woman’s purpose was to only be a housewife and nothing more. Kate Chopin fortified the importance of women empowerment, self-expression, self-assertion, and female sexuality throughRead More Margit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening1350 Words   |  6 PagesMargit Stange’s Literary Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Kate Chopin created Edna Pontellier, but neither the character nor her creator was divorced from the world in which Chopin lived. As a means to understand the choices Chopin gave Edna, Margit Stange evaluates The Awakening in the context of the feminist ideology of the late nineteenth century. Specifically, she argues that Edna is seeking what Chopin’s contemporaries denoted self-ownership, a notion that pivoted on sexual choice andRead MoreEssay on Kate Chopin1553 Words   |  7 Pages Kate Chopin: A Controversial Feminist nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kate Chopin was one of the greatest and earliest feminist writers in history, whose works have inspired some and drawn much criticism from others. Chopin, through her writings, had shown her struggle for freedom and individuality. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Katherine (O’Flaherty) Chopin was born February 8, 1851 to a wealthy Irish Catholic Family in St. Louis, Missouri (â€Å"Kate Chopin† 1). Her father, Thomas O’Flaherty, was a founderRead More feminaw Seeking a New Identity for Women in The Awakening Essay1461 Words   |  6 PagesSeeking a New Identity for Women in  The Awakening      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Awakening, Chopin questions gender roles. Chopin seeks an identity for women that is neither wife nor mother. To achieve this end, she incorporates progressive feminist ideas into her writing. Yet, in the end, Chopin also shows that, because of years of conditioning, many women are unable to escape society’s stereotypical roles by any satisfactory means. The protagonist of the novel, Edna Pontellier, does not possess the skillsRead More Kate Chopins Awakening - Edna Pontellier as Master of Her Destiny3367 Words   |  14 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Kate Chopins The Awakening, the main character, Edna leaves her husband to find place in the world. Edna believes her new sexually independent power will make her master of her own life. But, as Martin points out, she has overestimated her strength and is still hampered by her limited ability to direct her energy and to master her emotions (22). Unfortunately, Edna has been educated too much in the traditions of society and not enough in reason and independent survival, admittingRead More19th and 20th Century Gender Expectations in Literature2483 Words   |  10 Pageswomen were not equal to men and the expectations of women were not equal as well. This point will be illustrated by comparative analysis of two separate forms of literature: Tristan Bernard’s humorous play I’m Going! A Comedy in One Act, and Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"The Story of an Hour.† Authors can use plays, stories or poems to bring us into th eir world, and through imagination we can connect with them, if only briefly, and enjoy their point of view and what they are trying to convey. ThroughRead MoreCompare and Constrast Wide Sargasso Sea and the Awakening1796 Words   |  8 PagesCompare and contrast how ‘Patriarchy’ shows oppression in ‘The Awakening’ and ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’. ‘Patriarchy’ is a social organisation in which the father or eldest male is head of a household or tribe, having supreme authority over his women and children. It is a system of government, where men hold the power, and women are largely excluded from it. A patriarchal civilisation promotes the dominance of men in social or cultural societies. Jean Rhys (August 24th – 1890 May 14th 1979) was a DominicanRead MoreHenry James, the Art of Fiction and the Turn on the Screw3624 Words   |  15 Pagesevents, but also emotions, impressions and perceptions that are shown to the reader from her (and only hers) point of view. This unidirectional presentation of events affects the reliability of the governess’s narration, thus generating the sense of ambiguity we will refer to in the following section. Henry James also discusses the idea of the novel as a living creature, that is to say, observing all its parts functioning and helping each other as a whole. According to the author, the constituents ofRead MoreAp Literature Open Response Questions3435 Words   |  14 Pagesprimitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 2005: In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), the protagonist, Edna Pontellier is said to possess â€Å"that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.† In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who conforms outwardly while questioningRead MoreFiction and Work Essay4238 Words   |  17 Pageswork that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, howe ver, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot. 1974. Choose a work