Introduction

The Awakening was written by Kate Chopin and published in 1899. It is set in nineteenth-century New Orleans, Louisiana. Kate Chopin, also the author of the short story "The Story of an Hour," was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1851. Chopin drew from personal experience to write The Awakening; at the age of 20 she married, by the time she was 29 she had already given birth to six children, and she eventually became submerged in the Creole culture of New Orleans. The novel, which centered around Edna Pontellier and her inability to accept the motherly and wifely duties she was expected to have, was a social commentary on the role of women in an oppressive society. The Awakening became a staple in the world of literary feminism.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

I know this is one post too many, but I've had an epiphany. In my recent posts I made the argument that Edna, though a feminist figure, was still weak. But maybe it is not so much that she is as weak as she had always been. Yes, she gave in easily to temptation and allowed her moods to fluctuate in relation to those around her. But it is unfair for me to call her weak because of her encounters with men when they committed the same acts as her. All of the characters were weak, for in the novel human folly ran deep. Edna became as strong as she could have possibly become, as strong as the womanizer in town, as the maternally figure who stood on the opposite end of the spectrum as her, as the husband who tried to buy love with gifts. However, it was still not good enough.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousApril 9, 2011 at 1:19 PM

    I agree with this fully. By the end of the story Edna was a totally different person, ignoring her husband's wants and all. The fact that she let her moods change according to those around her can't be used to call her weak because everybody does this. For example, if I'm extremely happy about something, so is my bestfriend.

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