The Awakening: Scholarly Article Response

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.

In his article “An Abuse of Art in Chopin’s ‘The Awakening,’” Joseph Church argues that Mademoiselle Reisz represents a “self-serving and self-deceived artist,” “a cautionary tale” who threatens to lead the dependent and weak Edna down the same path she has crossed. I agree with the point Church makes in his article, though not from the same condemnatory platform he stands on. Ms. Reisz is definitely a cautionary tale, the living and breathing personification of Edna’s future had she continued to perpetrate selfishness and a lack of concern for the opinions of others.

Link to the article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27747229

Pages

Introduction

Scholarly Article Response