Essay on The Awakening - 851 Words

Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening, explores the boundaries that kept women from expressing themselves and ever being their true self. The main figure, Edna Pontellier, becomes a very influential figure in feminism through her valiant attempt to live an awakened life that she never had the chance to previously. However, the societal norms of the day, coupled with the surrounding characters around Edna, lead to her decision to commit suicide, which does not parallel the strength that Edna strove for throughout the entire book. It is for these reasons that, although Edna became a strong woman throughout the book, her final decision to commit suicide was unwarranted and took away all that she worked towards in the blink of an eye.†¦show more content†¦If it was not a mothers place to look after the children, whose was it? (7). The biggest roadblock in Ednas quest for liberty, however, was that no other woman had ever even attempted to gain these rights that Edna was striving towards. There was no feminist group in that patriarchal society, and that meant that Ednas struggle would have to be fought by herself. The importance of this detail becomes very evident when Edna began to doubt her capabilities and what she could actually change in a male dominated society. The setbacks of these societal norms played a devastating role preventing any success coming out of Ednas agonizing efforts. However, even with the failure of Ednas efforts for autonomy, she appreciates that she woke up from the submissive being she pretended to be and expressed this thought when she said, It is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all ones life, (184). With this feeling of success within herself, one has to wonder why she would eventually choose to throw it all away with the decision to commit suicide. Society wasnt the only factor that put an end to Ednas hopes and dreams of feminism. Throughout the novel it became clear that the individuals who were accustomed to a patriarchal society wanted to keep it that way. Ednas husband was one of those people who held her back. By placing the duty of collectingShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening on Kate Chopins The Awakening1745 Words   |  7 Pages The time period of the 1880s that Kate Chopin lived in influenced her to write The Awakening, a very controversial book because of many new depictions of women introduced in the book. The Awakening is a book about a woman, Edna Pontellier. In the beginning, she is a happy woman with her husband and 2 kids vacationing at Grand Isle. While there, Edna realizes she is in love with Robert Lebrun and that she was just forced into an unloving/dissatisfying marriage with Mr. Pontellier. Robert howeverRead MoreDemoralization In The Awakening1584 Words   |  7 Pagesthem and cause them to lose hope. 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