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ComSF4 Teoría Literaria (Piñeyro) 1ra
ComSF4 Teoría Literaria (Piñeyro) 1ra
ComSF4 Teoría Literaria (Piñeyro) 1ra
Licenciatura en Inglés
Comisión: SF4
Introduction
It was a shared belief in the times of Victorian society that uninhibited sex
manifestations were a threat to the social order, as that was assumed to risk the mental
well being and engendering capacity of mankind. Particularly the sexual lust of women
were largely regarded as inappropriate, inconvenient and unnatural, and were hence
denied them. Procreating should be the only object for women to be involved in sexual
intercourse. Due to this, sexual desires, passion or raptures hardly exist for most
The purpose of this essay, therefore, is to analyse Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
paying close attention to its main character, Edna Pontellier. The goal of this paper is to
prove that Chopin wanted to illustrate a society ruled by a dominant patriarchy in the
times she wrote her novel which will be the factor to explain Edna’s suicide. The
analysis will be accomplished in the light of gender and sex roles and examining how
still taking, a critical amount of liberal, artistic, civic and ethical vision to change such
rooted forces of inequality, domination, power and injustice. Chopin was one of many
female American writers who ardently stood for a world in which men and women
could maintain equal freedom and self-sufficiency. In her fundamental novel, “The
Awakening”, Chopin illustrates a cultural and even unconscious attittude that expected
extreme of subjugation to their husbands, children, and sorrounding society. She voices
this traditional view by means of multiple different points of view which are ,in some
cases, contrasted with Edna's own, and then convinces the reader as to its injustice by
use of symbolic language, dialogues and scene descriptions which make the reader feel
Puzzled by Edna's unruly way of behaving, which diferred so much from the model of
wife and mother she had shown up to now, the other characters who sorround Edna’s
life misunderstand the cultural model of servitude and devotion with 'home and family'
an idea which Chopin wants to change. Quite satisfactorily,the author manipulates point
of view and perspective managing to place the reader’s perspective on Edna's change,
on her awakening, opposing it to Edna's own thoughts which haunt her every time she
acquires a sense of liberation. These thoughts form altogether a feeling of guilt which
show how dominant and mindset society is in those times and how helpless ne may be
choices .Edna's husband constantly presents obstacles to Edna's new realizations. Quite
at the beginning of the novel we read that Mr Pontellier, "[looks] at his wife as one
looks at a valuable piece of personal property," this illustrates perfectly the type of
husband-wife relation they lead. Edna is a possession he certainly cares for and
appreciates. However, Edna is part of that male idea of possession to him, and he views
controlled, being this a shared and common agreement fitting the standards of society
which becomes incompatible and unjustifiable to the eyes and interpretation of the
The other male characters presented in the novel form part of the stereotype and , each
of them from different perspective, reinforce this idea of dominance of the male sex
over the female. Among these men, we may point out Dr Mandelet who becomes aware
of Edna’s change and realizes that the society in which they live is full of stereotypes,
perceiving the effects which the demanded gender roles can generate on weaker
remedy, for her pains of subjugation. Also, Robert Lebrun seems to understand Edna’s
awakening and feels moved by her situation. Aware of a radical change in Edna, he
chooses to stay apart and go away despite the fact that he loves her, accomplishing, in
this way, what society expects everybody to do. Edna, in her idealized naivetè, thinks
that Robert is different from others while he is not, since he also imagines Edna as the
perfect woman for a wife , falling into the standardised categories Edna wants to escape.
manipulate others at her will and Alcee serves to be the one manipulated, the instrument
with which she will discover the development of her sexuality and this holds a
significant role at the moment she takes her decisions to disregard and oppose her
husband's wishes, to lead imprudent affairs, and to finally leave her husband's home.
Edna’s immaturity regarding relationships is shown throughout the novel until the
moment of her awakening when the real woman who had been sleeping all this time
suddenly emerges. At this time, after six years of marriage and being also the mother of
two boys, Edna felt a painful emptiness. Consequently, in this sort of sudden and
uncontrolled existentialism, she abandons her duties even when her children are sick or
bored. But it is this same immaturity which prevents her from flying, as Maidmosselle
Reiz puts it, as her wings are not strong enough. Her mind is divided into her duties, an
unconscious sense of guilt which persistently follows her, and this new revelation in her
life which cannot be hidden but at the same time cannot be fulfilled.
Finally, Edna decides to walk ahead into the sea which embraces her, and has been
evoked many times throughout the novel as "seductive, enfolding the body in its soft,
close embrace", providing her with the freedom she lacks being alive. In this way, she
breaks the ties which have oppressed her, and this is her own decision. Edna knows she
is a woman not suitable for the times she has been living, a woman who can foresee the
outcomes of trying to lead a life of her own. Nothing can be the same by now, because
she has discovered her essential nature, and that cannot be concealed.
Conclusion
Given the conditions and characteristics of too hard and strict a society , it seems that
Edna's death is the only viable alternative that Edna can go through. She can no longer
endure a life as simply a wife and mother, and she does not find realization in art or in
casual relationships. The man whom she loves has deserted her, dawning on her that he
also belongs to a society that has indirectly condemned her, quickly realizing that his
departure does not mean much. The only way out she has is that harmony and freedom
that comes about with death, a drastic change, a rebirth. Death represented one aspect
With the publishing of The Awakening Chopin has achieved her purpose of illustrating a
patriarcal society which has the power to invade, forbid, and even destroy the psyche of
a woman, giving contemporary readers a deep impression of both the social structures
and the effects that these structures have had over generations of women. This novel
also exposes us in front of a female protagonist with whom we can feel identified, and
This was not only the suicide of Edna Pontellier but a reflection of a women generation
shadowed by the power of men in the times The Awakening was written. Edna killed
herself, killing any chance of daring to change customs and conveniences, those
Edna Pontellier is the woman who , though at the end of her life, manipulated destiny
over the conventions of a despotic and dictatorial society paying a high price, having no
Bibliography
Bertens, Hans. Literary Theory. The Basics. London and New York: Routledge,
2001.
39:1,72
Moi, Toril. “Two feminist classics”, in Sexual /Textual politics: Feminist literary
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