Essay on What It Means To Be A Woman in The Awakening by...

Women determine their success through a variety of factors, such as their kids, their friends, their career, and their state of living. Many women want to be independent and self-sufficient, while others want to be a homemaker and stay at home with their family. In the novel, The Awakening, the women, who are treated as inferior creatures and as the property of men, focus on their personal and social lives, rather than their professional lives. However, Edna wants to break the societal ideals that determine what a woman does, and she desires to be free to do what she wants, rather than what society wants of her. First, she must break free of her barriers such as the society and her husband. Là ©once, along with the other men in the Creole†¦show more content†¦One of them was the embodiment of the every womanly grace and charm.† This quote shows that the Creole society deemed Madame Ratignolle a perfect woman, as she embraced the role society had given her. Adà ©le Ratignolle was a â€Å"mother-woman† along with the rest of the mothers in the society. She mothers Edna as well as her own children throughout the novel, and always manages to bring her children up during group discussions. â€Å"She was always talking about her ‘condition’ Her ‘condition’ was in no way apparent, and now one would have known a thing about it but for her persistence in making it a subject for conversation.† This quote emphasizes how much of her focus is on children, whether they are newborn babies, or little kids. During her visit to Edna’s summer cottage, she brings patterns of baby clothes to sew for both Edna and her, while the y discuss other events, even though neither is pregnant, and Edna is content with her children’s wardrobe for the winter. During another visit to Edna’s summer cottage, Madame Ratignolle is mobbed by her children. â€Å"Her little ones ran to meet her. Two of them clung about her white skirts, the third she took from its nurse...bore it along in her own fond encircling arms. Though, as everybody well knew, the doctor had forbidden her to lift so much as a pin.† Through this quote, Madame Ratignolle is characterized as a woman who is focused more on her children than herself, as she is willingShow 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 tim e, 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 The Transformation of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening Essay950 Words   |  4 Pagesanything: she did not know what† (Chopin). In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a passionate, rebellious woman. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent how unsettled Edna feels about her life. The reader can identify this by her thoughts, desires, and actions, which are highly inappropriate for an affluent woman of the time. In the novel, Edna has an awakening and finds the courage to make the changes she sees necessary. Kate Chopin is able to make qualityRead MoreEssay about Feminism in The Awakening986 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel The Awakening, by Kate Chopin the critical approach feminism is a major aspect of the novel. 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The novel is set in South Louisiana, a place where tradition and culture also play a vital role in societal expectations. The novel’s protagonist, Edna Pontellier, initially fulfills her position in society as a wife and as a mother while suppressing her urges to live a life of passion and freedom. Edna’s relationshipRead MoreThe Escape of a Modern Housewife in Kate Chopins The Awakening1335 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent from the other self† (Chopin 67). The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a compelling story of a woman who is awakened from the miserable duties of a housewife and mother to a woman who falls in love and finds herself. This story is not to judge a woman for having an affair with her husband, but it is to make the reader fall in love with this woman named Edna and go with her on her journey of finding herself. Edna is an extraordinary chara cter in The Awakening, and it makes the reader see theRead MoreEssay on The Significance of Art in Chopins The Awakening873 Words   |  4 Pagesawakens to art. Originally, Edna â€Å"dabbled† with sketching â€Å"in an unprofessional way† (Chopin 543). She could only imitate, although poorly (Dyer 89). She attempts to sketch Adà ¨le Ratignolle, but the picture â€Å"bore no resemblance† to its subject. After her awakening experience in Grand Isle, Edna begins to view her art as an occupation (Dyer 85). She tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she is â€Å"becoming an artist† (Chopin 584). Women traditionally viewed art as a hobby, but to Edna, it was much more importantRead MoreEssay about Kate Chopins Awakening is Not a Tragedy1321 Words   |  6 PagesKate Chopins Awakening is Not a Tragedy      Ã‚  Ã‚   When we think of a tragedy, thoughts of lost love and torments abound. The most human of emotions, sorrow, overwhelms us. We agonize over the tragedy, and the tragic figure. We lose sight of reality, enthralled by the suspense, captured by the Irony that, we know what plight lies ahead for the characters. We feel the suffering and the helplessness of the characters as the tragedy unwinds. Although Kate Chopins The AwakeningRead 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 skills