Late 19th Century Creole Socie

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and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels” (Chopin 16). Life was very difficult for Edna under these circumstances. “To a certain extent The Awakening shows Edna at the mercy of a patriarchal husband, a hot climate, a Creole lifestyle, and the circumscribed expectations of a particular class of Louisiana women” (Taylor 306). This eventually leads to Edna’s breaking free. In this society the attitudes of the husbands played a large role in Edna’s disapproval. The Creole husband is “never jealous” (Chopin 21). However, their wives “were possessions, cared for and displayed, who often brought a dowry or inherited wealth to a marriage” (Wyatt 1). Edna didn’t fit into the role of the common Creole woman because they were expected to, “subordinate their needs to their husbands wishes, in short, they were expected to be Adele” (Wyatt 1).
Women in the 1890’s were to follow certain codes and fit into prescribed ...

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very conservative, perhaps the most conservative group in the nation during this time period. Louisiana had its own set of problems that added to the confused feelings of this society. It was a state created out of three different cultures. “It is American in many ways, but it is also southern, and Creole” (Wyatt 1). The combination of theses cultural forces was very strong. The Creole culture was very different from others, it was Catholic in a Protestant country. All of this chaos contributes to Edna’s intense feelings and emotions that strongly oppose this late 19th century society.
Edna did not by any means fit into the Creole society of which she lived. “Mrs. Pontellier, ...

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