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Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a work of fiction that tells the story of
Edna Pontellier, Southern wife and mother. This book presents the reader
with many tough questions and few answers. It is not hard to imagine why
this book was banished for decades not long after its initial publication
in 1899. At that time in history, women did just what they were expected to
do. They were expected to be good daughters, good wives, and good mothers.
A woman was expected to move from the protection of her father's roof to
the protection of her husband. Edna didn't fit this mold, and that
eventually leads her husband to send for a doctor. It is here that Edna
Pontellier says words that define The Awakening, "I don't want anything but
my own way. That is wanting a good deal, of course, when you have to
trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices of others - but no
matter_"
As the book begins, Edna is a married woman who seems vaguely satisfied
with her life. However, she cannot find true happiness. Her "awakening"
begins when a persistent young man named Robert begins courting her. Edna
begins to respond to him with a passion she hasn't felt before. She begins
to realize that she can play roles other than wife and mother.
Throughout the book Edna takes many steps to increase her independence. She
sends her children away, she refuses to stay at home on Tuesdays (as was
the social convention of the time), she frequents races and parties.
Unfortunately, her independence proves to be her downfall.
Edna stays married because divorce was unheard of in those days. She wants
to marry Robert, but he will not because it will disgrace her to leave her
husband. No matter how much Edna exceeds social boundaries, she is held
down by the will of others, despite what she wants. In today's world
divorce, sadly, is almost commonplace, but in her time she would have been
an outcast of her society. By the end of The Awakening, Edna feels like a
possession - of her husband, of her children, and of her society. The only
solution she sees is to end her life, which she does by swimming out into
the sea until her strength gives out. This is a very symbolic death.
I feel the theme of The Awakening is deeper than the obvious themes of
independence and women's rights. The Awakening presents suicide as a valid
solution to problems that do not offer many choices.
Why do people commit suicide? Some common reasons are isolation and
loneliness, disruption of one's social life, and suicide for the common
good. It's easy to connect these with Edna's life: the isolation of her
small house, the disruption caused by Adele's death, and the common good of
the children.
However, her suicide had nothing to do with any lack of personal freedom.
She was, for the most part, doing whatever she wanted and there were no
signs that she intended to stop. Rather, it was the lack of good, healthy
alternatives that led to her demise.
Robert had left her in an attempt to protect her, himself, or possibly both.
This left Edna to pursue a minor romance with Alcee Arobin. Or stay in a
marriage that held no hope of fulfillment. Or she could pursue other third-
rate affairs, while being discreet enough not to hurt her children. None of
these options satisfied her longing for the one who had "awakened" her.
Edna chose suicide.
The only shortcoming I found in The Awakening was its lack of dialogue. The
book is filled with page after page of descriptive phrases, thoughts and
actions. This doesn't leave much to the imagination, and in spots, the book
seems to drag.
The merits of The Awakening far outweigh its few faults. It tells a story
of independence, freedom and will power unheard of during the times of its
publication. It's a stirring book that forces you to confront tough issues.
It paints a picture of what goes through the mind of a person who loses
hope. Like Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Chopin's The
Awakening tells us a story from the perspective of the oppressed. It is far
more than another romance novel with a tragic ending. It is a book about
the choices one will makes to protect one's freedom, and Chopin wonderful
job presenting them in The Awakening.
ADDITIONAL FEATURED ESSAYS
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