"The Lover" and "The Awakening"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how both Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" and Marguerite Duras' "The Lover" address what happens when a woman searches for a way to leave her present life behind and seek a new one that may, or may not, be any better. It looks at how in "The Awakening", 28-year-old Edna Pontellier struggles for self hood but does not have the strength to accept the ramifications of this possibility. In "The Lover", the 15-year-old female narrator embraces self-awareness and uses her acquired strength to widen life's possibilities.

From the Paper:

"The Awakening takes place at the end of the 19th century, when the Western world was beginning to undergo major changes due to the Industrial Revolution and increased urbanization. Although women were beginning to envision a less-restrained future, they were still, for the most part, bound by tradition to be subservient to their husbands. Middle- and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husband's wealth--entertaining friends and business associates and caring for children and their spouse's needs. They spent their other hours playing music and singing, visiting friends, or reflecting well on their husbands reputations in other ways. Despite the fact that women often brought a dowry to a marriage, wives were possessions."

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