Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that the character Edna in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" longs for freedom and finds it only to realize that the freedom she found cannot exist in her Victorian world. The author points out that, although it is debatable whether Edna was acting out of noble motives or was merely a selfish woman who chose the easy way out, the story mirrors the plight of women in the early twentieth century. The paper relates that this book reveals much information about gender relationships in the Victorian era by depicting the tragic story of Victorian women trapped in a world in which they did not belong. The author stresses that, while some people have suggested that Chopin was a feminist ahead of her time, categorizing this work as feminist or Victorian is a mistake because of the complex setting of the story itself and the complex nature of the time period.

From the Paper:

"This image, while short and appearing to only establish setting, is filled with a number of insights into the Victorian mindset and understanding of femininity. Madame Ratignolle is the perfect "mother-women", contrasted to the explicit statement that Edna is not . Here the readers are shown at a distance, a woman in white (the essence of purity, of course) with immense grace, who may at first appear royal and near-divine. As the children come and "cling to her skirts", she lavishes her words of affirmation on them, opening her arms to receive them, doling out grace and divine dispensations."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Chicago; Herbert S. Stone, 1899.
• Chopin, Kate. The Awakening: A Norton Critical Edition. New York; Norton, 1994.
• Felder, Deborah. A Bookshelf of our Own. New York; Citadel, 2005.
• Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. London; Greenwood, 1996.

More papers on Kate Chopin's "The Awakening":

• Analytical Essay # 12474 : "Kate Chopin "The Awakening"
• Essay # 66497 : "Kate Chopin"
• Book Review # 36005 : "Awakening by Kate Chopin"
• Analytical Essay # 5675 : "The Awakening"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: