Paper Summary:

The paper looks at Kate Chopin's book "The Awakening," that demonstrates how women were dictated by a patriarchal system and were known only for their responsibility in marriage and in motherhood. The paper discusses the character of Adele Ratignolle and focuses on Edna Pontellier who encaged herself like a parrot by becoming a wife and a mother without especially wanting to be one. The paper then looks at how Edna becomes torn between her obligations and responsibilities and her newfound freedom.

From the Paper:

"During the Victorian Period, women, as exemplified by those in the Creole society, were deemed second-class citizens. Once married, they were expected to give all their property and rights to their husbands and be at the beck and call of their partner's wishes. The purpose of the woman was to be mother, homemaker and wife. Those were her sole duties in life. In Kate Chopin's book The Awakening, women were thus seen simply as exotic birds who are domesticated only for the sake of their beauty and ability to repeat over and over again words and phrases for which they have no understanding."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." 20, November 2007.http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ChoAwak.html
• Crane, Gregg. The Cambridge Introduction to The Nineteenth-Century American NovelAnn Arbor: University of Michigan, 2007.
• Nolan, Elizabeth. "The Awakening." Oxford: Routeledge, 2004.
• Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969.

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