Abstract This paper details the oppressive lives that women led in the 1800's and tells the tale of one married woman and how she coped. In "The Awakening", the protagonist discovers her sense of individuality and her sexual passions and has an affair in order to fulfill these needs. She becomes awakened and more aware of herself and leaves her husband. This paper also includes a critique of "The Awakening" by Woman's Rights movements.
From the Paper "The Awakening, which might have been more aptly titled, The Sexual Awakening shocked the delicate and rigid sensibilities of Kate Chopin's contemporaries of 1899, although many of those contemporaries were slowly experiencing awakenings of their own. In telling the story of a married woman who begins to realize that she is an individual human being, rather than a nonentity made up of female roles assigned by a male-dominated society, Chopin immediately struck resonant chords and rocked an already unbalanced boat. Rarely is such extreme reaction achieved unless the subject matter has deep roots tapping into the unspoken truth, and in this situation, the truth being dealt with was that of female oppression."
Abstract The concept of a fundamental human nature is pervasive in the Great Awakening. Women and African- Americans alike both received a more progressive social standing through the Great Awakening. This paper demonstrates how this process occurred.
Abstract The exercise of comparing the film adaptation to Dr. Oliver Sacks' volume "Awakenings" has been helpful in realizing that the written word and the film produced for a commercial and entertainment market, represent two very different kinds of expression. This paper involved a rereading of Sacks' "Awakenings" after viewing the acclaimed film of 1990 in which Robert de Niro played the character of Leonard, the first of several patients upon whom L-dopa medication is tried by the neurologist, Dr. Malcolm Sayers, s played by Robin Williams. From its opening minutes, the film is only based vaguely upon the account provided by Sacks of his treatment provided to a Miss Frances D. The book centers on this particular doctor-patient interaction while the film shows a young neurologist dealing mostly with the character of Leonard, the first to try L-dopa, but who also interacts with the other patients affected by the same condition.
Abstract The following is research paper on Edna Pontellier in the novel "The Awakening" . This paper asserts the claim that Pontellier was a feminist for her time.
Abstract This essay analyzes Chopin's "The Awakening," and attempts to understand the ending. After seeming to achieve her goal of freedom from social obligations, Edna drowns herself. This paper will consider how her suicide is the author's way of expressing a double bind for people who seek freedom. This paper examines Edna's different relationships in order to understand how her freedom is both possible and impossible, so that at the end her choice of death can indicate an understanding of her conflict.
Abstract This paper presents a book review on the "Awakening" by Kate Chopin. The review picks out one aspect of the book-the character's coming out-and tells why this point is of particular importance.
Abstract This paper provides a detailed analysis of the book "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, focusing on the central motifs of slumbering and awakening, and sensuality and death. The main character, Edna, is portrayed as a typical Southern wife, becoming aware of her discontents and of the powerful experiences awaiting her. Her process of 'awakening' is examined, and the force of nature in this novel is illustrated.
From the Paper ""The Awakening", by Kate Chopin, is the lyrical, poetic story of a young married woman living a dull, stifling life. Slowly awakening to her discontents and to the power of art, sexuality, and the "delirium" of ecstatic experiences, she ends up committing adultery and then suicide. Her awakening from the slumber of southern femininity, of patriarchal convention, is real, but the forces she has unleashed are too great to handle. It is as if she has awakened forces that society itself cannot and will not allow. Ironically, Kate Chopin's book had the same impact on the society of the day. It was too powerful an evocation of a woman's sensuality, and was so widely criticized that this talented writer basically stopped writing."
Abstract Kate Chopin's novel "The Awakening" (1895) is replete with human and other voices. This paper analyzes voices, conversations, laughter, sobbing, ambient noise, piano music and various other sounds that are described within "The Awakening," especially in terms of how these symbolically underscore the main character Edna Pontellier's "awakening" to her true desires in life.
From the Paper "Once she learns to swim well, Edna loves swimming in the ocean, where, as she glides and propels herself beneath the waves, she experiences an absence of sound. As Chopin also states, when Edna first realizes she can finally swim on her own, that feeling is so exhilarating to her that "she could have shouted for joy" (The Awakening, Part X, Paragraph 7)."
Abstract This paper contends that in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening", we need not go any further than the title to realise that not only is some sort of revelation taking place, but that it is also the theme of the novel. The paper examines how every word uttered by Edna Pontellier, every action made and everything described by the narrator gears the audience towards the inevitable awakening. By distinguishing between epiphany and revelation, the paper attempts to show that the epiphany occurs much earlier in the novel and that although there is a revelation at the end of the novel, one cannot consider it as the promised spiritual awakening.
From the Paper "In trying to define when Edna's awakening took place, one first must establish the difference between epiphany and revelation. A revelation is, quite literally, that which is revealed and therefore brought to recognition. As described by Aristotle in On Poetics recognition [anagnorisis] is "a change from ignorance [agnoia] to knowledge [gnosis]" which is "most beautiful when it comes to be at the same time as a reversal" (which is simply "a change into the contrary"(18)). These are the two of the parts which make up the Aristotelian idea of tragedy, the third being that of suffering. All three of these criteria are admirably met in The Awakening, with Edna's final earth-shattering revelation which is brought about from the note which Robert leaves, the suffering which ensues during the night, and the actions which follow contrary to what Robert's note intended."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses class differences during the 'Great Awakening'. The writer maintains that those who practiced the established religions tended to be of a different class and outlook of those who heeded the call of the 'Great Awakening' preachers. The established plutocrats found the new religious movements threatening, and thereby controversial. The writer addresses the 'Great Awakening' as a controversy between the existing, moneyed classes and the local traders, artisans and the laboring poor.
From the Paper "The colonists were spread out, rural, and had little contact with the religion of the larger towns, such as Boston and Philadelphia. Nearly all professed some form of religion, and nearly all needed religious and moral support for the perils they were facing: death, childbirth, Indian raids, and the terrifying images of hell. The established, Puritan religion of the Massachusetts Colony preached that not attending church every day would lead to eternal damnation. Many who lived in rural areas were unable to attend church. These were the farmers, the hunters, the small tradesmen, who were God-fearing but bereft of formal Church support.
"The obvious solution was the itinerant preacher, who brought God to the settlements and villages in the far-flung hinterlands. The need was great throughout the Colonies, and many preachers arose to take on the task."
Abstract The paper discusses how the character of Edna, Chopin's novel, "The Awakening", has a painful awakening in that she sees the opportunities that life has to offer but she is unable to reach for them. The paper describes how Chopin uses the setting of Edna's surroundings to bring her to a place of enlightenment and also uses certain characters to open Edna's eyes; her family, her husband, Robert and the doctor. The paper therefore shows how the title of the novel, "The Awakening" epitomizes the theme of the story.
From the Paper "Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a novel that emphasizes Edna's realization that she is a woman held back because of societal norms. Chopin utilizes Edna's setting and characters to wake Edna up to certain facts about life. Edna awakens to the reality that life is a prize and that the world is full of options for men and women. She also becomes fully aware that she is living in a time where women are expected to be content living the life of a wife and a mother and not want for anything else. Edna has a painful awakening in that she sees the opportunities that life has to offer yet she is unable to reach for them. "
Tags: enlightenment, surroundings, husband, Robert, doctor
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the book, "The Awakening," that was published in the late 19th century and reflects upon the life of women during this period in history. The story revolves around the family vacation and the events that transpire during this summer. Edna, the main character meets a young man and begins a love affair with him that will mark the beginning of her transformation. According to the author, Edna is already unhappy with her life as it is and is looking for other outlets to fulfill her needs and desires as both a woman and mother. She is trapped in the society and the status to which she was born into and as a result, feels that her life has no meaning or purpose. The author feels that "the awakening" that she undergoes during this summer released a flurry of feelings and purpose in Edna, that ultimately she could not handle. She was ahead of her times, but her own fragile emotional state made her unable to handle these changes and lead to her untimely death at her own hands.
From the Paper "Even Edna's relationship with Robert changed after her awakening. Although they usually met and enjoyed each other's company during harmless outings at the beach, after her awakening, she didn"t wait for him to come and get her. She sent for him. I also found it refreshing that she fell asleep while on a particular outing with him. It seems that she had the first refreshing sleep that she"d had in a long time. When she awoke, she said that she felt as if she had been asleep for 100 years. I wonder if the author meant that statement as a metaphor to her awakening. Mrs. Reizt's playing is the catalyst for Edna's awakening. Her change of mood is quite evident in the following passage."
Abstract This book examines the characters in the story "The Awakening." The author details the relationships between the male and female characters in this story. The story takes place during a time when women were first beginning to realize that they were being treated badly and were beginning to assert their independence. The men in her Edna's life are portrayed as possessive, cowardly and self-serving who only try to help themselves. The author traces Edna's awakening and the beginning of her journey to a better life and time.
From the Paper "Robert is the cowardly man in Edna's life. He is a man who "each summer at Grand Isle had committed himself the devoted attendant of some fair dame of damsel..sometimes a young girl or a widow; but more often as not some interesting married woman"(53). He revels in the fact that Edna is attracted to him, but is cowardly when he comes to feel that love full-force. He shows his cowardly ways in his note "Good-bye -because I love you"(172). Loving Edna would create too many hardships for him so he runs away. Again, she is put in despair by another man because her whole life seems to depend more on their actions and feelings that upon her own. The value of life itself is diminished by the hurt of each man she tangles with."
Abstract The paper discusses and analyzes "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, a book about a young woman, Edna Pontellier, who is restrained by her marriage and the responsibilities of being a woman in the 1800s. The paper examines the various relationships in the novel and the character of Edna before and after her 'awakening'.
From the Paper "Although it was unusual for a woman to have her own interests outside of the family, Edna, clung to her hobby of painting. She used painting as a way to further gain her freedom. Painting was the one thing that the men could not take away. It became a mechanism for escape. It took great courage for her to stand up against her husband and insist that she paint. Although it was probably unlikely for a woman to be a great painter in her time, Edna took on the hobby as a talent in which she wanted to excel."
