Role of Women in "The Awakening" Analytical Essay by Nicky

Role of Women in "The Awakening"
A discussion on the struggle of Edna in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening".
# 148546 | 1,417 words | 5 sources | MLA | 2011 | US
Published on Oct 27, 2011 in Literature (American) , Women Studies (Women and Society)


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Description:

The paper describes how Edna's life as a wife and mother were unfulfilling, society was unable to accommodate her and so her only recourse was escape. The paper looks at the commentary of critic C. L. Deyo, who represents the type of attitude that forced women to conform to standards and who refuses to acknowledge that women can be more than wives and mothers. The paper shows how Edna's only problem, besides that of her husband and her society, was that she was ahead of her time.

From the Paper:

"Edna was very courageous. The fact that she did not want to live in a loveless marriage is not something that makes her a "derelict in a moral ocean" (Deyo); it makes her a human being. Edna was smart enough to realize that there was more to life and living and she was brave enough to seek it out. Edna's failure is not being courageous; it is not being courageous enough. She did finally give in to her sorrow because she came to the realization that she could never be the woman she wanted to be in such an oppressive society. Edna was light years ahead of the people that surrounded her every day. They could not relate to her because they were still living with the notion that all a woman was good for existed in the home. A woman could be a good wife and a woman could be a good mother and that was the extent of it. That was their destiny."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Deyo, C. L. "The Newest Books." Critical Essays on Kate Chopin. 1996. GALE Resource Database. Information Retrieved May 13, 2009. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>
  • Chopin, Kate. The Awakening and Other Short Stories. New York: Bantam Books. 1988.
  • Parini, Jay, ed. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 2003.
  • Robinson, Marilynne. Introduction: The Awakening and Other Short Stories. New York: Bantam Books. 1988.
  • Simon, Karen. "Kate Chopin on the nature of things." Mississippi Quarterly. 1998, Vol. 51. EBSCO Resource Database. Information Retrieved May 13, 2009. <http://search.epnet.com/>

Cite this Analytical Essay:

APA Format

Role of Women in "The Awakening" (2011, October 27) Retrieved September 24, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/role-of-women-in-the-awakening-148546/

MLA Format

"Role of Women in "The Awakening"" 27 October 2011. Web. 24 September. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/role-of-women-in-the-awakening-148546/>

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