Awakening

A detailed Summary of Awakening

The Awakening was a self description of Edna Pontellier. Edna went through a major transformation period during the book. Edna went from a being a housewife who was obedient to a strong independent woman with emotions that she no longer suppressed. Edna wants her own identity apart from her husband and kids. The rebelliousness of Edna is an example of her inter conflict. The Awakening is a prime example of a self vs. self conflict. The defiance of society along with wanting to be a good mother and wife was Edna's conflict within in herself.

The Awakening took place in the late part of the 1800's during the reign of Queen Victoria. The views of how a woman should carry herself made the mold for this story. Edna is a Creole woman which means that her demeanor is to be elegant and graceful. This role stressed Edna out she had a personality that she needed to let out. In The Awakening Edna didn't feel comfortable around other women because she didn't except the role of the house wife. She wanted to be an individual , she didn't want to be the t

The conflict she has about her husband within her is a somewhat common one among women. Edna loves Leonce, but their relationship lacks the passion and excitement that she longs for. There is a lack of emotion in the relationship between the two. For most of the book the lack of emotion is all right with her, but once she is awakened that is where the conflict comes in to play. Edna feels trapped within the situation of not having any affection. Once she's fed up with her unpleasant relationship she stops trying to please her husband and begins to conform and commit to what she wants. She commits adultery which is disastrous in Victorian times for a woman. Edna is stuck between her feelings for her husband and what she believes people will think about her if she is caught cheating. Edna debates with herself through out the story about whether she should or shouldn't do things and why.

Edna Pontellier had a interesting view on motherhood that most other mothers didn't share. The view Edna had on having children was that it didn't fit her fate. An example of this when Leon , Edna's husband informed her that one of her sons Raoul had a fever. It's instinctive for a mother to check on her children when they're sick, but this isn't so for Edna. Leonce had to practically make her get up and check on Raoul. Mothers usually miss their children when they're away, but in this case she felt it to be a relief when her children were absent. It was a relief for them to be awa

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Approximate Word count = 1173
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels