Awakening

A detailed Summary of Awakening

Mrs. Edna Pontellier was a literary figure on the edge when The Awakening was written. She evaded and questioned the normative roles of women in her upper-class new Orleans society. Edna's character was slowly awakened to being pulled in four archetypical directions: these archetypes include the marriage of the work-orientated and "bread-winning" husband and the ideal mother, the outcast "quasi-intellectual" feminist, the high-class society, and the true love. This pulling from the various archetypical, yet very human, characters and settings eventually allows Mrs. Pontellier to reject the norms of her society and become her own person.

The gradual breaking up of the pontilliers is a pillar in The Awakening. Cultural and social differences, life changing experiences, and a general dissatisfaction of the marriage all accumulate to end the bond between Edna and Leonce. Where once there was love, now lays resentment and an unwillingness to get along. This is apparent from the very first paragraph; Mr. Pontellier is oblivious to Edna's world, and he has no idea or interest in what makes Edna laugh or smile. His entire worries lie within the business he feels an overwhelming need to focus on.

Kate Chopin created a character that was multi-faceted and generally unacceptable in her time. The idea of a woman not fitting in any of the acceptable normative roles was quite controversial. Even today, one must admit that condoning the way she acts is a little hard to do. However, Edna's character is can really show us how to reject prescribed roles in society and become individuals. The catalyst of Edna's awakening was the variety of characters that all fit their archetypical roles. She learned that she yearned to be herself, not the forms of a perfect mother, great wife, individual artist by observing and interacting with these characters.

The blending of the typical male, bread-winning husband who is consumed with business with an atypical wife who rejects the role of the perfect mother who stays at home caused an inevitable breakdown of the Pontellier's relationship. This mismatch also caused Edna to seriously question her assigned mother role. These archetypical roles were so strongly upheld at the time of this novel that Mr. Pontellier was so sure of his family's roles that the thought of his wife deviating from her role never even crossed his mind. Even though Edna longed for and missed Robert when he left, Mr. Pontellier thought it was quite normal and innocent. Because he assumed everyone to be playing their prescribed roles: Edna as a loving faithful wife/mother and Robert as a young Creole man patronizing an older married woman. This trust in prescribed roles is further established later in the novel when Edna moves into her own house. Mr. Pontellier is not so concerned about why his wife moved out as he is about what others will think of it and how it will affect his business dealings. This would not be the first concern of a husband who thought his wife was cheating on him. Here is blinded by his trust in the normative roles of his society. This strict adherence to these norms is another reason Edna is driven away and why she was unwilling to conform to the self-containing archetypes she was asked to conform to.

age is a detrimental influence in Edna's dissatisfaction with life in general. As the story progresses, her growing unhappiness becomes more ap

Some common words found in the essay are:
Edna Leonce, Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna Pontellier, Robert Creole, Kate Chopin, Chopin Edna's, Marti Gras, Pontellier Edna, Madame Ratignolle, Lebrun Edna's, mademoiselle reisz, normative roles, prescribed roles, madame ratignolle, mother wife, perfect mother, archetypical roles, true love, perfect mother wife, edna's true, married woman, edna's true love,

Approximate Word count = 1488
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels