the awakening by kate chopin

A detailed Summary of the awakening by kate chopin

At the end of the 19th century, Kate Chopin presented The Awakening to a society contained within the walls of sexual constraints. It shocked readers with its open and honest view upon female marital betrayal. The book ended up being banned for its daring and uncovered subject, untouched by the traditional Victorian romances that people were accustomed to. In the book itself, Edna Pontellier was awakened by self discovery in a series of occurrences. The Awakening is the story of an oppressed woman in society who undergoes her own series of awakenings.

Edna is faced with the forces of disloyalty early on in the story, but does not yet realize it as being an awakening. She has a disagreement with her husband, Leonce, when he demands Edna to come inside to rest. She does, however, begin to realize that her husband just sees her as a piece of property. Though she didn't even try to calm her husband "an indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with vague anguish." Although she doesn't realize that this is a huge step in her awakening process, "a certain light began to dawn dimly within her,--the light which, showing the w

In the attempt to achieve freedom her duties as a wife and a mother, Edna encounters another awakening the next day as she travels to Cheniere Caminada with Robert. This new encounter was neither emotional nor romantic, but physical. During her rest at a friend's house, Edna removed her clothing and started to really "look" at her body. She discovers her natural beauty and from that point begins to see things through "different eyes."

Months upon months passed by as Edna waited for Robert's return home from Mexico. She couldn't wait for the moment when they would proclaim their love for each other. "There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence, leaving her alone." Through this, Edna finally begins to realize that a connection with another human being is not possible. She tried with a marriage, and that failed her. She tried substituting love with physical infatuation, and that failed. The only love she had left seemed beyond her grasp. She begins to realize that she was meant to be in solitude, or at least that's how society had formed her to be. Time after time Edna continually is left alone from the people she cared about.

The world that Edna entered in the end was one that she believed would save her individuality and freedom. But the fact was that all of her loves had failed her and left her alone with only the sea left to console her. Society had pushed her into a corner filled with expectations of tradition and imagery. "She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world." Self-realization kept Edna Pontellier o

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Approximate Word count = 1191
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English