KATE CHOPINS THE AWAKENING
Kate Chopin's "Awakening", depicts the life of a woman, Edna, in the early 1900's who revolts against the social status quo and leads the life of an independent female regardless of all the risks. It is a story that unfolds the two parts of her life, only to see them both fall apart. Thus we see the unreasonable conflict between her exterior world, the role of a wife and a mother that society has imposed on her and her interior reality of emotions and sexuality which initially are asleep and "awaken" through the course of the novel. For the arousal of each aspect, two men are responsible, Robert and Arobin, which correspond to the two sides of her existence. The complexity of Edna's character, the richness of the novels details, stimulate the reader to probe deeply into the characterizations and meaning of her life. Edna has lost touch with the chain of humanity and the society in which she lives, as a result, she cannot make a true commitment to life. Based on this fact, the novel's development shows a repeated movement down to the depths of Edna's unconscious and back to her conscious world. Edna's emotional "awakening" was stimulated by Robert whose presence built up her confidence allowing her to break out of her p
Edna's sexual instincts or life instincts according to Freud, were "awakened" by Arobin. He aroused her sexual drives, fulfilled her need for a male figure to substitute for the absent Robert. Arobin is the sensation of passion, the one who stimulates, arouses and pleases her bodily need to be touched and admired, "She had become supple to his gentle, seductive entreaties" (p.709). The perfect match for Edna would be love and passion at the same time but she compromises and experiences feelings of regrets for nourishing only her body with Arobin, "She felt somewhat like a woman who in a moment of passion is betrayed into an act of infidelity, and realizes the significance of the act without being wholly awakened from its glamour" (p.713). Arobin's character corresponded to the unconscious of Edna's physicality taking advantage of her vulnerable state, "Alcee Arobin's manner was so genuine that it often deceived even himself" (p.713). Edna was a confused woman, Arobin was a master in handling woman and took advantage of her. In the concluding part of the story, certain moral and human ideas begin to emerge with greater clarity. Edna realizes the horrifying meaning of her life in the sight of the sea, which offers her the freedom, for which she rebelled for. We are now more aware of the desperate
Some common words found in the essay are:
Robert Arobin, Alcee Arobin's, Chopin's Awakening, Rodent Good-by, meaning life, robert arobin, emotional awakening, according freud,
Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
