The Awakening Post #3

Throughout the course of the story, Edna Pontellier shows herself being immature and selfish. Edna’s relationship with Robert is like a school girl crush; her eyes were emerald green when Robert was talking to Mariequita. Edna saw her as competition and “she looked Mariequita up and down, from her ugly brown toes to her pretty black eyes, and back again” (Chopin 81).Edna, a married woman, is selfish. Edna has a doting husband at home, yet she is worried about having another man all to herself. When Edna’s affairs began, she only thought about herself. She was thoughtless, oblivious to the fact that there would be negative consequences when she was caught. Her marriage, children, and reputation were on the line. Edna was already seen as an outsider to the Creole community; her adulterous behaviors would place her in exile and ruin any foreigner’s chance for a relationship with a Creole man.

Edna’s immaturity is most prevalent with her children. Mothers are supposed to care for their children and are even willing to die for their children. Edna struggled when doing either. “Edna had once told Madame Ratignolle that she would never sacrifice herself for her children” (Chopin 97). Children are supposed to help people become more responsible, but it didn’t work for Edna. Edna’s immaturity and selfishness could be partly due to the fact that women were married and had children at a younger age, compared to their husbands marrying at an older age. Edna does not think about the impact of her actions and her carelessness will lead to most of the problems she will later face.

The Awakening Post 3

The Awakening is full of gender equality issue that many of us have already blogged about, yet I can’t seem to get over the way Colonel talked about Edna. “Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it.” (125)  Colonel tells Léonce that this is how he should be treating his daughter. The first two sentences are insulting enough to Edna, imply that she needs to be controlled and “managed” to be considered a good wife. The word choice was extremely harsh almost as if referring to Edna as a type of animal who needs to be managed.

When analyzing the last sentence of the quote “Take my word for it.” I began to think on what if Edna’s urge for independence wasn’t all that sudden. While Colonel makes it clear to Léonce that he controls Edna’s mother, it’s also easy to infer that Edna grew up watching her mother be bossed around by a man. Since in the beginning of The Awakening Edna always made references to the bird in the cage symbolizing that she feels trapped in her own life. We might be able to infer that she knew all along that she didn’t want to be like her mother.

 

 

The picture above is from the movie The Titanic, this is taken from the scene when rose is telling her mother that she does not want to marry the rich man, and act like the high society wife that her mother portrayed although she was unhappy. While the titanic was about Rose no longer caring about social status and being true to herself and being with not wealthy jack. I find the relation in The Awakening from Rose finds independence by doing what she truly wants not what her mother tells her to do. Just like Edna finds independence from becoming a woman who is not the housewife and not the woman who is controlled by her husband even though that’s how she was raised and that’s how she saw her mother get treated.

Blog Post #3

As the novel progresses, it becomes apparent how emotionally immature Mrs. Pontellier truly is. She confuses feelings of lust for love, jealousy for annoyance, and flriting for romance. When Mrs. Pontellier notices Robert's affectionate "puppy manner" towards her friend, she proclaims that she is "glad he had not assumed a similar role toward herself. it would have been unacceptable and annoying" (pg ). Mrs. Pontellier claims to not want the attention of Robert but continued to show signs of jealousy when he ignores her. Mrs. Pontellier believes that what she feels is annoyance when Robert tries to talk to her, when in actuality she enjoys it. She is not in tune with her emotions and has no idea how to decipher what she is truly feeling. 

This meme relates back to The Awakening from a comical standpoint. Though it does not literally represent emotional confusion in the same way as Chopin, it depicts a woman of many mixed emotions. This relates to Mrs. Pontellier because she in not sure what she is feeling at any given moment. However, Mrs. Pontellier does not realize she is wrong about her feelings; the readers pick up on her emotional immatruity but she clearly does not. 

Mrs. Pontellier further demonstartes her lack of intuitive with her own emotions when she allows Robert to rest his head on her shoulder. She said earlier in that novel that she would be annoyed, but contradicts herself by allowing it. Mrs. Pontellier is similar to an immature teenage girl with how drastic her change in emotions is. It shows her lack of exposure and lack of life experience. 

The Awakening Post #3

      Throughout the book there are several inferences to birds. Chopin uses birds as extended metaphors that refer to Edna. The novel opens with a screaming parrot, whose Spanish was only understood by the mocking-bird. The frustrated parrot may represent Edna, who is trapped and like the parrot has no voice in worthwhile matters. Parrots can only repeat what they hear and in the beginning of the story Edna chose to follow along with the other house wives. The understanding mocking-bird is Mademoiselle Reisz. Reisz serves as Edna's confidant; "the woman, by her divine art, seemed to reach Edna's spirit and set it free (Chopin 133). Edna is often referred to as a caged bird. As a victorian woman she is trapped inside her very own gilded cage. In fact, even when Edna moves into the pigeon house, she is still trapped. Her ever-present loneliness can only be quelled by lustful intimacy with Alceé. Mademoiselle Reisz also metaphorically takes notice of Edna's "wings". Reisz examined Edna's shoulder blades to see if her wings were strong enough to "soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice" (Chopin 138). She was then warned that only those who were strong enough could complete the journey and not become too "exhausted" (Chopin 138) and flutter back down to Earth. Reisz's comment alludes to the legend of Icarus. Icarus met his death when his manufactured wings melted due to his overconfidence. This could possibly be foreshadowing Edna's outcome, or simply stand as a warning. Birds overall signify freedom-whether Edna has it or not. Once while Mademoiselle was playing the piano, Edna envisioned wild birds taking flight. Caged birds remind Edna of her entrapment while birds in flight signify the freedom Edna yearns for.

The pigeon as a symbol

    Edna's new apartment is referred to as the "Pigeon house" (Chopin 140). She claims that the reason for this is because of its size but it could also be that she is the pigeon. Doves and pigeons are interrelated species but their connotations are very different. Doves are considered to be very pure, while pigeons are seen as dirty. Edna can no longer be considered a dove because she has committed adultery. If anyone is to find out about Edna's sins her reputation will suffer. Pigeons are also domesticated creatures. Although Edna has strayed from her husband she is still viewed as a domesticated Victorian woman.

The Awakening (Post #3)

“There was her husband’s reproach looking at her from the external things around her which he had provided for her external existence. There was Robert’s reproach making itself felt by a quicker, fiercer, more overpowering love, which had awakened within her toward him.” (139)

After Alcée kisses her, Edna cries a little and thinks about two of the men in her life. She may not realize it, but Edna essentially has to choose between duty, passion, and love.

Léonce is the path of duty. If Edna stays with him, she can keep her reputation in the Victorian society at the cost of her happiness. In order to be happy, Edna moves away.  Léonce only wants Edna back from her pigeon house because of his “financial integrity” (138). This really shows that superficial reputations are more important than true love in the Victorian society.

Robert is the path of love. Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna that Robert “loves [her], and is trying to forget [her]” (135) since she is a married woman. In another post, it was mentioned that Robert and Edna are star-crossed lovers. Being star-crossed lovers, Edna’s marriage probably won’t stop their love. Yet there is one more player in the game for Edna’s heart.

Alcée is the path of lust. He seems to prey on Edna’s emotional distress like an incubus. After Edna’s dinner party when she was “chilled, and miserable” (149), Alcee did not leave until Edna “had become supple to his gentle, seductive entreaties” (151). Although she loves Robert, this act of adultery proves Alcée holds a place in Edna's life.

Based on what happens to Juliet Capulet and Hester Prynne, it’s possible that even with three men to choose from, Edna Pontellier will either commit suicide or continue to live with a child born out of adultery.

The Awakening (blog #3)

The pigeon-house symbolizes Edna’s breakthrough as an individual. She purchases the house using her own money: money from her mother’s estate, money from winning races, and money from selling her sketches. By buying the house with her own finances, Edna no longer relies on Mr. Pontellier as money is the only thing he ever provides her. He does not supply her with feelings of love nor with feelings of happiness. The pigeon-house gives Edna a “feeling of freedom and independence,” “a feeling of having descended in the social scale, with a corresponding sense of having risen in the spiritual” (134, 151).

Outsiders attempt to dissuade Edna from living in her pigeon-house and experiencing independence. For instance, Madame Ratignolle relates Edna to “a child,” a person who acts “without a certain amount of reflection” (153). She believes Edna is being irresponsible for choosing to live by herself. Arobin, despite supporting her breakthrough, terms Edna’s departure from Mr. Pontellier’s house as a “coup d’état” (141). The word tends to seem negative as it correlates to treason. Mr. Pontellier even makes an effort to mask Edna’s newfound freedom from the public by notifying one of the daily papers that “their handsome residence on Esplanade Street… would not be ready for occupancy until their return [from their summer sojourn abroad]” (151). He creates a new situation to hide the truth.

Ironically, a pigeon house is used to constrain pigeons. While Edna’s house is only called the “pigeon-house” for being “so small” and looking "like a pigeon house,” perhaps the pigeon-house will foreshadow the ending of the book (140). The pigeon-house could symbolize her freedom from Mr. Pontellier but not her freedom in society.