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.

The Awakening Post #2

Chopin's characterizations in the Awakening propel the story. Robert is the foil of Leonce Pontellier. The only similarity both Robert and Mr. Pontellier share is they are both higher up on the social ladder. Robert smokes cigarettes, Mr. Pontellier smokes cigars. Robert is a flirtatious man; Mr. Pontellier is devoted to his wife and children. Robert has the attention of Edna Pontellier; Edna Pontellier evinced so little interest in things which concerned him (Mr. Pontellier), and valued so little his conversation. Robert has made Edna’s boring life of a “mother woman” interesting. Unlike Mr. Pontellier, Robert sparked something inside Edna. Robert sparked a mental and sexual rebirth in Edna that Mr. Pontellier killed. Others were aware of the competition for Edna’s heart between Mr. Pontellier and Robert when a woman told Robert “She (Edna) might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously.”(Chopin 64)

http://www.webmd.com/women/features/why-do-women-cheat

Like the article states, women cheat due to being unhappy in relationships and unsatisfied. All Mr. Pontellier could solicit from Edna were tears and built up feelings of aggression. Married women cheat to find something to make their heart race again, and to add excitement to their unhappy lives. Robert gave Edna Pontellier something new and exciting that she had never done before. Mr. Pontellier was a useless, boring husband whom Edna only married for financial stability; Robert was a fun,flirty bachelor. Edna's exciting life began after her first swim. When Robert spoke to her later that night, she did not respond. “No multitude of words could have been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the first felt throbbings of desire."(Chopin 77) An affair is bound to begin.

The Awakening Post 2 (possible spoiler)(so sorry)

All throughout the book it’s clear that gender expectations plays a huge role in the theme. During the Victorian era typically women were housewives, if possible to even classify them as that. Women were solely important for reproduction and status. Women were objectified during this era. As remarks throughout the story would support, "You have been a very, very foolish boy, wasting your time dreaming of impossible things when you speak of Mr. Pontellier setting me free! I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier's possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose.” (150)  Edna says this to explain to Robert that she not just something Léonce can give away because he wants to, she is a someone and she decides how her life goes.

 Also reflecting back to when Edna began to swim she said “A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.” (70) She felt just in this moment for the first time that she had power over her body and soul and she only felt this way because she was the only one who could swim for herself, she was the only person keeping her afloat no one else could do it for her. Edna first experience with independence in a weird sense, opened her eyes to the fact that she should always be in control of herself, and allow no one (man) dictate her actions.

The Awakening Post # 2

        Adele Ratignolle represents the ideal house wife and mother during the victorian era. In the beginning Edna placed her on a pedestal and sought to emulate her ideals. However, as Edna begins to venture into self reliance, the distance between her and the creole housewife becomes evident. It is in this way that she acts as a foil to Edna. As the story progresses their stark contrast grows even larger. Edna is starting to seriously consider art- career wise, while Madame Ratignolle sees her music as an outlet to further serve her family. After dinner with the Ratignolles Edna realizes that she will never be satisfied with a life as conventional as theirs is. Madame Ratignolle exists only to serve others. Her "blind contentment" appalls Edna, for she will never know of "life's delirium" (Chopin 107). Edna's desires lie in individuality and she herself admits to this when she confesses to Adele that she would not entirely give herself up,  even at the expense of her children.

       In the meantime Edna grows closer to Mademoiselle Reisz. Reisz is a self sufficient pianist who's passions are not hidden for fear of judgment. Edna yearns to be a woman in tune with her emotions the way Reisz is. By growing closer to her, Edna realizes she is capable of harnessing such ardent feelings. Though financially and emotionally stable, Reisz's life lacks warmth. She lacks the support of friendships and the intimacy of a relationship. Reisz serves as an even more blatant foil to Madame Ratignolle. Reisz lives in complete autonomy, yet her life lacks warmth, while Ratignolle lives as a servant to her home, but has a successful marriage. Their extreme distinctions demonstrate how Edna wants to fall somewhere in the middle. Edna seeks to evade Madame Ratignolle's "colorless existence" (Chopin 107) but is fearful of Mademoiselle Reisz's solidarity. Reisz is an independent women but she is alone. Ratignolle is ignorantly blissful at home with her husband but has unknowingly caged herself in. Edna yearns for her lover Robert, but also her spiritual and monetary independence. The usage of foils throughout the story further enhance Edna's "awakening." Ratignolle represents Victorian ideals while Reisz represents feminist ideals. The reader is able to appreciate Edna's transition by being introduced to these characters.
       

The Awakening (Post #2)

In Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, feminism is clearly expressed through Edna’s independence. However, Chopin uses other characters in this novel as a contrast to Edna’s behavior in order to emphasize how unaccepted being a feminist was during that time.

Madame Ratignolle is the epitome of a Victorian woman. She and her husband are in a relationship with “domestic harmony” (Chopin 107). Edna even acknowledges that her friend “[doesn’t] leave the house, except to take [languid walks] with her husband after nightfall” (Chopin 130). Edna is always doing something- whether she is going to the races or visiting her friends- and when she is at home doing nothing, she is unhappy. The contrasting qualities between these two women show how different Edna really is from the rest of the Victorian society.

On the other hand, Mademoiselle Reisz shares many similar qualities with Edna. They are both strong willed women who wish to be left to their own devices. Mademoiselle Reisz, unlike Edna, is shunned by society. She lives alone (no husband or children), and she doesn’t really associate with anyone, save for Robert and Edna. Mademoiselle Reisz serves as a symbol of what happens to women when they choose themselves over having a husband and children.

Léonce Pontieller symbolizes the male opposition to the feminist movement. He will only be a “courteous husband so long as he [meets] a certain tacit submissiveness in his wife” (Chopin 108). Léonce goes to the doctor to ask if Edna is sick because “she’s got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal right of women” (Chopin 118). Besides Madamoiselle Reisz, the rest of Edna’s companions aren’t so accepting of feminism. Immersed in a society that shuns female independence, Edna’s feminist ideals will soon prove to be catastrophic for her.

The Awakening (blog #2)

Star-Crossed Lovers

Star-crossed lovers are commonly found in literature. For example, Hester and Dimmesdale, Romeo and Juliet, and Gatsby and Daisy all represent archetypal star-crossed lovers. They love one another deeply, but fate forbids them from being together. In The Awakening, the readers recognize Edna and Robert as a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Edna and Robert cannot openly express their affections towards one another. While Edna admits to her “incomprehensible longing” for Robert, Robert never states his love for Edna (Chopin 105). However, the readers infer that Robert reciprocates Edna’s feelings through his actions, his apparent attachment to Edna at Grand Isle. Edna, on the other hand, is a married woman, and Robert is just a young man. As a result, the two must suppress their love for one another as a married woman cannot be in love with someone other than her husband. When Edna visits Madame Lebrun and reviews Robert’s two letters, her “despondent frame of mind” overtakes her again as Robert does not mention her in his letters to his family (Chopin 112). Yet, when Robert writes a letter to Mademoiselle Reisz, the letter “might as well have been sent to [Edna]” (Chopin 114). He only asks Mademoiselle Reisz about “Mrs. Pontellier… Mrs. Pontellier… Mrs. Pontellier” (Chopin 115). Robert is unable to ask about Edna in his letters to his family without seeming suspicious. However, he can ask Mademoiselle Reisz, a despised recluse, about Edna because Mademoiselle Reisz would not broadcast his feelings to the public.

The authors of The Awakening, The Scarlet Letter, Romeo and Juliet, and The Great Gatsby not only incorporate the same archetypal star-crossed lovers in their plot, but they also separate their lovers similarly: their ill-fated lovers cannot remain together due to society.