I detested her, thought she was a blubbering baby much of the time and I found it hard to feel sorry for her because of how immature she acted. Edna Pontellier was a selfish woman from her awakening forward. A person's reaction will define his/her character as will his/her course after a weakness is revealed. The questions of 'what-if.' and 'why now.' will probably follow. The better question is how does one live with joy and gratitude after being awakened to new emotions, feelings and passions after years of commitment, loyalty and love to another? An awakening at some time in life (if even for fleeting moments) is a likelihood. In it, Chopin challenges gender inequalities and questions the social norms that restrict what women like Edna can do and be.Better to sleep in peace than awake to nightmare?Ī question to ponder. In spite of its tragic ending, The Awakening is a remarkable portrait of female rebellion. Dissatisfied and wanting something else, Edna commits suicide to escape these constraints. Together these two reflect the limited options available to women. Ratignolle is an example of the idealized Creole woman, living a life completely devoted to a husband and children, while Reisz is single and lives on the margins of society. Two other characters, Adèle Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, serve as foils to Edna. Edna’s search for an identity beyond marriage and motherhood creates conflict with her husband Léonce, who does not understand her need for independence this conflict contributes to her affairs with other men. The Awakening explores the experience of Edna Pontellier, who chafes against expectations of women in Creole society. Her writing combines features from both styles, blending regionalism’s attention to the features that distinguish American people and places with the objective point of view and occasional pessimism found in naturalism.

To depict Creole culture, Chopin drew inspiration from both American regionalist writers such as Sarah Orne Jewett and French naturalist writers, including Guy de Maupassant. Several of Chopin’s works criticize this hierarchy, yet The Awakening largely leaves it unexamined. While Creole people could be white, mixed-race, or black, Creole society maintained a racial hierarchy that privileged light skin. In the novel, “Creole” refers to people descended from French and Spanish colonists who settled in Louisiana before it became part of the United States. Louis, Chopin moved to Louisiana when she married at age 20 like many of her other works, The Awakening portrays the Creole elite of Natchitoches parish.

It shocked readers when it was published in 1899, but today it is recognized as an American classic. Kate Chopin’s novel has been called a scandalous masterpiece.

The great awakening kate chopin