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A Review of Kate Chopin’s Short Stories, the Awakening, the Story of an Hour and her Letters

Kate Chopin is a short story writer. She wrote stories like The Awakening, The Story of an Hour and Her letters. She was influenced by Guy de Maupassant’s way of writing. Focusing on Her Letters Chopin tries to convey the message of difference between both males and females and their reaction to infidelity. Chopin doesn’t not only write her story from an observer’s point of view but by the point of view by a woman that has six children and […]

The Awakening: a Selfish Desire

The Awaking by Kate Chopin portrays a character and her longing for freedom in the forms of infidelity and selfish desires. In this book the main character, Edna Pontillier is overcome by an awakening to her inner self and desires leading to a search for a freedom of sorts. This novel was written to allow Chopin to use the life Edna Pontillier to parallel her own ideas for identity, freedom and sensuality in the form of selfish desires. In the […]

The Awakening Quotes and Analysis

Quotes, passages, or sentences go on the left side with a page number. #1 You are burnt beyond recognition, he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage. (pg. 48, paragraph 2.) Your responses to those quotes go on the right side. (100 word minimum) The first sign of the bubbling conflict is that her husband doesn’t treat her as a true individual. He seems to be distant […]

The Awakening Study Questions

The Awakening Study Questions Chapter 1: Question 7- What indications are there that the Pontellier marriage is strained? The only time Leonce and Edna ever speak is in passing. He takes her for granted, and sees her as a small part of his orderly world. Chapter 2: Question 3- What shift of point of view is evident in chapter 2? Edna has the most distinct change in point of view in chapter 2. In chapter 1 you see Edna passing […]

Edna in the Awakening Novel

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, Edna, a strong, female character lead, ventures out of her comfort zone while breaking through the role appointed to her by society. Throughout the novel, Edna is seen discovering her own identity independent from her husband and children. Edna is seen always harboring unrealistic dreams that cannot be satisfied, thus characterizing her as a rebellious and selfish adult. Edna’s life is symbolized through a series of parrots, mockingbirds, and seagulls that all form personal […]

Analysis of the Awakening from Marxist Perspective

In The Awakening, by the author Kate Chopin can be analyzed from the Marxist perspective by the powerful ones being the men. The men are powerful because society portrays them as the head of the household, meaning its a patriarchal society. Society thinks that men should rule over their wives and have them under their control. The men display their power when their wives don’t do what they want. For example, the husband of Edna, Leonce showed that power when […]

Analysis of the Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Awakening by Kate Chopin A historical connection worth noting is the rights of women during the 1900’s: the time period of this story. While America continued to push its own industrialization, lower class women were allowed to partake in some jobs such as factory work. Although the rights of women were improving, they still were not optimal. Upper class women were still just objects to their husbands and while voting rights had expanded to all races, women were still […]

Birds in the Awakening

To maintain a good reputation, women must conform to society by being a loyal, obedient wife and mother. In her book The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the symbolism and imagery of birds and wings to display Edna Pontillier’s struggle to free herself from society’s cage. Edna wishes to act within her own discretion rather than her husband’s, and ultimately, find true happiness. In the first chapter, a green and yellow parrot (Chopin 1) hanging in a cage is introduced. The […]

An Analysis of the Awakening Chapter

In chapter fifteen, it is revealed that Robert decided to go on a trip to Mexico and is leaving that night. Edna is both shocked by the sudden news and the fact that Robert failed to tell her the decision himself. When Edna and Robert finally have a conversation about Robert’s sudden trip to Mexico, Robert avoids giving his reasoning and shows very little emotion when speaking to Edna. Robert’s distant behavior bothers Edna, and she sulks in the darkness […]

Psychological Criticism in the Awakening

That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect (Chopin 62; ch. 14). Although Edna Pontellier, identified as the protagonist within The Awakening, had seemed to be overwhelmed by the pressure of social constructs, Edna refused to succumb to the orthodox way of life. From a Freudian approach, psychoanalytic theory can be defined as the personality theory, which is based on the […]

An Overview of the Awakening Novel

Major Events/summary Leonce comes home to his wife and kids. He checks on his kids who are asleep, and he finds that one of them has a fever. He returns to his wife to tell her, but Edna insists that he was fine before he went to bed. Leonce then tells her that she is neglecting her children and he says, “If it was not a mothers place to look after children, who’s on earth was it?” later on she […]

Edna’s Awakening in the Awakening Novel

In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna’s awakening and how it affects her is an example of situational irony. Situational irony is when something occurs that is unexpected and does not follow an assumed outcome. Throughout this novella, Edna Pontellier makes an attempt to discover herself in many distinct aspects of her own being. She grows cold and distant to her husband and children as she focuses on herself completely. She has multiple affairs with Mr.Pontellier and eventually ends up […]

Life of Edna in the Awakening

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna, the protagonist, is unsatisfied with her current life and her marriage. Throughout the novel we see Edna become more and more independent and fall for a young man named Robert. Edna begins to spend her days away from her husband L©once and her three children, and she struggles with the limitations of married life. At the end of the novel, Edna goes out to swim and drowns in the ocean. The final scene leaves […]

Symbolism and Motifs in the Awakening

Kate Chopin uses symbolism and motifs in The Awakening as a way for Edna Pontellier to recognize her individuality and identity. In Chopin’s novel, the sea is the most important and relevant motif, it represents freedom and uses personal traits that it is given to guide Edna to her transformation, as she forms relationships and tries new hobbies. Edna’s connection with the sea allows the reader to have a better understanding of her awakening and how she breaks through her […]

Role of Society in the Awakening Novel

In the book The Awakening, the author Kate Chopin utilizes compelling symbolism to portray the protagonist’s, Edna Pontellier’s, longing for passion and escape from the confines of marriage. In the late 19th century of New Orleans, Edna is unlike other women in the sense that the marital and maternal life doesn’t appeal to her. As a woman plagued by the desires for freedom, she realizes her inevitable limitations in life, and ultimately defies Victorian societal expectations of her domestic female […]

Question of Freedom in the Awakening

Early in the 19th century every person was expected to live up to society’s expectations by following a certain norm, as opposed to the unorthodox society of today. For instance, men were the breadwinners and the ones who worked to earn an honest living for the family. Women, on the other hand were strictly only to keep the household in check and take care of the children. With such specific responsibilities to uphold, no one really found the time to […]

Use of Different Settings in the Awakening

In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier experiences being a woman who was brought down in society, preventing her from being herself. She realizes her awakening points happened whenever she was in the water at the beach. She was introduced as a passionate, rebellious woman. This is significant to Edna because she is determined to find her individuality as a woman. Edna’s awakening explains her rationality to communicate the larger purpose of the novel […]

Main Character in Kate Chopin’s the Awakening

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is about Edna Pontellier, a younger married woman who begins a journey of self discovery. The novella is coated with the theme of freedom and the consequences it brings. Set in the 1800s, The Awakening takes place in both New Orleans and Grand Isle, where the Pontellier family lives and vacations respectively. While vacationing one summer, Edna Pontellier falls for Robert Lebrun. Robert is a young man who picks a woman every summer to devote himself […]

Sea as a Major Symbol in the Awakening

Throughout the novel, The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, has a revival in which she desires for her freedom and individuality. Kate Chopin uses the sea to symbolize this in Edna within the victorian society, where it’s viewed as wrong for a woman to express herself outside of the traditional gender role. Unfortunately, Edna had to come to a realization for the limitations in her life. The sea abled Edna for the discovery of her desires and freedom within her […]

The Feminist Awakening

The Feminist Awakening Women’s rights have evolved over time; beginning with being homemakers and evolving to obtaining professions, acquiring an education, and gaining the right to vote. The movement that created all these revolutionary changes was called the feminist movement. The feminist movement occurred in the twentieth century. Many people are not aware of the purpose of the feminist movement. The movement was political and social and it sought to set up equality for women. Women’s groups in the United […]

The Rebellion by Edna in the Awakening by Kate Chopin

Introduction A read through the book by Kate Chopin, The Awakening, leaves one with many questions, especially when they are through to the 7th chapter. The story of Edna Pontellier is the one which is problematic, as one follows the character from the beginning of the story to the end. The various transformation of the character Edna is what is sure to leave many questions in the head of a reader. One might be sure to ask as well as […]

Feminism and the Role of Women in the Awakening

Feminism and the role of women in The Awakening Thesis Statement: The pressures of the feminine norms prevalent during the male-dominant/patriarchal Victorian society impel Edna towards seeking independence and establishing her sense of identity. Primary Passages for Examination: “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were […]

Softening of the Stereotypes

Kate Chopin, an American author, wrote during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the movement for women’s liberation was taking place (Chopin XVII). When the movement began, two major stereotypes were created. The New Woman depicts women who are intelligent and innocent, yet empowered. The femme fatale depicts a woman who is desired by many men but only focuses on her own desires (Chopin XIII). To combat stereotypes and expectations for women at the time, Chopin wrote The Awakening in […]

Comparison of Chopin and Hurston’s Novels

In choosing to compare and contrast the works The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, both female characters struggle to find what they desire in life throughout both novels, but the experiences of racism are quite different for these two characters. Kate Chopin published The Awakening during Victorian Era of the nineteenth century in America, when gender roles followed a strict set of guidelines. Although when Zora Neale Hurston produced Their Eyes […]

About Happiness in Literature

In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin and the play, A Doll’s House, by Henrik Isben, both undress the situation revolving around a person’s belief and what society is set to believe. In, The Awakening, a female is lead to commit an enormous sin, adultery. Edna, from the novel, is held to responsibilities and titles that she knows are not fitted for her. So, Edna chooses to follow her spirit which make her feel free and alive, but in […]

The Awakening Essays