Setting in The Awakening

             Edna Pontellier in The Awakening by Kate Chopin is much like a modern woman in today's society. In today's terms Edna would be considered a rebel. Unfortunately, the restraints of her society caused Edna to extricate herself later in life, and when she got to the point of her awakening, she could not turn back. Edna being able to realize her place in the world was uncommon, and not accepted during her time period. Edna opposed the traditional roles of society that kept many restraints on the women of the 1800's.
             The setting of this story caused the conflict and also caused the ultimate result of Edna committing suicide.
             In the 1890s society was quite different from the way we view it today. Most cultures put emphasis on responsibility and duty. This did not change for Edna, she had to assume the responsibilities and duties of a "mother-woman." The traditional society of the 1800s assigned women to the duties of tending to the home, caring for their husband's every need, and bearing children. Edna however wanted to stray from her motherly responsibilities and achieve her desire of personal fulfillment. Edna slowly began to awaken from the life given to her by society that had held her comatose for so long.
             Throughout the book it was very clear that there was no love in Edna and Leonce's marriage. At the beginning of the novella when Leonce came home from Klein's hotel he was annoyed that Edna would not listen to him while she tried to sleep. He then told her that one of the children had a fever, and because of his reprimand, Edna went in to see the children. "She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow.... She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her peignoir."(Chopin 13). Edna slowly realized that her marriage meant nothing, and wanted something more. Edna wanted not just love, but lust and passion in her relationship, as we...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Setting in The Awakening. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:41, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/31898.html