the awakening kate chopin analysis essay

The Awakening Critical Analysis Essay

Caught in a Wake of Illusions To remain, or not to remain: that is the question. In The Awakening, a novella by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna, explores the depth of this question as she awakens from her blind submission to society’s demands. Realizing for the first time in her life that she is trapped in a box culturally deemed appropriate for women, she struggles to break free and pursue individuality. In the processes of trying to find herself, she sacrifices society’s approval, her husband’s desires, her home, and her social standing.

Reflecting on her life Edna says, “Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life. ” These lines encompass the overarching moral of the story and emphasize that the self-awareness and wisdom that come with awakening are far more important than any comforts ignorance might provide. Therefore, it is crucial that individuals understand the implications and sacrifices involved in both yielding to and refusing social conformity. Remaining conformed to cultural standards is a sacrifice of independence and uniqueness.

This is most noted when the narrator describes, “In short, [Edna] was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual… How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult! ” In other words, it is nearly impossible to come back to life as it’s been after having a taste of freedom because it would require sacrificing one’s individuality. Edna is experiencing a new state of understanding as the narrator describes, “She began to look with her own eyes; to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life.

No longer was she content to ‘feed upon opinion. ” This indicates that before Edna was awoken she did not have her own identity and merely “fed upon opinion. ” She was brainwashed by society and followed its standards without questioning. This need to sacrifice independence to seek culture’s endorsement is a high price to pay. Likewise, pursuing individuality requires sacrificing the approval of others. Once Edna discovers her feelings for Robert and the two of them are on the island she inquires, “How many years have I slept? The whole island seems changed.

A new race of beings must have sprung up, leaving only you and me as past relics. ” This fantasy both reveals Edna’s desire to be alone with Robert and personifies the only circumstance under which the relationship would be possible. Since society would not approve of their love, each of them would have to relinquish their reputation to be with one another. Right before the story ends Edna repeats Robert’s last words which were, “Good-bybecause I love you. ” And she perceives, “[Robert] did not know; he did not understand. He would never understand.

In other words, Robert refuses to be with Edna because he does not realize the importance of sacrifice and is unwilling to give up their society’s conventional traditions. Although the journey toward freedom may stir up desires for that which is unattainable, or even forbidden by society, it does not have to be the moral issue that it was in Edna’s case. Her particular adulterous yearning is simply an example of what could also be a genuine longing to do things unconventionally. Whatever the pursuit may be, going after a sense of eccentricity will elicit forgoing the approval of others.

Furthermore, prioritizing freedom and desiring to break away from authority involves a sacrifice of personal relationships and the risk of alienating loved ones. Edna faces this struggle with her husband, Mr. Pontellier because she feels like he controls her. After her first awakening experience, Edna’s husband demands that she come inside and go to bed and it is noted that, “She wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command. Of course she had; she remembered that she had.

But she could not realize why or how she should have yielded, feeling as she then did. This realization that her husband used to control her and Edna’s refusal to continue obeying him demarks the first steps she takes toward taking control of her own life. The second prominent example of blatant disregard for her husband’s wishes is when Edna moves into her own house. No longer wis to live in her husband’s house, she moves to her own as the narrator points out, “The pigeon-house pleased her.

It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm… Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual. This validates Edna’s desire to be free from her former life and highlights the fact that she is only able to truly flourish when she is on her own. Sadly, one must be willing to give up relationships in order to fully achieve this sense of independence. At first glance, oblivion’s seductive incentives of peace and tranquility may seem inviting, but upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that living a mundane, robotic existence is artificial and lacks the vivaciousness of life. However, acting upon this realization, or awakening, necessitates giving up society’s approval and separating oneself from loved ones.

Kate Chopin gives an excellent example of these sacrifices in The Awakening, in which Edna must pay the price for removing civilization’s blindfold to establish her own identity. Remaining conformed is a sacrifice of independence, while pursuing individuality and freedom is a sacrifice of relationships and society’s validation. Although Edna must suffer in light of this epiphany, she discovers that the self-cognizance and understanding that accompany an awakening are far more important than the inconsequential luxuries that come from remaining a victim of delusions.

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The Essence of “The Awakening”: Analyzing Kate Chopin’s Masterpiece

This essay about Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” provides an analysis of its central themes, symbols, and societal implications. It focuses on the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, and her struggle for autonomy against the restrictive societal norms of late 19th-century America. Through a detailed examination of the novel’s use of symbolism, such as the sea, birds, and music, the essay explores Edna’s quest for personal identity and freedom. It discusses the controversy surrounding Edna’s rejection of her roles as wife and mother, highlighting the novel’s relevance to discussions on gender roles and individuality. By analyzing “The Awakening” from both historical and contemporary perspectives, the essay emphasizes its significance in the discourse on women’s rights and the complexities of liberation and societal constraint.

How it works

Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening,” a novel published in 1899, remains one of the most profound explorations of female autonomy and desire in the annals of American literature. This essay offers an in-depth look at the novel’s themes, characters, and the societal implications that ripple through its narrative, serving as a beacon for discussions on gender roles and personal freedom.

At the heart of “The Awakening” is Edna Pontellier, a woman who grapples with the confines of late 19th-century society and the roles it imposes on women as wives and mothers.

Chopin intricately crafts Edna’s journey from a state of passive acceptance of her societal role to a stirring quest for personal identity and autonomy. This transition is not without its challenges and controversies, both for Edna and Chopin’s audience at the time, highlighting the novel’s enduring relevance in discussions about women’s rights and individuality.

Chopin’s narrative technique, rich in symbolism and evocative imagery, paints a vivid picture of Edna’s internal and external worlds. The use of the sea as a recurring motif symbolizes Edna’s awakening to her own desires and aspirations, as well as the vast, uncharted territories of female independence. This symbolism extends to other elements of the novel, such as birds and music, each serving to underscore aspects of Edna’s transformation and the broader themes of freedom and constraint.

Critics of “The Awakening” have often focused on the controversial nature of Edna’s choices, particularly her rejection of maternal responsibilities and societal expectations in pursuit of self-discovery. This critique reflects the societal norms of Chopin’s time, where women’s roles were rigidly defined. However, viewing the novel through a contemporary lens offers a richer understanding of Edna’s actions as a declaration of selfhood against the backdrop of an oppressive societal structure.

“The Awakening” invites readers to reflect on the nuances of liberation and the costs associated with challenging societal norms. Edna Pontellier’s journey is both a personal odyssey and a commentary on the societal constraints that continue to influence the discourse on gender and identity. Through Chopin’s eloquent prose, the novel encourages a dialogue on the complexities of freedom, desire, and the human condition.

In conclusion, “The Awakening” is not just a narrative about a woman’s struggle for identity amidst the constraints of society; it is a poignant critique of the roles and expectations placed upon women and the tumultuous journey toward self-realization. Kate Chopin’s masterpiece remains a testament to the power of literature as a mirror to society’s virtues and vices, challenging readers to ponder the depths of their own beliefs about freedom, gender, and the essence of human longing.

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Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin Essay

Naturalism in “the awakening”, feminist perspectives, works cited.

In literature, the naturalism movement grew as an offshoot of realism, which focused on the real over and above the incredible. However, naturalism was regarded as a more pessimistic movement that stressed the helplessness of man over nature, and it’s surrounded. To its adherents, the man was a slave to his instincts, so his actions were affected mainly by them. In the book “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, a number of issues will be identified that demonstrate the naturalist movement.

The author of this novel was more of a naturalist than of a realist, and she was very bold in writing this book because, during her time, it was unthinkable for a woman to be sexually expressive or even for her to leave her family to pursue her passions as depicted in the novel. In fact, the reactions against this book were so strong that they caused the author to be ostracized from her society. It was only after a couple of decades that everyone remembered the writing and saw the beauty inherent in it.

In the novel, the protagonist is well aware that society disregards her and her kind. To the male species, she is nothing more than a piece of property that can be handed down from one man to the next. Even after leaving her husband for Robert, Edna soon realizes that his perceptions of her are just the same as her husband.

This kind of helplessness that she possesses against her environment or her society is quite typical of naturalist literature. In naturalism, man is controlled by forces beyond him, and this is exactly what is being suggested in “The Awakening”. Even her efforts to question this way of life bear no fruit as the novel ends with no firm resolution of the matter.

As is clear from the analysis essay on naturalism, in the book, she wonders why no one seems to enjoy any rights except for children. Hence, she needs to be left alone in the process of resolving this matter (Chopin, 171). To some extent, Edna can be viewed as the tragic heroine in a naturalist novel.

She goes through so much, and when she cannot take it anymore, this lady ends her life. Suicidal ends are among typical characteristics of naturalism because they were aimed at striking a chord with readers who needed to identify with the helplessness of the characters in pieces.

In the novel, it is common to find that the protagonist is always struggling with issues of solitude, longing, and passion, which are all characteristic features of naturalism. This is especially visible when Edna listens to music, which controls her and takes over her mind. She is overwhelmed by these feelings and realizes that it is almost impossible to stop the tears from coming out of her. At some point, she nearly chokes as a result of these sentiments. (Chopin, 72).

The wave of naturalism was synonymous with a focus on personal feelings, as seen in many other parts of the book (Pitzer, 45). What is sad is that the author cannot feel any sense of hope or hopelessness after hearing the music; the only thing it does for her is it causes her to realize that she can feel and respond to something other than her pain or her feelings in life.

The entire book is indeed a demonstration of how humans tend to be slaves to their sentiments. Edna is a person who seems to lack strong will power. She is not bold enough to alter all the challenges she has gone through, and even when it appears as though she is fighting these values, the story later reveals that her acts were fruitless.

In terms of society’s expectations for women, the novel propagates yet another naturalist agenda. Here, readers are introduced to two very distinct women: Adele and Edna. One would be tempted to think that the state of affairs in that Victorian society was so biased against the women that only the rebellious ones would survive.

However, as one soon finds out, this was clearly not the best path to follow for those concerned. This society did not favor free expression amongst women, and neither did it tolerate sexual freedom. Edna chose to go about this in an abrasive and confrontational manner, a decision that costs her life.

On the other hand, Adele chooses to go about this differently. She has done this by remaining chaste to her husband while still expressing her sexuality freely. In other words, finding peace is only made possible when females embrace faithfulness rather than resisting it. Furthermore, it is possible to communicate and express oneself openly, just as Adele did when she played by the rules.

This sharp contrast, therefore, illustrates that females were not free to do as they pleased but could get some degree of freedom if they played by the rules. Fleissner (238) explains that it is sometimes possible to break away from convention when one took on the stand that Adele did. However, this only proves that society is restrictive and that one can never really enjoy their free will.

Once again, this propagates typical naturalist ideals. In fact, it can be argued that the ‘awakening’ discussion in this book occurs when the protagonist realizes that she must be careful about what she says. The awakening is not in finding what needs to be said but in finding the things that must be kept under a lid (Fleissner 239). Thus, realism in “The Awakening” is not evident.

Edna does not find her voice, as is the case in particular romantic literature. Instead, she finds out what she cannot utter. The best depiction of this occurs when she fails to find the right words to explain to the doctor why she had to leave her children.

In this sense, she cannot say certain things to him as convention dictates. Overly, this society is one in which the self must be negated and forgotten to gain an identity as a mother. Adele was able to tap into the happiness and freedom of expression that her kind can enjoy only when she canceled out her wishes and needs. Thus, the book has an evident theme of feminism.

This author was responsible for portraying naturalism in “The Awakening” because this movement tended to focus more on the moral vice. The author appears to tolerate moral vice even at a time when her society could not fathom it. She stresses individual needs and also talks about sexual freedom or freedom to communicate, especially as a woman. She brings out the frustration of not having control over one’s environment.

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. NY: Bantam classic, 1981

Pitzer, Michael. Two approaches to the concept of naturalism. Carbondale: University of Southern Illionois, 1966

The Rhythm Method: Unmothering the Race in Chopin, Grimke, and Stein” by Jennifer Fleissner, in Women, Compulsion, Modernity, excerpt on Chopin, 233-244

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IvyPanda. (2020, July 21). Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. https://ivypanda.com/essays/naturalism-in-the-awakening/

"Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin." IvyPanda , 21 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/naturalism-in-the-awakening/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin'. 21 July.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin." July 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/naturalism-in-the-awakening/.

1. IvyPanda . "Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin." July 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/naturalism-in-the-awakening/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Naturalism in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin." July 21, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/naturalism-in-the-awakening/.

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The Classic Novel That Saw Pleasure as a Path to Freedom

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By Claire Vaye Watkins

• Published Feb. 5, 2020 Updated Feb. 27, 2020

Early in “The Awakening” — Kate Chopin’s great feminist novel of identity and self-consciousness, which still throbs with relevance more than 120 years after its publication — the heroine’s husband picks a fight. He has spent the evening at a casino and now it’s approaching midnight, but the card game has left Léonce “in high spirits, and very talkative.” He wakes his wife to gossip but she answers him sleepily, “with little half utterances.” Spurned, and still intent on rousing her, Léonce manufactures a fever for their sleeping son. When Edna dares doubt this, Léonce calls her a bad mother. She springs out of bed to check, while Léonce — no longer worried, if he ever actually was — enjoys his cigar. Soon, Mr. Pontellier is fast asleep, but “Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake.”

Awake to what? After the fight, Edna moves out to the balcony and weeps profusely: “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish.”

Whatever it is, it is indescribable, unfamiliar, vague. Yet also partly named: oppression, anguish. Edna edges into the uncharted territory of her own consciousness. She is beckoned — like Eve, like the women convened at Seneca Falls decades before, like Betty Friedan and Audre Lorde decades later, like Claudia Rankine today — to “use language to mark the unmarked.”

Awakening as a metaphor for accessing not only the unfamiliar part of one’s consciousness but the buried truth of our society has exploded into the mainstream thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement. On Jan. 9, 2016, in Baton Rouge — not so far from the novel’s setting of Grand Isle (or what’s left of Grand Isle after so many superstorms) — the activist DeRay Mckesson was arrested while protesting the extrajudicial execution of Alton Sterling by the police. Mckesson broadcast his arrest on Periscope, where viewers around the world watched him handcuffed by the police in a T-shirt reading “#StayWoke,” the millennial iteration of an adage that has bolstered the black community’s freedom fight since the black labor movement of the 1940s, as Kashana Cauley explored in The Believer. Historically, the phrase stay woke , Cauley wrote, “acknowledged that being black meant navigating the gaps between the accepted narrative of normality in America and our own lives.”

Innovative grammatical constructions like “stay woke” and “wokeness” powerfully evoke the ongoing struggle for justice embodied in Black Lives Matter and the movements that came before it, as well as those that followed, including the reinvigorated women’s movement and the swell of activism on the American left working for visibility, participation and self-determination of marginalized people at all levels of civic life. The echoes between this moment and the expanded consciousness represented by “The Awakening” reverberate so loudly they have been recently satirized by the poet Juliana Gray as “The Awokening.” At the risk of engaging in the kind of appropriation and dilution Cauley finds rightfully tiresome, today’s wokeness has a kindred spirit in “The Awakening.” Both emphasize omnipresent, if latent, wisdom.

Novels are neither recipes nor advice columns, yet it seems useful — at this moment when feminism yearns to outgrow its divisive metaphors, to correct for its hypocrisies and moral failings, and to resist cynical corporate co-opting that seeks to turn the movement into a marketing tool — to re-examine the transformation underway in a foundational book like “The Awakening.” Feminism endures when it embraces consciousness both within and without, becoming a cooperative struggle for justice across categories, what Kimberlé Crenshaw termed “intersectionality.” With this in mind, it seems to me urgent to read “The Awakening,” a bible of consciousness-raising for so many, and notice: What wakes us up?

In June 1899, a review of “The Awakening” in The Morning Times of Washington, D.C., concluded that “the agency of the ‘awakening’ is a man, Robert Le Brun.” In fact, as generations of readers have observed, the agent of Edna’s awakening is Edna herself: her body, her friends, her art, her time in nature. Edna’s awakening begins outdoors, an escape from the structures of patriarchy into the unbuilt landscapes of the sensual, sublime and the supernatural. Edna swims in the gulf, languishes in a hammock, escapes to the balcony, where “there was no sound abroad except the hooting of an old owl in the top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea.”

She finds her own everlasting voice within spaces of sisterhood. Edna’s female friendships are fountains of encouragement for her artistic ambition, as well as sites of confession. Sitting by the sea with her uninhibited Creole friend, Madame Ratignolle, Edna can admit, if only to herself, her maternal ambivalence: “She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way.” Edna knows she is “not a mother-woman” like her radiant and ever-pregnant friend, not “some sensuous Madonna.” If Edna is not a Madonna then by patriarchy’s binary she must be a whore. So be it, Edna all but says, flinging herself into a breathless flirtation with Robert.

But Robert is far from the sole object of Edna’s desire. Their liaison eschews monogamy in more ways than the obvious infidelity, taking as lovers the moon, the gulf and its spirits. In the moonlit sea Edna “walks for the first time alone, boldly and with overconfidence” into the gulf, where swimming alone is “as if some power of significant import had been given to control the working of her body and soul.” Solitude is essential to Edna’s realization that she has never truly had control of her body and soul. (The novel’s original title was “A Solitary Soul.”) Among Edna’s more defiant moments is when she refuses to budge from her hammock, despite paternalistic reprimand from both Robert and Léonce, who each insist on chaperoning, as if in shifts. Edna’s will blazes up even in this tiny, hanging room of her own, as Virginia Woolf would famously phrase it nearly 30 years later. Within the silent sanctuary of the hammock, gulf spirits whisper to Edna. By the next morning she has devised a way to be alone with Robert. Chopin’s novel of awakenings and unapologetic erotic trespass is in full swing.

Upon her return home to New Orleans, Edna trades the social minutiae expected of upper-crust Victorian white women — receiving callers and returning their calls — for painting, walking, gambling, dinner parties, brandy, anger, aloneness and sex. She shucks off tradition and patriarchal expectations in favor of art, music, nature and her bosom friends. These open her up, invite her to consider her self, her desires. One friend offers the tattoo-worthy wisdom that “the bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings.” Is Edna such a bird? This is the novel’s central question, one it refuses to answer definitively. Chopin gives Edna the freedom to feel and yet not know herself. The women in the novel draw forth Edna’s intuition — they take the sensual and braid it with the intellectual. Eventually, the body and the mind are one for Edna.

“The Awakening” is a book that reads you. Chopin does not tell her readers what to think. Unlike Flaubert, Chopin declines to explicitly condemn her heroine. Critics were especially unsettled by this. Many interpreted Chopin’s refusal to judge Edna as the author’s oversight, and took it as an open invitation to do so themselves. This gendered knee-jerk critical stance that assumes less intentionality for works made by women is a phenomenon that persists today. Especially transgressive was Edna’s candor about her maternal ambivalence, the acuity with which Chopin articulated the fearsome dynamism of the mother’s bond with her children: “She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart, she would sometimes forget them.” This scandalized — and continues to scandalize — readers because the freedom of temporarily forgetting your children is to find free space in your mind, for yourself, for painting, stories, ideas or orgasm. To forget your children and remember yourself was a revolutionary act and still is.

Edna Pontellier does what she wants with her body — she has good sex at least three times in the book. But the more revolutionary act is the desire that precedes the sex. Edna, awakened by the natural world, invited by art and sisterhood to be wholly alive, begins to notice what she wants, rather than what her male-dominated society wants her to want. Edna’s desire is the mechanism of her deprogramming. The heroine’s sensual experience is also spiritual, and political. Political intuition begins not in a classroom but far before, with bodily sensation, as Sara Ahmed argues in her incendiary manifesto “Living a Feminist Life”: “Feminism can begin with a body, a body in touch with a world.” A body in touch with a world feels oppression like a flame, and recoils. For gaslit people — women, nonbinary and queer people, people of color — people who exist in the gaps Cauley describes between the accepted narrative of American normal and their own experience, pleasure and sensation are not frivolous or narcissistic but an essential reorientation. The epiphany follows the urge. Feeling her own feelings, thinking her own thoughts, Edna recalibrates her compass to point not to the torture of patriarchy but to her own pleasure, a new north.

Like Edna, Kate Chopin did what she wanted with her mind, whatever the cost, and it cost her almost everything. In 1899 “The Awakening” earned her a piddling $102 in royalties, about $3,000 in today’s money. Shortly after its publication the now unequivocally classic novel fell out of print. Chopin’s next book contract was canceled. Chopin died at age 54 from a brain hemorrhage after a long, hot day spent at the St. Louis World’s Fair with her son. Her publishing career lasted about 14 years. And yet she established herself among the foremothers of 20th-century literature and feminist thought. She showed us that patriarchy’s prison can kill you slow or kill you fast, and how to feel your way out of it. She admired Guy de Maupassant as “a man who had escaped from tradition and authority,” and we will forever argue whether Edna is allowed this escape, whether she shows us not the way but a way to get free. As for Chopin, there is no doubt that she was free on the page, free to let her mind unfurl. None of this is accident or folly, not caprice nor diary. She knew what she was doing. She was swimming farther than she had ever swum before.

CLAIRE VAYE WATKINS is the author of the story collection “Battleborn” and the novel “Gold Fame Citrus.” This essay is adapted from her introduction to “The Awakening: And Other Stories,” forthcoming from Penguin Classics.

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Themes and Analysis

The awakening, by kate chopin.

Kate Chopin’s early feminist classic, 'The Awakening' engages with a variety of incredible themes, utilizes memorable symbols, and speaks to the state of women’s lives in the late 18th century. 

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The novel has been incredibly influential on American literature and feminist literature more broadly. It is certainly considered to be Kate Chopin’s best novel and is often cited as one of the most important feminist novels of the 18th century. 

Chopin’s ‘The Awakening’ is read in schools and universities around the world and features at the top of many literature-lovers lists of the best English-language novels of all time. But it wasn’t always that way. When the novel was published in 1899, the literary community turned against Chopin, refusing her entrance into local groups and generally speaking out against her writing. 

The progressive message the novel conveys about women’s rights and individual freedoms was considered by many to be morally corrupt.

Themes 

Chopin uses a variety of themes in her novel; the most important are: 

• Individuality
• Woman’s Right

We will explore these themes in more detail below and their importance in ‘ The Awakening.’

Individuality 

Edna Pontellier’s desire to be an individual, separate from her identity as a mother and a wife, is the issue at the novel’s heart. Society was not accepting of this concept, and when it was put into practice (and Edna moved out of her family home), she was looked down on and judged in an incredibly cruel way. What should be a basic human right, the ability to pursue one’s individual passions and desires, was not something that 18th-century women had access to. 

Women’s Rights 

Women’s rights are a fundamental theme in this novel. Chopin’s novel was panned by critics when it was realized, and the local literary community passed cruel judgment on the author for the novel’s content. Her depiction of and focus on Edna’s desire for freedom, passionate love, and her disdain for her role as mother/wife meant that the novel was received quite poorly. In fact, the reaction Chopin got to the novel was so negative that it turned the author off writing, mostly for the rest of her life. 

Freedom 

Related to the previous themes, freedom (specifically for women) is a very important part of the novel. The main character Edna battles with what she knows society wants her to do/be (a dedicated mother and wife who never questions her husband’s authority), and what she feels in her heart she should be (an artist and independent woman who loves who she wants to love). 

Her desire to break out of her confining life as a mother and wife set her on a dangerous path, one that means she’s ostracized from her family and community and ends up alone and lost. 

Key Moments in The Awakening

• Edna and her family are on vacation on Grand Isle. 
• Her initial unhappiness is revealed. 
• She goes on a walk with Adele (Madame Ratignolle). 
• She attends a party at Robert Lebrun’s. 
• Edna learns how to swim and is amazed by the ocean. 
• She and Robert go to Grand Terre, where they visit Madame Antoine. 
• Robert leaves Grand Isle to go to Mexico. 
• Edna takes off her ring and stomps on it. 
• The Pontellier family leaves for New Orleans. 
• Léonce travels on business.
• Edna moves into a new home. 
• She has an affair with Alcée Arobin. 
• Robert returns home, and they confess their love for one another. 
• Edna leaves home, and when she returns, Robert is gone again. 
• She goes to the ocean and swims so far out to sea she can’t return. 
• She presumably drowns.

Style and Tone in The Awakening 

Throughout Chopin’s ‘The Awakening,’ the author uses a formal tone that feels quite serious and matter-of-fact, especially as Edna’s unhappiness is revealed. She used a third-person omniscient narrator that adds to the distance the reader feels, at times, from Edna and her family. It also adds to the overall feeling of Edna’s isolation from the rest of the world and her desire to be her own person. 

Chopin sought to capture life as it was during the 18th century for women who, like Edna Pontellier, were incredibly unhappy in their lives as mothers and wives. For example, these lines in which Edna is considering her life, her family, and her identity (as quoted from The Awakening ):

I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself. I can’t make it more clear; it’s only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.

Symbols in The Awakening

Chopin uses a variety of powerful symbols in this novel. They include:

We will explore these in more detail below, how they are used, and their importance in ‘ The Awakening.’

The Sea 

The sea, or ocean, is one of the most important symbols at work in this novel. It represents possibility, happiness, and freedom to Edna while also feeling overwhelming and hard to understand. It’s particularly important when Edna learns how to swim (and the freedom she feels in that action) and at the end of the novel when Edna effectively commits suicide by swimming too far out to return to shore. 

Edna’s art, and art in general, is a symbol of freedom and failure. She’s inspired by the idea of becoming an artist and pursuing a life fueled by individualism and creativity. But, as Madame Reisz tells her, it takes a great deal of strength to walk this path in the time they’re living. In the end, Edna’s strength fails her. 

The Moon 

The moon is a symbol that appears a few times in the novel. The moon is referenced in times when Edna is feeling sexually connected to Robert (with whom she falls in love throughout the novel) and at moments of her utmost strength. 

Sleep 

The many times that Edna sleeps throughout the novel are connected with her “awakening.” Often, revelations about her life and marriage come after she’s slept. She sleeps at odd times, something that’s often interpreted as a rebellion against the natural patterns of life and a way of standing up for her individual wants and needs.

What is the most important theme in The Awakening ? 

The most important theme of this novel will change depending on who is asked But, for many, the most important theme is individual freedom. For Edna, this means the ability to pursue her own passions. In the context of the novel, it results in her losing her family. 

What is the irony of The Awakening ?

The irony of this novel is deeply sad. Edna finally achieves the freedom she’s been hoping for, and as soon as she does, her depression and isolation become too much to handle, and she commits suicide. 

What is the main conflict in The Awakening ?

The main conflict in ‘The Awakening’ is between Edna (a symbol for women in the 18th century and throughout time) and society’s perception of how women should behave/live. Edna decides to try something different and pursue her individuality, leaving her husband and children. This results in her falling into a deep depression due to her new isolation.

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The Awakening

By kate chopin.

• The Awakening Summary

In Kate Chopin 's The Awakening , the protagonist Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an autonomous human being and rebels against social norms by leaving her husband Leónce and having an affair. The first half of the novel takes place in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. Over the summer it is inhabited by upper-class Creole families from New Orleans who go there to escape from the heat and to relax by the ocean. During the week, the women and children stay on the island, while the men return to the city to work.

During the summer, Edna Pontellier meets a young gallant named Robert Lebrun , whose mother rents out the cottages on the island. The two spend almost all their time together, and Edna greatly enjoys his company, especially since her husband is generally preoccupied with business. Due to Robert's constant presence, Edna starts to experience a change within herself: she begins to develop a sense of herself as a whole person, with unique wants, interests, and desires. She realizes that she is not content to be simply a wife and a mother, and she begins to assert herself to her husband.

Edna's moments of self-discovery are closely tied to the ocean. At her great moment of awakening, she suddenly learns how to swim, after being frustrated in her efforts before. She and Robert also spend a lot of time in and near the ocean. One day they take a spontaneous day trip to another island in a boat, and Edna undergoes a metaphorical rebirth when she falls asleep for hours on the island.

When Robert realizes that he and Edna are becoming too close, he suddenly departs the island and goes to Vera Cruz for business prospects. Edna is upset when Robert leaves with only a few hours' notice, and she becomes depressed after he leaves. That summer Edna also befriends the pregnant Madame Ratignolle , who is the epitome of maternity, and Mademoiselle Reisz , an eccentric, unmarried old woman who can make Edna weep by playing the piano.

The Pontelliers return to the city, where Leónce busies himself with making money and purchasing extravagant possessions for their home on Esplanade Street. At first Edna settles into her usual routine, receiving callers on Tuesday afternoons and accompanying her husband to plays and musical events on other nights. Soon, however, she stops taking callers, much to her husband's displeasure. She begins to take up painting and starts behaving in what her husband considers an uncharacteristic manner. A little bit confused, Leónce goes to Doctor Mandelet, an old family friend to ask for advice. The doctor advises him to leave his wife alone, and even though he suspects that Edna may be in love with another man, he says nothing.

Edna is simply deciding to do what she wants, regardless of what her husband or society may think. She continues to think about Robert, and on some days she is happy and on some days she is sad. Edna discovers that Robert has been writing letters to Mademoiselle Reisz about her, and she starts to visit her frequently to read the letters and to listen to her friend play the piano.

Edna's father, the Colonel, comes to visit the Pontelliers for awhile. Although Edna is not particularly close to her father, she finds him entertaining and devotes all her energies to him when he is there. They leave on bad terms, however, when Edna refuses to attend her sister's wedding in Kentucky. After the Colonel's departure, Leónce and the children also leave Edna on her own. Leónce has extended business in New York, and the children go to stay with their grandmother in the country.

Edna enjoys her new-found freedom. She eats solitary, peaceful dinners, visits her friends, and does quite a bit of painting. She also goes to the racetracks to bet on horses and begins spending a lot of time with Alcée Arobin , a charming young man who has the reputation of being a philanderer. She wins a great deal of money gambling, and her relationship with Arobin starts to border on the sexual.

While visiting Mademoiselle Reisz one day, Edna decides that she is going to move out of the Pontellier house on Esplanade Street. With her gambling wins and the sale of her paintings, she has enough to support herself and intends to move to a smaller "pigeon house" just around the corner. She wants to be independent and doesn't want her husband to have any sort of claim on her. That same day she hears that Robert is returning to New Orleans, and she admits for the first time that she is in love with him.

Later that day Edna sleeps with Arobin for the first time and feels a medley of emotions, but no shame. In a few days she throws a small dinner party to celebrate her birthday and her moving out of the house. The event is very pleasant and elaborate, and the guests all have a good time. Edna enjoys her new abode: it makes her feel free from the usual social constraints. She continues her affair with Arobin, yet she does so without forming any real attachment to him.

One day she runs into Robert at Mademoiselle Reisz' apartment, and their meeting is somewhat strained and awkward. Robert keeps himself at a distance, much to Edna's frustration, and afterwards she is alternately happy and sad‹unsure whether or not he is in love with her. She runs into him a few days later at a suburban garden, and he returns home with her. While he is sitting with his eyes closed, Edna gives him a kiss, to which he passionately responds. They profess their love to each other, and Robert expresses his desire to marry her. Suddenly, a message from Madame Ratignolle arrives, saying that she is in labor. Edna has promised to go to her, and she leaves Robert, who promises to await her return.

Madame Ratignolle is in great pain, and Edna masochistically remains with her, even though she feels that it is torture to do so. Before Edna leaves, Madame Ratignolle warns her that she must always consider her children in whatever she does. Edna is slightly depressed at her friend's words, but is excited to rejoin Robert. Sadly, however, she finds Robert gone forever.

The novel closes with Edna returning to Grand Isle. Having already decided on her course of action, she walks down to the beach and stands naked in the sun. Without really thinking, she begins to swim out into the ocean. She thinks triumphantly about how she has escaped her children and their claim on her and continues to swim until she is exhausted. Memories of her childhood flash before her eyes as she slowly drowns.

The Awakening Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Awakening is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Who returns on page 102

Sorry, my page numbers may not be the same as yours.

The Awakening Chapter 16 Help

I think this is part of the nonconformist theme of the book. Edna embarks on a path of emotional, intellectual, and sexual awakening after spending a very pleasant summer with her young admirer, Robert Lebrun. In trying to gain a sense of herself...

The sea is wild cold and limitless: Edna plunged and swam about with an abandon that thrilled and invigorated her.

Study Guide for The Awakening

The Awakening study guide contains a biography of Kate Chopin, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Awakening
• Character List
• Chapters 1-3 Summary and Analysis
• Related Links

Essays for The Awakening

The Awakening literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Awakening.

• Morality and Self-sacrifice
• Symbol of Clothing
• The Only Ending for Edna in The Awakening
• Womanhood in The Awakening and The Yellow Wall-Paper
• The Open Sea: The Centrality of Ambiguity in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Lesson Plan for The Awakening

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Awakening
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• The Awakening Bibliography

E-Text of The Awakening

The Awakening E-Text contains the full text of The Awakening

• Chapters 1-3
• Chapters 4-6
• Chapters 7-9
• Chapters 10-12
• Chapters 13-15

Wikipedia Entries for The Awakening

• Introduction
• Film and television

The Awakening

Kate chopin, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The story begins at Grand Isle, a ritzy vacation spot near New Orleans, where Edna Pontellier is summering with her husband and two children. Her husband Léonce is often away on business, so she spends most of her time with a beautiful, shallow friend named Adèle Ratignolle and a charming young man named Robert Lebrun . From the beginning, the reader perceives that all is not harmonious in the Pontellier family: Edna seems bored by her children and frustrated with Léonce, who is silly, ill-tempered, and inattentive (his lavish gifts notwithstanding). Her friendship with Robert, though, has been blossoming. They spend almost every day in each other’s company, strolling on the beach and exchanging quiet jokes and observations.

The third-person narrator, whose voice blends somewhat with Edna’s inner voice, begins to remark on the artificiality of the other women and to question Edna’s habitual obedience to her foolish husband. One night, Edna is moved to tears at a party by the music of Mademoiselle Reisz , a sharp-voiced unmarried woman who most people dislike. Later that same night, Edna conquers her fear of the sea and swims far into the ocean. That night is the culmination of her awakening, her critical, thoughtful examination of the social world and of her inner life. Her friendship with Robert becomes romantically charged. Soon, Robert leaves Grand Isle for Mexico, where he hopes to forget the illicit romance. Edna spends the rest of the summer longing for his company.

In September the Pontelliers return to New Orleans. Edna begins to neglect her household and her children so that she can devote her days to painting, reading, and seeing friends. Her friendship with Madame Ratignolle disintegrates somewhat, but she goes often to see Mademoiselle Reisz, who gives Edna good advice, shows her Robert’s letters (which mention his love for her), and plays beautiful pieces on the piano. Edna’s concerned husband consults with Doctor Mandelet , a wise family friend, who advises him to wait it out. Edna also becomes romantically involved with Arobin , a fashionable young man with a bad reputation. She doesn’t love him, but she is strongly physically attracted to him. Their relationship is a source of confusion and anxiety to her.

Edna’s husband leaves for a long business trip and her children go to stay with their grandmother. She loves her new freedom and decides to move to a smaller house, moving out of her current home and leaving her husband. By selling her paintings, she can become financially independent. She throws a beautiful going-away party, but is troubled throughout by feelings of blankness and despair. One day, Edna learns from Mademoiselle Reisz that Robert is due back in New Orleans. She runs into him at the pianist’s apartment a few days later. He is distant and formal at first, but she convinces him to have dinner at her new house, and soon enough they begin to talk frankly and affectionately. He stays away from her for some time, in a last effort to avoid the affair, but when they run into each other again they return to Edna’s house and confess their feelings openly.

They’re interrupted, however, by an urgent summons from Madame Ratignolle, who is about to give birth. Edna watches the difficult procedure in horror. On her way home, she talks haltingly with Doctor Mandelet about her confused desire for freedom and her aversion to marriage. When she comes home, Robert is gone. He has left a note explaining that he can’t be with her.

Not long after, Edna returns to Grand Isle. She says hello to Victor , Robert’s brother who lives on the island year-round, and walks to the beach. She thinks with despair about her indifference to the world and longs for complete freedom. As she begins to swim, bright and lovely memories from her childhood flicker across her consciousness. In the book’s final, confused moments, as she feels completely free, she drowns.

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Awakening — Analysis of The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Analysis of The Awakening by Kate Chopin

• Categories: Kate Chopin Novel The Awakening

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Published: Jun 6, 2019

Words: 1894 | Pages: 4 | 10 min read

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The Awakening' by Kate Chopin: Analyzing Nature's Symbolism

"There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air."

The opening line carries several layers of meaning and significance in the context of the book.

Symbolism of Nature : The presence of bees and the scent of pinks (a type of flower) is symbolic of the natural world. Nature often plays a significant role in literature, and in this case, it can represent the untamed, instinctual aspects of life. Bees are associated with pollination, growth, and the cycle of life, while the scent of flowers, such as pinks, can symbolize sensuality and the beauty of the natural world.

Foreshadowing: This opening line can be seen as foreshadowing events to come in the story. The "awakening" referred to in the title hints at a character's self-discovery, liberation, and a departure from societal norms. The presence of nature and its sensory elements can symbolize the awakening of desires and passions in the characters, particularly the protagonist, Edna Pontellier.

Connection to Themes: Throughout the novel, Edna Pontellier grapples with societal expectations and her own desires. The natural world represents a contrast to the stifling societal norms of the late 19th century, offering freedom and a connection to one's true self. The line underscores the tension between conformity and individuality that runs through the story.

Sensory Experience: The reference to sensory experiences, such as the hum of bees and the musky scent of flowers, draws the reader into the world of the story. These sensory details are a hallmark of Chopin's writing and serve to immerse the reader in the characters' emotions and experiences.

In summary, the opening line of "The Awakening" sets the stage for the novel's exploration of nature, sensuality, societal expectations, and the internal struggles of its characters. It foreshadows the central theme of awakening and the tension between conformity and individuality that will be central to the narrative. The natural world, with its sensory richness, serves as a backdrop against which the characters' inner lives and desires are illuminated.

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