Critical Analysis Of The Awakening - 1899 Words

The Awakening LAP #3 Prompt #3 Ivan Jimenez Period 3 AP Literature and Composition 10/27/17 Just like a coin that is divided into heads and tails humanity is divided into male and female. Both are human just the same but equality is a matter that women have never completely attained. As for almost all of human history women were oppressed by men. Living under patriarchal societies women were forced to conform with their roles as housewives. They were told to keep quiet and were never allowed to realize their true potential as human beings. If women showed any opposition at all they were often silenced and kept under control by their husbands. In our modern day society women have come a long way in terms of social standing so this is no†¦show more content†¦Leonce Pontellier truly is a man of his time. The values he possesses are very traditional in that he believes women should be the ones taking care of the children and the men should be the financial providers. He expresses disappointment in the fact that his own wife doesn’t meet the standards other wome n have set forth. From his perspective, Edna should stop neglecting her kids and focus more on their well being instead of her female individuality. This is extremely ironic as he neglects his kids all the time and does virtually none of the parenting himself simply handing it off to Edna. In this way he was trying to control his own wife’s existence by keeping her further from her true identity. The way Leonce viewed his wife would soon change as well. Moreover, Leonce is a successful businessman and it is his profession that has allowed him to live the life he has. Even though he never says it himself his inner thoughts are brought to light and presented â€Å"Mr. Pontellier was very fond of walking about his house examining its various appointments and details , to see that nothing was amiss. He greatly valued his possessions, chiefly because they were his, and derived genuine pleasure from contemplating a painting , a statuette, a rare lace curtain -no matter what- after he had bought it and placed it among household gods.(Chopin 50)†. Leonce unsurprisingly is very materialistic like many upper class men ofShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening Critical Analysis1596 Words   |  7 Pages The Awakening by Kate Chopin Critical Analysis The novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was written during the late 19th century, when the feminist movement was in its infancy. During that era, the novel was yet to be discovered and the few considered it as a disgrace. Many thought that it portrayed a negative example of how a women should think and behave. Women during that era expected the book to be more â€Å"sophisticated† and â€Å"ladylike,† but Chopin had a different view of how women shouldRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Awakening1412 Words   |  6 Pagesand desires, reaching untamed worlds. 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Just as Chopin evokes an image of the sea as symbolic of Edna’s shifting consciousness (â€Å"never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude,†138), likewise the deconstructionist reading of a text emphasizes fluidity over structure: â€Å"A text consistsRead MoreSt. Louis And New Orleans1606 Words   |  7 PagesLouisiana, Chopin was still far from having established herself as a writer whose work was commercially profitable. Under the advice of editors that a longer work would have a broader appeal, she turned again to the novel form, publishing The Awakening in 1899. The Awakening, however, received uniformly unfavorable reviews, and in some cities it was banned from library shelves. In St. Louis, Chopin was dropped by friends and refused membership in a local fine-ar ts club. Chopin had never expected such a stormRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne And The Awakening1416 Words   |  6 Pagesdiscriminated against, but the people close to them as well. This is demonstrated through the novels The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. The Scarlet Letter follows the story of a woman named Hester Prynne who is forced to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† on her chest as punishment for her crime of adultery. The Awakening follows the story of a woman named Edna Pontellier and the struggle that she faces when she has an affair and separates from her husband and her familyRead MoreEdna Pontellier and Elizabeth Bennet: Challenge of 19th Century Conventional Methods1344 Words   |  6 Pagesnineteenth century. Both women often challenged conventional societal methods within their works, which inherently caused these literary geniuses to write in complete secrecy. Chopin and Austen gave birth to characte rs such as Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, and Elizabeth Bennett, the renowned protagonist of Austen’s novella Pride and Prejudice. While noble in their respective ways one can easily mistake Edna and Elizabeth to be selfish creatures of society because of their ardent pursuit of happiness