Kate Chopin And Awakening Essays - Classical Music, Literature

Kate Chopin And Awakening A Style of her Own Kate Chopin uses symbolism and realism to enhance her theme of social conflict in the lives of women during the nineteenth century. These conflicts seemed to travel from one woman to the next, unnoticed by the rest of society. Chopin used these conflicts as a basis for all of her short stories and novels. This inevitably started turmoil about issues that never were brought out before. This, in turn, opened the eyes of society to the individuality of women. In The Awakening, by Chopin, a woman named Edna realizes that she is an individual and has individual feelings. She and her family lived at Grand Isle during the summer and her husband, Leonce, goes to the city every week, and is at Grand Isle during the weekend. This allows Edna the freedom to do and think what she pleases. A young man named Robert, lives at Grand Isle during the summer also. He flirts continuously with Edna, and she seems to like this sort of attention. Robert and Edna always went to the waterhole on the hot summer days to cool off. Of course, they would never go when the sun was high in the sky. Then, Robert would walk Edna back to her house and they would talk for hours. Everyone at Grand Isle could see the attractions between Edna and Robert, even Robert. Edna, on the other hand, did not see this attraction immediately. When Robert leaves for the Rio Grande, Edna is left feeling depressed and lonely. She decides that Robert wants nothing more to do with her, since he has written everyone letters of his journey except her. At this time, Edna is now living back in the city on Esplanade Street. Her husband is abroad and her children are visiting family. She is all alone. This allows Edna more freedom to meet new people without her husband right next to her. This was normal for Edna since her husband was often tending to business. During time that Leonce was away, Edna realizes that her life was not how she wanted it to be. While alone Edna "awakens" to the fact that she is an individual and has individual feelings. She also realizes she does not love her husband as she vowed to. At this point Edna knew what she wanted, and it was not marriage to Leonce, but divorce. She then moves out of her house without telling her husband. When she does tell Leonce, he tells everyone that he and Edna were merely remodeling the house and Edna needed a place to stay. He says this because he cannot stop her, being across an ocean. Leonce's lies just go to show that men had more important things to do in life than please their wives. Wives were the bearer of their children and rarely the apple of their husband's eyes. Edna inevitably tells her women ? friends what is really happening; that she is leaving her husband. All of these women tell her of what she is about to do to her life, reputation, and her children. Edna feels that she should come before her husband, but walks a thin line when asked if she puts her children before herself. When Robert returns to see Edna, she is full of excitement. When Robert learns that she lives alone and is away form Leonce, they share a special moment together. It was not accepted, during the nineteenth century, for women to divorce and remarry, Edna felt torn and weak. She does not know what to do with her life. In the end, She walks into the ocean and swims until she can swim no further. It is inferred, in this, that Edna drowns. In Edna's drowning there is a lot of symbolism. Her death shows, in an odd way, the birth of women's freedom of individuality. Her choice was to sacrifice her life because her fight for individuality and freedom had failed. She knew she would never be accepted being the extremist that society would label her as. Yet, now everyday, you see women who have divorced and remarried. Her death was a plea for women to understand their individuality and freedom. In "Desiree's Baby" Chopin uses themes, such as, independence of women and marriage between people of two different races. When Desiree's husband notices that his child has a black tint to him, he feels that she has hidden something from him. Desiree's feelings overcome her and she drowns herself