The Awakening :: essays research papers

The waken The Awakening by Kate Chopin was considered very inglorious when it was first published because of the "sexual awakening" of the main character, Edna Pontellier, and her unconventional behavior. Chopin locomote to vernal Orleans after her marriage and lived there for twelve eld until the death of her husband. She returned to St. Louis where she began writing. She used her knowledge of Louisiana and Creole culture to effect wonderful descriptions of local color, and she incorporated French phrases used by the Creoles. The Awakening begins at Grade Isle, a vacation spot of wealthy Creoles from New Orleans. Edna is there with her two sons and her husband Leonce who comes and goes because of business. Edna is not Creole, nevertheless her husband is. She has neer felt like she fits in with their lifestyle. Edna has always dvirtuoso what is expected of a woman, including marrying a man she did not love. He regards her as a obstinacy rather than an individual. Wh ile on vacation, Edna falls in love with Robert Lebrun. She a good deal goes to the beach with him. She begins to realize for the first date, at age 28, that she is an individual. Edna feels like one who awakens gradually from a dream to the reality of life. After this discovery, Edna changes. She disregards her husbands wishes and often ignores her children. She learns to swimming which also makes her begin to feel more independent. Edna befriends two women, Mademoiselle Reisz, a pianist, and Madame Ratignolle, a motherly lady. Distressed when Robert leaves for Mexico, Edna often visits Mademoiseel Reisz to whom Robert often writes. Edna continues to disregard the customs duty of society. Her husband becomes Lowe 2very upset and insists that they must observe slight convenance if they want to keep up with society. He tries to get her to attend her sisters wedding, but she refuses. Leonce goes to New York on business, but Edna refuses to go with him. The children are with their grandparents so Edna enjoys her time alone. She starts an affair with Alcee Arobin. He introduces her to the importance of sex, which she did not enjoy with her husband. She closes up her shack and moves to a smaller one. Upset, her husband puts a notice in the newspaper, which says that their syndicate is being remodeled. He tries to hide Ednas strange behavior from his friends.