The Awakening – Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Thomas O'Flaherty, a successful businessman who had emigrated from Galway, Ireland. Her mother, Eliza Faris, was a well-connected member of the French community in St. Louis. In 1870, at the age of 20, she married Oscar Chopin and settled in New Orleans.
“By the early 1890s, Kate Chopin was writing short stories, articles, and translations which appeared in periodicals, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was quite successful and placed many of her publications in literary magazines. But she became known only as a regional local color writer and her literary qualities were overlooked.
In 1899, her second novel, The Awakening, was published, and the book was criticized because of its moral as well as its literary standards. This, her best-known work, is the story of a woman trapped in the confines of an oppressive society. Out of print for several decades, it is now widely available and critically acclaimed for its writing quality and importance as an early feminist work.
Some of her writings, such as The Awakening, were too far ahead of their time and therefore not socially embraced. After almost 12 years in the public eye of the literary world and shattered by the lack of acceptance, Chopin was a virtually nonexistent author.
Chopin, deeply discouraged by the criticism, turned to short story writing. In 1900 she wrote The Gentleman from New Orleans, and that same year she was listed in the first edition of Marquis Who's Who. However she never made much money from her writing, and depended on her investments in Louisiana and St. Louis to sustain her.
While visiting the St. Louis World's Fair on August 20, 1904, Chopin suffered a brain hemorrhage and died two days later, at the age of 53. She was interred in the Calvary cemetery in St. Louis.” Wikipedia
Plot Summary
The story begins in a summer holiday resort in the late 1800s in Grand Isle. The resort engaged a lot of wealthy residents of nearby New Orleans. Edna and her husband Leonce Pontellier were taking a vacation with their two sons. Leonce Pontellier was very busy with his work; therefore, he was not at home very often. As a result, Edna spent more time with her friend Adele Ratignolle. During the time they were in Grand Isle, Edna met Robert Lebrun. At first, the relationship between Edna and Robert were innocent. However, during the time they spent with each other, they fell in love. Robert taught Edna a lot of things: she learned to swim and also started to paint again as she did in her youth. These inspired Edna’s desire of being independent and having dreams. Later, Edna decided not to comply with her social responsibilities of being a traditional 19th century women. Edna left her husband and children and started her “awakening” trip. In the end, Robert finally expressed his feelings to Edna. Besides he admitted his love to Edna, he also warned her that they could not be together because she was married. However, Edna told him that now she is an independent woman, and that she can live with him happily. But Robert still could not deal with this adulterous affair. After returning back from the visit to Adele’s childbirth, Edna saw a farewell note left by Robert. After the leaving of Robert, Edna felt extremely sad because she finally realized that Robert regarded society’s viewpoints as more important than his love to her, she also felt regret about her children that she did not assume her responsibilities. As a result, Edna noticed that she could not accomplish her desires and dreams because of society’s limitations. She felt an irresistible sense of solitude. Finally, she swam into death.
Major Characters
Edna Pontellier-- The protagonist of the story. She is a respectable woman who has the strength and courage to achieve her dream: own
self-definition. She refused to be like her friends who idolize their children and satisfied their husbands.
Mademoiselle Reisz-- An unconventional and unpopular women who is expert in playing piano. She is ruled by her art and her passions instead
of the society’s expectations. Therefore, Edna admires her in such attitude.
Adele Ratignolle-- A dedicated traditional wife and mother, the model of niteenth- century womanhood.
Robert Lebrun, an elder man who taught Edna to swim and inspired Edna to have dreams. In the story, he told Edna about his feelings to her.
However, at the end of story, he left Edna because he still could not ignore the rules of society.
Symbols: Birds and The Sea
Birds
The caged birds symbolize the limitations of Edna and the limitations of women have in that period of time. Like the birds, women’s movements and expressions are limited by society. Caged birds do not have freedom to fly just like women do not have freedom of being a self-definition person because they should devote themselves to their family, husbands and children. Before the end of story, Edna saw a bird “A bird with broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” This scene reminded Edna the words of Mademoiselle Reisz gave her before. Once she told Edna that if she wants to fly over the tradition, she should have strong wings in order to face the difficulties in which she may encounter in her way. She warns: “ The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is said spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.”
The Sea
In “ The Awakening”, sea symbolizes freedom and escape. Edna was attracted by the sea is shown clearly in chapter six. Because sea can provide her the possibility of being independent, and also though swimming, Edna could prove herself to achieve the impossible things into possible. She could take this opportunity to relief the society’s expectations and no longer to live under the rules governed by he society. From Edna’s “awakening” until she learned how to swim, swimming stimulate her own potential abilities. She could swim to the places where other women could not. However, Edna also chose to finish her life in the sea. At the end of the story, before Edna swim to death, she took all her clothes off which symbolize her determination of freedom and the liberation of society’s ties.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Chopin
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/awakening/summary.html
<覺醒> The Awakening, 凱特 蕭邦 著，楊瑛美 譯。 女書出版
Bernad Koloski, "The Awakening: Approaches to Teaching Chopin's", published by the Modern Language Association of America, New York, 1995.
19th Century (2)