Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement once said, “It’s the
action, that is important. It may not be in your power, it may not be your time. But that doesn't
mean you stop doing the right thing. [. . .] You may never know what results come from your
actions. But if you do nothing, you have no result.” The novel, The Awakening, written by Kate
Chopin, was published in 1899, during the time when the Industrial Revolution and the feminist
movement were beginning to emerge; however, were ignored due to prevailing attitudes of the
nineteenth century. Next, The Sun Also Rises, written by Ernest Hemingway, was published in
1926, the time after World War I. The purpose of The Awakening and The Sun Also Rises is to
demonstrate how the …show more content…
The main conflict of Chopin’s The Awakening, was
women’s needs to express herself and live freely versus the expectation of the Victorian society.
Additionally, the Victorian society’s narrow definitions on what a woman should and should not
do had impact on the main character. This conflict is developed throughout the novel by
expressing the tale of Edna’s “awakening”. The societal structure of the Victorian era decreed
that a woman was only fit to be a wife and a mother (Hughes) . Dissatisfied with her labels as
“wife” and “mother”, Edna Pontellier, the main character, seeks an independence that is hard to
Sutton 2
come by for Victorian women. In the world of Edna Pontellier, one where she is told what to do
by men. However, Edna has other ambitions: artistic, financial, and sexual freedoms. In seeking
her own identity, Edna runs counter to her society’s notion. Edna upsets many of the expectations
of Victorian women and their supposed roles. These roles include: working alongside the
husband, and to oversee the domestic duties that were increasingly carried out by
action, that is important. It may not be in your power, it may not be your time. But that doesn't
mean you stop doing the right thing. [. . .] You may never know what results come from your
actions. But if you do nothing, you have no result.” The novel, The Awakening, written by Kate
Chopin, was published in 1899, during the time when the Industrial Revolution and the feminist
movement were beginning to emerge; however, were ignored due to prevailing attitudes of the
nineteenth century. Next, The Sun Also Rises, written by Ernest Hemingway, was published in
1926, the time after World War I. The purpose of The Awakening and The Sun Also Rises is to
demonstrate how the …show more content…
The main conflict of Chopin’s The Awakening, was
women’s needs to express herself and live freely versus the expectation of the Victorian society.
Additionally, the Victorian society’s narrow definitions on what a woman should and should not
do had impact on the main character. This conflict is developed throughout the novel by
expressing the tale of Edna’s “awakening”. The societal structure of the Victorian era decreed
that a woman was only fit to be a wife and a mother (Hughes) . Dissatisfied with her labels as
“wife” and “mother”, Edna Pontellier, the main character, seeks an independence that is hard to
Sutton 2
come by for Victorian women. In the world of Edna Pontellier, one where she is told what to do
by men. However, Edna has other ambitions: artistic, financial, and sexual freedoms. In seeking
her own identity, Edna runs counter to her society’s notion. Edna upsets many of the expectations
of Victorian women and their supposed roles. These roles include: working alongside the
husband, and to oversee the domestic duties that were increasingly carried out by