Space And Place In Yi-Fu Tuan's The Awakening

Why is it that some people feel absolutely comfortable and at home in a place while others feel uneasy or uninvited? For example, one who loves shopping for anything and everything would feel right at home at The Mall of America, while one who could care less about material possessions would not be thriving. In Yi-Fu Tuan’s book, Space and Place, he discusses the concept of perspective in relation to space and place. Essentially, everyone is not going to have the same feelings or attitudes regarding a place due to individual perspective. This idea is evident in the classic novel The Awakening. The Awakening follows a woman residing in New Orleans in the late 1800’s, Edna, on her journey of self-discovery. The book also features scenes on an island where many residents of New Orleans vacation during the summer months, Grand Isle. Throughout the novel, readers are able to grasp the differing …show more content…
Remarkably, through their differences, they form a strong friendship, and their friendship could even be a source for Edna beginning to understand her inner perspective. Through coming to know Adele, Edna realizes she is not resemblant of a Creole wife, although that is what she was told to be by her husband and her surrounding society, and this lends to Edna feeling distanced and irritated by her home. These women, Adele and Edna, both live very similar lifestyles. They have wealthy, Creole husbands, have children, and live in lavish homes in New Orleans, yet their views and experiences shape them to have entirely different relationship with their homes. Through assessing the text of The Awakening and Space and Place a conclusion is able to be made as to why they view home the way they do. Edna see’s home a place that stifles what she was meant to be, yet Adele thrives in her home and seems to fit the character of her home and