Kate Chopin’s story The Awakening tells the story of a lady named Edna who has infidelity issues. Edna struggles within a love triangle between her husband, Robert, and Alcee. Edna’s heart longs for Robert, but that relationship ends. The story concludes with Edna swimming out into the ocean without returning. There are several different critical receptions relating to The Awakening. Two of my sources are related and argues that The Awakening wasn’t created for children. The other source disputes that Chopin used narrative techniques when writing this short novel. My goal in this paper is to prove that the review by C.L Deyo fits the evidence the most.
In 1899, an unsigned author from the Providence Sunday Journal and C.L. Deyo from the St. …show more content…
Mou argued that there was more to Chopin’s skills though. She believed Chopin wanted Edna to be seen as the first American female artist within the American cultural landscape (103). Mou also felt strong about Chopin using free indirect discourse, which is defined as “A manner of presenting the thoughts or utterances of a fictional character as it is from the character’s point of view” (Baldick). This is used “To represent what a character is thinking or speaking while simultaneously indicating the narrator’s attitude toward the character” (103). Mou believed this technique was used because the concern of Edna battling between the artistic awakening of a female and the common norms of a woman (104). Edna’s progress is shown through her chain of conversations through Chopin’s techniques. Mou also pointed out four other ways The Awakening was critiqued. The first critique revolves around Edna’s sexual awakening. Meaning the writer had a strong opposition to Chopin creating Edna’s character in such a sexual way leading to her infidelity (104). The other three critiques Mou described as Edna’s goal of her feminism to be subjective, the relationship between women and language, and Chopin’s use of her artistic mind
In 1899, an unsigned author from the Providence Sunday Journal and C.L. Deyo from the St. …show more content…
Mou argued that there was more to Chopin’s skills though. She believed Chopin wanted Edna to be seen as the first American female artist within the American cultural landscape (103). Mou also felt strong about Chopin using free indirect discourse, which is defined as “A manner of presenting the thoughts or utterances of a fictional character as it is from the character’s point of view” (Baldick). This is used “To represent what a character is thinking or speaking while simultaneously indicating the narrator’s attitude toward the character” (103). Mou believed this technique was used because the concern of Edna battling between the artistic awakening of a female and the common norms of a woman (104). Edna’s progress is shown through her chain of conversations through Chopin’s techniques. Mou also pointed out four other ways The Awakening was critiqued. The first critique revolves around Edna’s sexual awakening. Meaning the writer had a strong opposition to Chopin creating Edna’s character in such a sexual way leading to her infidelity (104). The other three critiques Mou described as Edna’s goal of her feminism to be subjective, the relationship between women and language, and Chopin’s use of her artistic mind