Mademoiselle

Motif- The Sea Quote Literary/ Style Elements Commentary Additional Ideas “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in the abyss of solitude.” (15,124) Personification of the sea. Sounds of the sea create imagery. Chopin personifies the sea as a seductress to rationalize the pull it has on Edna. It emulates a feeling of giving into temptation and letting go of the chains that bind Edna and entice her to jump…

place for women to be in between, “To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts—absolute gifts—which have not been acquired by one 's own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul” (Chopin 63). Mademoiselle Reisz is expressing that a female cannot be both male dependent and a lover while also having the ability to dictate their own life. In order to be truly independent, one must have the bravery to break free from all forms of societal demands.…

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, birds are used as a symbol for Edna to describe how Edna changes against societies standards as she gains independence. The birds are parallel and foreshadow Edna. The Awakening starts with birds to show the current status of Edna and women. At the beginning of the novel, there is a parrot shrieking at Mr. Pontellier in Spanish while stuck in it’s cage. The parrot shows how Edna is locked in to societies standards by her husband and the community because of the…

Gothic literature can be recognized not just by the date of its publication, but by some of the distinguishing characteristics it contains. For example, much of gothic literature goes into extensive detail when describing the setting, especially the houses in the story. A lot of times those houses are crumbling, used as a metaphor meant to enlighten the reader as to the mental state of one or more of the characters. Other characteristics of gothic literature include the presence of a…

The Awakening by Kate Chopin The title suggests the idea that someone will face a new beginning or experience. It makes the reader question what is happening and how it all connects to Edna’s “awakening”. Setting Grand Isle and New Orleans; Late 19th Century Historical Information Kate Chopin married then moved to New Orleans, exposing her to the culture that surrounds the novel. The first emersion of the feminist movement was at this time, influencing Edna’s awakening. Attitudes at the time…

to Mlle.Reisz and she to Edna? Edna is drawn to Mademoiselle Reisz and she to Edna because both women understand each other’s frustrations. Mademoiselle Reisz “perceived her agitation and even her tears,” showing that she clearly understands the powerful emotions that ran through Edna’s head when she played her music (Chopin 26). The fact that Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna that she is “the only one worth playing for” demonstrates that Mademoiselle Reisz knows that Edna will understand the true…

that is roman-a-clef, meaning they are based on her actual life. In 1950 Plath started attending Smith College and in 1952 she became a student editor for Mademoiselle just as Esther does (Scott). Furthermore, Plath describes her experience at Mademoiselle as an “unbelievable merry-go-round month” (Scott). While she was working at Mademoiselle Plath was able to meet with many famous people of her time including Vance Bourjaily who was an American novelist, Elizabeth Bowen who was known for her…

Kate Chopin 's The Awakening was criticized heavily. Different critics shared their opinions on marriage, feminism, relationships, and the decisions that affected characters in The Awakening. Chopin gave many scenarios where these views were put to the test and it was interesting to see how everyone dealt with their responsibilities. Depending on previous experiences, readers will feel differently about most of the events happening in the novel. Our main characters had a lot of challenges to…

“interpellations” of the dominant patriarchal ideology and experiment with both alternative and oppositional roles” (Gray 53-73). Throughout the story, Edna discovers her newfound freedom by experimenting with the roles of two characters: Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. In addition, Edna also experiments with an oppositional role in which she is both “freely sexual and autonomous” (Gray 53-73). During the summer vacation on Grand Isle, Edna spends a great deal of time with her Creole…

Returning from to New Orleans from Mexico, Robert comes across Edna at Mademoiselle Reisz’s apartment. A few days later, while she is confessing her love for him, she is called upon by Adèle’s servant to go to her sick friend. She asks Robert to stay at her house and wait for her to return, he begs her not to leave and to stay…