Second Great Awakening

The Awakening Feminism is one of the broadest and most arguable critical lenses. Edna, along with other female characters, demonstrate the aspects of feminism and the expected way of living in a world controlled by men in The Awakening by Kate Chopin. There are a variety of symbols in this text that demonstrate the struggles of the female characters. Throughout the text, the characters also grow tremendously which is shown in various ways. This included Edna trying to rebel against what was…

The Symbolism of Birds in The Awakening During the Victorian Era, women were forced to conform to unwritten rules created by society. Women were subordinate to men as they were expected to dress, behave, and live their life in the way that society believed to be correct. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin utilizes birds to symbolize Edna’s confined position in society and foreshadow her awakening. In doing so, Chopin conveys that women can transcend from the limitations set by their society and live…

Throughout Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening”, there are numerous usages of imageries and symbols that she incorporates to display and disclose Edna’s fright. Several symbolic items are used to divulge this terror, and the most communal one that Chopin uses in this novel are birds. Numerous other symbols are used and related to such as rings, fountain, and vase(s). In normal life, we may not be able to relate to these symbols, but it is imperative to understand how the representations affected…

The Awakening Since the feminist movement between the 1960s and 1970s, many scholars have showed much interest to Kate Chopin’s literature. This particular story shows a life of a married woman and the struggles of her family, husband and her desires for love and freedom. The short story “The Awakening” has a specific symbolism that has a lot of meaning throughout the story. Chopin begins the novel with a scene of a parrot. In the academic journal of "The Awakening And A Lost Lady: Flying With…

In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin symbolism is present in numerous ways. Edna’s learning to swim is symbolic of her life and of the multiple events that consequently transpire later in this novel. Edna’s new found confidence and need for control ultimately lead her to search for herself and become an individual once again. Through symbolism it becomes present that Edna Pontellier discovers herself; however it is during this process of self-discovery and Edna’s experiences that occur…

The Awakening by Kate Chopin displays the struggle a woman goes through in order to break her current situations. In this novel, Edna Pontellier releases herself to her deepest yearnings, plunging into a relationship that rekindles her long sexual desires, enflames her heart, and eventually takes over and Enda can see nothing else. As she goes through many changes Edna gets involved in many activities. One of these activities are painting; painting becomes one of her favorite pastimes and her…

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is an 1899 short story set at a time when society discriminated women. The story introduces a nineteenth-century way of living in New Orleans. The experiences the author Chopin underwent during this period and time encouraged her to come up with this piece of work the awakening. The author narrates the life of a woman by the name of Edna Pontellier who underwent the oppression in life but later decided to change the traditions and disobey the beliefs that oppressed…

In society, a women’s job is to cater, or serve the common good, and also sacrifice their needs at all times. Many authors use conflict as an advantage for adding meaning to their story. In Kate Chopin’s, The Awakening, Enda finds herself torn between being who she wants to be and who she has to be based on society’s standards. Through symbolism, Chopin is able to use the two conflicting forces to show her innermost desires for freedom and how society suppresses her desires, which ultimately…

At the start of “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, the main character is asleep. However, Edna is not physically asleep- but mentally asleep waiting to wake up into her true self. Edna Pontellier has found herself living a life she does not wish to have, falling into depression often due to her state. It is through a realization that she does not belong in the role she is playing, a new mindset in which she is not afraid to act, and beautiful masterpieces that she finally awakens to her true self,…

Conformity or Personality? The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel filled with self-discovery, inward doubt, and outward conformity. The protagonist is a middle-aged woman living in a society that forces her to feel that everyone around her is trying to twist her into something she is not. All of the pressure is overwhelming her while she also struggles with the consequences of marrying her husband. He is a man that cares more of societal status and maintaining image than he does for his…