The Awakening

We all have things we want but may never have. It is human nature to harbor fantasies that will never come to fruition, dreams that will never be followed. In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Edna Pontellier struggles to accept the fact that she may never live the life she truly wants. She finds herself trapped by her daily life: trapped by her children, her husband, and the expectations set upon her by the crushing society she lives in. Once she becomes aware of the fate she is confined by…

takes matters into her own hands and drowns herself in the ocean- the ultimate escape from unhappiness. Love affairs, a distant marriage, and constant resentment of her situation collectively contribute toward Edna’s decision. In Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, Edna sacrifices her life in order to achieve her individualism, exposing the extreme extent at which women were ‘stuck’ in their role throughout society. The most valuable trait, to Edna, is her individualism. Before she leaves for Grand…

(especially the gay community), Broadway has remained largely inaccessible to disabled artists and audience members. This year, seeking to reach a wider audience, Los Angeles-based theatre company Deaf West brought their production of the musical Spring Awakening, led by director Michael Arden and fully performed in American Sign Language as well as spoken and sung in English, to Broadway. With its cast of Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing actors came Ali Stroker, the first wheelchair-using…

rocky one; one which halts her subconscious desires of an independent life. These deep desires go against the societal norms of the Creole culture, and thus Edna 's taboo attraction towards the flirtatious young Robert begins not only her supposed awakening, but also her social and literal collapse. Through the continuous appearance…

roles society places upon people. At the turn of the 19th century, feminism, or the women rights movement, gradually began to become more popular among women. Kate Chopin, in her work, “The Awakening”, masterfully demonstrates her views concerning feminism through her protagonist, Edna Pontellier. “The Awakening”, set in Louisiana during the end of the 19th century, depicts what resulted from women thinking independently of men by utilizing symbolism through birds and the sea. Edna lives…

Amin Maalouf provides his perception on feminine gender by exploring Shireen and Omar’s voyage to the United States after their marriage. Through Shireen, it evident that women are conservative personalities who cherish various environments in which they exist. The conservative nature of women is described through Omar who observe that Shireen has always had love for her country and did not wish to leave it willingly as elaborated by Maalouf (295). Ideally, I think that Shireen shows reluctance…

Addie has a little resembled of Edna. Addie was a 20 century girl with a pragmatic and strong personality as well as Edna. Edna and Addie both had a different background culture that made things harder for them. Addie had Jewish background and Edna was born in Kentucky. The fact that both of them had different culture may explain the level of curiosity that they were experimenting and helped them to awake to a new world. Addie as well as Edna did not care about Society expectation or culture…

her in which children are captivated. She is treated like a small kid who has no sensibility by her husband. The whole day she is captivated in that room like a bird who is captivated in the cage and desire to fly. Similarly, Jane and Edna of The Awakening both are portrayed as a bird who are bound in the cage by the patriarchal society. The so much societal boundaries seems like a prison to women in…

John Kirkland is known as one of the most beloved presidents in Harvard’s history. Among the students and faculty he was seen as a popular for his work during his presidency. Kirkland was aware of the quickly changing times and was attempting to cater to times, while also emphasis in the value of tradition. In “Observations on the Proposition For Increasing the Means of Theological Education at the University in Cambridge” Kirkland clearly expresses his viewpoints on the subject matter.…

Chopin uses the Grand Isles as one of the main settings where Edna finds herself. The Grand Isles is where Edna and her husband take a little vacation with their two kids. Her husband is mostly away working so Edna always found time for herself. With this extra time Edna was able to spend a lot of her time with her best friend who are completely different, Adele Ratignolle. As Edna spends more and more of her time with Adele she gets to see what life with freedom is like. In the Grand…