Hailey Quinn – 11
The Awakening by Kate Chopin was originally published in 1899. It centers on Enda Pontiller, a 28 year old married woman and mother, who struggles to find independence and freedom in her life.
The novel opens with Enda on vacation with her husband and two children at a resort on Grand Isle. She spends most of her time hanging out with her friends Adèle Ratignolle, the ideal mother and wife, and Robert Lebrun, a man known for being flirtatious. Throughout the summer, Edna and Robert fall in love with each other, and Edna realizes that she desires independence from her husband and children, for no fault of their own. Robert, realizing that their relationship can never come to anything, leaves for Mexico in search of a business venture. In truth, he was looking for distance from Edna in order to subdue his feelings for her.
After returning to New Orleans after summer vacation, Edna begins to reassess her priorities. Society tells her to care for her home and children, but Edna instead opts for pursuing her passions and personal happiness. She defies societal traditions of motherhood and womanhood and begins to take an active role in her own happiness. With her husband away on a trip, and her children off with their grandmother, Edna is free to live her life for herself and how she wants to. Edna is enjoying her current lifestyle, but what happens when Robert returns and society begins to push back?
The Awakening is one of the earlier novels that depicts women’s issues and their struggles within an oppressive society. The role and duty of women was to marry, have children, and care for said children. Edna depicts any woman who desires a different life; a life that they can live for themselves, not for society. Chopin’s novel is considered a significant work of early feminism that has generated widely mixed reactions throughout history.
Mrs. Texter teaches The Awakening in her AP Language and Composition class. She states that she teaches the book because, “The Awakening makes a strong comment on what it means to be a woman without a lot of good options; Chopin brings a female perspective to the discussion of the American Dream. The AP Lit exam frequently names The Awakening as an option to cover, so this gets students thinking and it might be a title they see again.”
She also believes that the feminist theme throughout the book is important, stating, “AP Lang students need to learn about and form their own opinions about issues in contemporary American society. I want students to be challenged with ideas from a variety of authors with a variety of perspectives.” The Awakening offers a unique female perspective on society and the issues that many women face. It was a bold and chancy move for Chopin to publish such a controversial novel at the time, but it gave a view into the minds of many women, even if they never acted on their desires as Edna had.
There are still mixed opinions on the novel today, including in Mrs. Texter’s classes. She comments on the differing opinions, saying, “even if students don’t enjoy reading The Awakening, they do usually enjoy the conversations that happen in class while we are reading the novel. There are a lot of big ideas covered in Chopin’s text and even though the book is 120 years old, those issues still apply to our modern lives.”
Regardless of one’s opinion of the novel, it cannot be denied that The Awakening clearly depicts the struggle of women in an oppressive, patriarchal society. Though Edna is a complex character with deep emotional struggles that can be difficult to understand, Chopin does a fantastic job in depicting feminist ideas in a captivating novel about defying societal norms through love, independence, and personal happiness.
