OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Book Reports >> Kate Chopin'S The Awakening
We have many free term papers and essays on Kate Chopin'S The Awakening. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Submitted by mindvision on August 16, 2005
Category: Book Reports
Words: 967 | Pages: 4
Views: 772
Popularity Rank: 12,256
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Self discovery
In the story about Edna Pontellier a major theme is her omitted self discovery. In the story we can see how Chopin uses style, tone and content to make the reader understand how it was for a person challenging many of the beliefs of the society at the beginning of the twentieth century.
I believe there are many points in the story that can be considered to be very relevant to the time it was written, expressing ideas of the approaching feminist movement and building up an awareness of what was happening to women and the forthcoming feminist movement. Many of the ideas that are expressed in the story concern both the women's movement and an individual woman searching for her identity. Chopin demonstrates through Edna that she believes that marriage without love is harmful for a woman. "Go away" (Chopin, p.110) she says tells her husband, "you bother me" (Chopin, p.63). In this way she is going against every social rule of the time and chooses her own way. Her initial flirt with Robert gives her a taste of a world she has never before relished, and the gap to become a plain housewife again becomes wider and wider.
Chopin seems deliberately want to make sure the reader understands the dilemmas that the character of Edna confronted as married woman and individual. Edna learns though her experiences as a sexual, independent woman that she must not depend on men to be her own person. She breaks out of her imprisoned life and realises she is no longer tied to the earth. She has the opportunity to control her own life and finally decide her fate.
The symbolism of birds
Chopin uses in many places birds to represent failure, freedom and choices the Edna has to make right. The novel begins with the image of a bird that is trapped and cannot communicate:
"A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!