The Awakening
Kate Chopin brings out the essence of Creole society through the characters of her novel, "The Awakening". In the novel, Edna Pontellier faces many problems because she is an outcast from society. As a result of her isolation from society she has to learn to fit in and deal with her problems. This situation causes her to go through a series of awakenings which help her find herself, but this also causes problems with her husband due in part for her loss of respect for him and the society she lives in. Throughout the novel she is faced with unfavorable circumstances that confuse and eventually kill her.
Kate Chopin uses Creole society in the 1890s as a basis for her novel and expresses this through Creole women, personal relationships, and etiquette. "The Awakening", is a novel based on the lifestyle of French Creoles. Creoles, the descendents of French and Spanish colonists, comprised the French Creole Society of the 1700's. They had strong family unity based on the teachings of Catholicism, but they were considered outcasts of Anglo- American society. Clement Eaton stated, "the Creoles, to a greater degree then Anglo-Americans, lived a life of sensation and careless enjoyment. They loved to dance, gamble, fish, attend feasts, play on the fiddle, and to live without much thought of the morrow." (Eaton 252). Creoles were very lively outgoing people because of their comfortably tight society. Activities such as Mardi Gras and holiday spirits from Sunday afternoon Mass contributed greatly to the liveliness of these people (Walker 252). A large reason for their comfort and "live for the moment" attitude was that Creoles did not move west like most other colonists to claim land. Instead, they stayed in relatively the same area and grew in population without consumption of other lands. This caused a shortage of land, which had to be frequently divided among the families. This made it difficult for the plantation system to operate successfully...
Please login to view the full essay...