"Madame Célestin's Divorce" (Kate Chopin)

“Madame Célestin’s Divorce”
(Kate Chopin)
Nykoll A. Pinilla
This essay attempts to provide an overall view of the role of the female character
presented during the development of the story. The analysis will consist of three main parts:
first, according to the equality of position and power of the female character in relation to
male characters; second, how characters’ gender condition influences the development of
the story and third what differences between characters within the story and gender roles
from contemporary edge are.
To begin this analysis an important point is going to be taken into consideration,

equality of position and power of the female character in relation to male characters in the
story. The characters presented during the development of the story are noticeable and
essentially different; not only for their gender condition, but also for the participation and
control they have over their lives. On one hand the main female character is extremely
passive and patient; she is always waiting and doing housewife labours. This behaviour is
directly influenced by her immediate social context (1890’s approx.), as is it described, a
very traditional one in which women were expected to be passive in case of troubles and
not determined to take the control of situations. On the other hand male characters are very
self-determinate; they always act depending on their personal interests. In one sense they
are freer than the female character, because they do what they feel and they are able to
prolong their actions through time.
Another issue that must be under analysis when comparing equality of position and
power of the female character is the fact that the female character is very influentable. One
day she has a strong idea no matter what the rest of the people think of it, and the next day
she talks with somebody and suddenly she has a completely different idea to the previous
day. This characteristic makes her dominated by anyone else; that is why she seems weaker
to rest of the characters. By contrast male characters do not change their opinions and
behaviours during the progress of the story. This attitude makes them stronger because they
give the impression they know what they do, even though they can be wrong (Celestin’s
case).
The development of the story is always influenced by the gender condition of its
participants. A dynamic between passive and active can be identified. Passive role is
interpreted by Madame Celestin who is always interacting with active roles interpreted by
the lawyer and Celestin. The female role is defined as passive because she always receives
others’ points of view in stead of formulating her personal points of view. Also the female
character is not able to make decisions based in her personal interests, benefit or happiness;
she is always influenced by the other male characters of the story. From the other side, male
are considered active characters because they express their opinions with determination,
they have the control of their lives and they influence Madame Celestine’s decisions.
Another point that has to be taking into consideration is the fact that male characters
are independent and autonomous; they do not need any support supplied by others, this
characteristic makes them stronger in comparison with the female character. And the last
issue to cover is the fact that the will of male characters is an essential factor that makes the
progress of the story possible. The male characters’ will help to the development of the
story. Their continuous determination, decisions and influence to Madame Celestine is
crucial for the advancement of the story.
When comparing and contrasting the gender roles of characters presented in the story
with modern social roles it is expected to find substantial differences due to the social
evolution through time. For example, Madame Celestine, as it is established before, is a
passive and influentable character who is always patient and waiting for someone who
helps her. This character is extremely different with female roles in our society, because
nowadays women are expected to make all the decisions on their lives and to choose
between wide ranges of alternatives. Additionally to this, characteristics as self-
determinate, self-reliant and independent are proper to describe women’s role and attitude
in contemporary society.
On the other side, the other characters are not so different to the male role of
contemporary society. Celestin, for example, can be compared with many men who are not
responsible for their children or those men who lives their lives with a low grade of
consciousness. An interesting point about this character is that, even though he is mistaken
in the manner he acts he is not as criticised by readers as Madame Celestin who also makes
the wrong decisions. A suitable explanation to the previous point could be that in the time
this short story was written (1890’s approx.) men were more respected because of the
gender and more licenses were allowed for them. As a result it was not so criticised the fact
that men were irresponsible or bohemians.
And lastly the character of the lawyer that is different to the male role of contemporary
society. However this character can still be found in the present and it is not very
representative of nowadays’ men. This idea can be explained in the following way; the
character has a mistaken view of women as the minority of men in our society do. He
perceives women as objects of company, for instance, the only reason why he is interesting
in Madame Celestin is his need of a wife and no other than pretty Madame Celestin could
fit that space. The conception of women as a supply of men lives is definitely an obsolete
idea for women and men of contemporary society. Nowadays both genders have reach to a
similar level, so there is not need for men or for women to have a support provided by
his/her sexual opposite at least no other than love.

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“Madame Célestin’s Divorce”

To begin this analysis an important point is going to be taken into consideration,

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