The Awakening (Novel) : Plot Summary
The Awakening (Novel) : Plot Summary
The Awakening (Novel) : Plot Summary
The Awakening is a short novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. It is widely
considered to be a proto-feminist precursor to American modernism.
When vacation ends and the Pontelliers return to New Orleans, Edna frees herself from
the trappings of her old life, including her social position, her role as a mother, and her
role as a wife. A major part of this freeing in Edna's life is accomplished through her
affair with Alcée Arobin. Moving out of her husband's house, she establishes herself in a
cottage and hopes that Robert Lebrun will return soon from an extended business trip in
Mexico.
Upon Robert's return, Edna discovers that he is unable to come to grips with her
newfound freedom. Indeed, she seems hopelessly bound by the traditional values of the
French Creole community.
Edna thereupon returns to the seaside resort in the off-season. She makes arrangements
for her lunch before heading off to the beach, and carries along a towel for drying off.
Unable to resist the lure of the water, she strips nude and swims out as far as she can and,
having exhausted herself, it seems, drowns. Most readers interpret this final passage as
suicide - the final shedding of constraints foisted upon her by society.
Edna Pontellier is the 28-year old (she turns 29 later in the novel) wife of Léonce
Pontellier, a successful New Orleans businessman. She is rich, "handsome", and the only
character in the novel to undergo a significant change in perception. When she gives up
trying to be a "model wife" in the New Orleans Creole community, her character
develops, liberating her inner emotions and artistic ambitions.
Other characters in the novel tend to consider Edna to be flawed as a wife, mother and
woman. Edna, on the other hand, does not feel that she should conform to these
standards, thus creating the pivotal tension in the story. As she externalizes her struggle,
she becomes not only resistant but also somewhat resentful toward the expectations of the
society and toward her husband. When she informed her husband of her move into a
house that she feels more ownership of, "her letter was brilliant and brimming with
happiness."
Léonce Pontellier is a rather stuffy, prudishly traditional 40-year-old male member of the
New Orleans Creole community. As a highly successful businessman, he expects his
wife, Edna, to fulfill the role of wife, mother, and socialite. Indeed, he views Edna as a
part of his personal property.
He is seen as the traditionalist's ideal husband, never beating or intentionally upsetting his
wife. Although he does love Edna, he feels he must counter her bid for freedom in order
to preserve his reputation. Léonce is not particularly restricting on Edna, and on advice
from Doctor Mandelet he allows her to stay behind while he goes on an extended
business trip, hoping that time will cure her of her newfound desire for independence.
Alcée Arobin pursues Edna Pontellier in a casual relationship that stimulates Edna's
awareness of her own sexuality. He is fundamentally shallow and self-centered. He wants
her in lust without any thought to her marriage or family but later starts to develop more
intense feelings for her. There is no doubt that Edna is in control of their relationship.
Adèle Ratignolle, a close friend of Edna Pontellier, is Edna's foil as a mother and wife.
She adores her husband and worships her children. Adèle lives to serve her husband and
children, and needs not dream of anything else. Her attempts to counsel Edna ultimately
fail. Unwittingly, she also plays a big part in Edna's self-awakening. Adèle is a literary
example of the Victorian Angel in the House. She often wears white and feminine
clothing to emphasize her role.
[edit] Mademoiselle Reisz
[edit] Themes
• Women as property. The Awakening is set in a time period and culture which
regards women as the property of their spouses. This is exemplified at every turn,
from Léonce Pontellier's straightforward comments, to the discussion of the topic
by the narrator.
• Hopelessness and the power to act. As property, the protagonist is left powerless,
feeding a sense of despondency and hopelessness. This state of being is eventually
nullified by a desperate act of defiance. Death nullifies the physical body's
emotional states.
• The call of art. Superficially, art entertains, exposes one to beauty, and provides
escape. Experienced more deeply, however, art calls the individual to migrate into
its realm; it is "the call of the wild." Edna's evolving response to Mademoiselle
Reisz's music as her own emotional awakening illustrates this along with her
developing desire to become an artist in her own mind.
• The purity of sexual and artistic desire. In Edna, independent sexual and artistic
desire become the highest good. Traditional values, especially those imposed
upon women, are swept aside.
• Escape from control. For Edna, escape from control by others transcends the
value of safety.
• Birds and wildlife. Throughout the book, birds are placed in various scenes,
representing the freedom women are denied. At the end of the novel there is a bird
with a crippled wing, but free from a cage, unlike the other birds throughout the
story. This is symbolic of Edna's fragility following her newly found independent
status.
• Sleep and rest. Along with the obvious reference contained in the title The
Awakening, the protagonist is portrayed as sleeping or just coming out of a nap.
This allusion points to a modern Sleeping Beauty in which Pontellier awakens
from her life of dullness, triggered by Robert Lebrun's attraction to her.
After its "rediscovery" in 1969, the book has been often praised for its treatment of
women's issues, and for its magnificent[citation needed] lyrical style.
Feminist re-readings of the novel have criticized its treatment of race and class. Edna
fails to relate her own social confinement to the subordinate status of the faceless black
servants in the novel.
Many critics claim that the constant chapter breaks take away from the book and cause
the scenes to be forgettable.[citation needed]
Kate Chopin
From Wikiquote
Kate Chopin (1851-02-08 – 1904-08-22) was an American author of short stories and
novels.
[edit] Sourced
[edit] The Awakening (1899)
• Looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has
suffered some damage.
• As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose
herself.
• She could only realize that she herself — her present self — was in some way
different from the other self. That she was seeing with different eyes.
• Edna wondered if they had all gone mad, to be talking and clamoring at that rate.
She herself could think of nothing to say about Mexico or the Mexicans.
• The present alone was significant; was hers, to torture her as it was doing then
with the biting conviction that she had lost that which she had held, that she had
been denied that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded.
• She was moved by a kind of commiseration for Madame Ratignolle — a pity for
that colorless existence which never uplifted its possessor beyond the region of
blind contentment, in which no moment of anguish ever visited her soul, in which
she would never have the taste of life's delirium.
• "Do you suppose a woman knows why she loves? Does she select? Does she say
to herself, 'Go to! here is a distinguished statesman with presidential possibilities;
I shall proceed to fall in love with him.' or, 'I shall set my heart upon this
musician, whose fame is on every tongue?' or 'this financier, who controls the
world's money markets?'"
• "The bird that would soar above the plain of tradition and prejiduce must have
strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted,
fluttering back to earth."
• There was something in her attitude, in her whole appearence when she leaned her
head against the high-backed chair and spread her arms, which suggested the
regal woman, the one who rules, who looks on, who stands alone.
• "I've been seeing the waves and the white beach of Grand Isle; the quiet, grassy
street of the Chênière Caminada; the old sunny fort at Grand Terre. I've been
working with a little more comprehension than a machine, and still feeling like a
lost soul."
• All sense of reality had gone out of her life; she had abandoned herself to fate,
and awaited the consequences with indeference.
• There was no despondency when she fell asleep that night; nor was there hope
when she awoke in the morning.
• "You have been a very foolish boy, waisting your time dreaming of impossible
things when you speak of Mr. Pontellier setting me free! I am no longer one of
Mr. Pontelliere's possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose. If
he were to say, 'here Robert, take her and be happy; she is yours,' I should laugh at
you both"
• "The years that are gone seem like dreams -if one might go on sleeping and
dreaming- but to wake up and find -oh! well! perhaps it is better to wake up after
all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all ones life."
• She looked into the distance, and the old terror flameed up for an instant, then
sank again. Edna heard her father's voice and her sister Margaret's. She heard the
barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the
cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees,
and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.
Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin (born Katherine O'Flaherty on February 8, 1851 – August 22, 1904) was
an American author of short stories and novels, mostly of a Louisiana Creole
background. She is now considered by some to have been a forerunner of feminist
authors of the 20th century.
From 1869 to 1902, she wrote short stories for both children and adults which were
published in such magazines as Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, the Century, and Harper's
Youth's Companion. Her major works were two short story collections, Bayou Folk
(1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897). Her important short stories included "Desiree's
Baby", a tale of miscegenation in antebellum Louisiana; "The Story of an Hour" and "The
Storm."
Chopin also wrote two novels: At Fault (1890) and The Awakening (1899), which is set in
New Orleans and Grand Isle. The people in her stories are usually inhabitants of
Louisiana. Many of her works are set about Natchitoches in north central Louisiana.
[edit] Childhood
Chopin was born Kate O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, Thomas O'Flaherty,
was a successful businessman who had immigrated from Galway, Ireland. Her mother,
Eliza Faris, was a well-connected member of the French community in St. Louis. Her
maternal grandmother, Athena'ise Charleville, was of French Canadian descent. Some of
her ancestors were among the first European inhabitants of Dauphin Island, Alabama.[1]
After her father's death, Chopin developed a close relationship with both her mother and
her great-grandmother. She also became an avid reader of fairy tales, poetry, and
religious allegories, as well as classic and contemporary novels. Sir Walter Scott and
Charles Dickens were among her favorite authors.
In 1865, she returned to Sacred Heart Academy, and began keeping a commonplace book.
She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1868, but did not achieve any particular
distinction — except as a master storyteller.
When Oscar Chopin died in 1882 of swamp fever (like her half-brother two decades
earlier), he left Kate with $12,000 in debt (approximately $229,360 in 2005 dollars).[2]
She attempted to manage the plantation and store alone but with little success. According
to Emily Toth, "[f]or awhile the widow Kate ran his [Oscar's] business and flirted
outrageously with local men".[3] She engaged in a relationship with a married farmer.
Although Chopin gave an honest effort to keep her late husband's plantation and general
store alive, two years later she sold her Louisiana life away. Her mother implored her to
move back to St. Louis, and Chopin and the children gradually settled into life in St.
Louis, where finances were no longer a concern. The following year, Chopin's mother
died.
As to be expected, Chopin found herself in a state of depression after the loss of both her
husband and mother. Her obstetrician and family friend, Dr. Frederick Kolbenheyer, felt
that writing would be a sort of therapeutic healing process for Kate during her hard times
because he said, "He understood that writing could be a focus for her extraordinary
energy, as well as a source of income".[4] She was quite successful and found many of her
publications inside literary magazines. Some of her writings, though, such as The
Awakening (1899), were far too ahead of their times and therefore not socially embraced.
Shattered by the lack of acceptance, Chopin seemed to be virtually nonexistent after
almost 12 years in the public eye of the literary world. Kate Chopin then died in 1904
from a cerebral hemorrhage.
In 1899, her second novel, The Awakening, was published, and was criticized based on
moral as well as literary standards. Her best-known work, it is the story of a dissatisfied
wife. Out of print for several decades, it is now widely available and critically acclaimed
for its writing quality and importance as an early feminist work.
Chopin, deeply discouraged by the criticism, turned to short story writing. In 1900 she
wrote The Gentleman from New Orleans, and that same year was listed in the first edition
of Marquis Who's Who. However, she never made much money from her writing and
depended on investments in both Louisiana and St. Louis to sustain her.
While visiting the St. Louis World's Fair on August 20, 1904 Chopin was felled by a
brain hemorrhage and died two days later, at the age of fifty-four. She was interred in the
Calvary cemetery in St. Louis.
Chopin has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Not many writers during the mid to late 19th century were bold enough to address
subjects that Kate willingly took on. Although David Chopin, Kate's grandson, claims
"Kate was neither a feminist nor a suffragist, she said so. She was nonetheless a woman
who took women extremely seriously. She never doubted women's ability to be strong".[7]
Despite this fact, there is no question regarding where Kate's sympathies lay. It lay with
the individual in the context of his and her personal life and society.
Through her stories, Kate wrote her own autobiography and documented her
surroundings; Kate lived in a time when her surroundings included the abolitionist
movements and the emergence of feminism. Her ideas and descriptions were not true
word for word, yet there was an element of nonfiction lingering throughout each story.
Kate took strong interest in her surroundings and put many of her observations to words.
Jane Le Marquand saw Chopin's writings as a new feminist voice, while other
intellectuals recognize it as the voice of an individual who happens to be a woman.
Marquand writes, "Chopin undermines patriarchy by endowing the Other, the woman,
with an individual identity and a sense of self, a sense of self to which the letters she
leaves behind give voice. The 'official' version of her life, that constructed by the men
around her, is challenged and overthrown by the woman of the story"[8] Kate may have
been utilizing her creative writing skills to relay a nonfiction point of view regarding her
belief in the strength of women. The idea of creative nonfiction might be seen as relevant
in this case. In order for a story to be autobiographical, or even biographical, Marquand
goes on to write, there has to be a nonfictional element, which more often than not
exaggerates the truth to spark and hold interest for the readers. There are valuable points
of view outside the feminsist monopoly of criticism on women's writers but these voices
do not have force in this time of political correctness. Kate Chopin may have felt just as
surprised by the stamp on her work as feministic as she had been in her own time by the
stamp of immorality. It is difficult in any time in history for critics to regard writers as
individuals with personal points of view with no special message to a particular faction in
society.
Desiree's Baby focuses in on Kate's experience with the Creoles of Louisiana. The idea of
slavery and the atmosphere of plantation life was a reality in Louisiana. The possibility of
one having a mixed background was not unheard of. Mulattos, as those with both black
and white backgrounds, were a common race in the Southern part of the nation. The issue
of racism that the story brings up was a reality in 19th century America. The dark reality
of racism shows its ugly head in this story because Chopin was not afraid to address such
issues that were often suppressed and intentionally ignored in order to avoid reality, as
Armand does when he refuses to believe that he is of black descent. The definition of
great fiction is that which has the only true subject of "human existence in its subtle,
complex, true meaning, stripped of the view with which ethical and conventional
standards have draped it". [9]
[edit] Works
[edit] Story collections
[edit] Novels
• Sandra M. Gilbert, ed., Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories (At Fault,
Bayou Folk, A Night in Acadie, The Awakening, Uncollected Stories), (Library of
America, 2002) ISBN 978-1-931082-21-1.
[edit] Notes
1. ^ RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Phillips-Gatens and related families at
worldconnect.rootsweb.com
2. ^ The Inflation Calculator at www.westegg.com
3. ^ Toth, Emily. "Reviews the essay' The Shadows of the First Biographer: The Case of
Kate Chopin.' Southern Review 26 (1990).
4. ^ Seyersted, Per. Kate chopin: A Critical Biography.. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State
UP, 1985.
5. ^ Le Marquand, Jane. "Kate Chopin as Feminist: Subverting the French Androcentric
Influence". Deep South 2 (1996)
6. ^ The Story of an Hour, Chopin
7. ^ Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening. "Interview: David Chopin, Kate's Grandson".
<http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html> 14 March 2008/
8. ^ Le Marquand, Jane. "Kate Chopin as Feminist: Suberting the Fench Androcentric
Influence". Deep South 2 (1996)
9. ^ Foy, R.R. "Chopin's Desiree's Baby". Explicatory 49 (1991): 222-224.
1. Toth, Emily. Reviews the essay 'The Shadows of the First Biographer: The Case of
Kate Chopin', 26 Southern Review, 1990.
2. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State
UP, 1985.
[edit] Resources
• Toth, Emily. Reviews the essay 'The Shadows of the First Biographer: The Case
of Kate Chopin', 26 Southern Review, 1990.