Close Textual Analysis: The Awakening
The Awakening
Close Textual Analysis
Semester 2, 2013
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is the tragic story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who has realised how confining domestic and married life is, and has begun to seek ways in which to rebel against societal conventions. It is the story of her transformation from being a woman who accepted her role as a housewife without question, to one who discovered the true joy of independent thought and action. The extract selected, chapter 19, represents well the over-arching themes of the novel, as it shows Edna in the height of her rebellion, seeking to oppose the expectations of both her husband and of society.
Chapter 19 is fundamental chapter in the development of the …show more content…
Fulfilment, or the lack thereof, is an important subject of Chopin’s novel, as the conclusion presents the idea that fulfilment is something that perhaps can never be achieved. In the extract, fulfilment is clearly something that Edna is searching for; she has officially given up her role as simply a mother and wife, and is now turning to painting and sensuous forms of art in a desperate attempt to discover who she is once her ‘fictitious self’ has been cast off.
The use of style is important in The Awakening, particularly the use of symbolism to build on the themes. Painting and art are symbols in the story that are used, not as a catalyst in the development of Edna’s character, but as a physical representation of her development as a person. In chapter 19, Edna’s painting is a prominent symbol; her husband accuses her of letting her household go to chaos because of it, and she replies “it isn’t on account of painting that I let things go” (Chopin, 1899, p.108), showing that painting is not the reason for her rebellion, but rather since she has chosen solitude over her obligations, she has more time to paint. In this chapter Edna is said to have “had the whole house enrolled in
Close Textual Analysis
Semester 2, 2013
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is the tragic story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who has realised how confining domestic and married life is, and has begun to seek ways in which to rebel against societal conventions. It is the story of her transformation from being a woman who accepted her role as a housewife without question, to one who discovered the true joy of independent thought and action. The extract selected, chapter 19, represents well the over-arching themes of the novel, as it shows Edna in the height of her rebellion, seeking to oppose the expectations of both her husband and of society.
Chapter 19 is fundamental chapter in the development of the …show more content…
Fulfilment, or the lack thereof, is an important subject of Chopin’s novel, as the conclusion presents the idea that fulfilment is something that perhaps can never be achieved. In the extract, fulfilment is clearly something that Edna is searching for; she has officially given up her role as simply a mother and wife, and is now turning to painting and sensuous forms of art in a desperate attempt to discover who she is once her ‘fictitious self’ has been cast off.
The use of style is important in The Awakening, particularly the use of symbolism to build on the themes. Painting and art are symbols in the story that are used, not as a catalyst in the development of Edna’s character, but as a physical representation of her development as a person. In chapter 19, Edna’s painting is a prominent symbol; her husband accuses her of letting her household go to chaos because of it, and she replies “it isn’t on account of painting that I let things go” (Chopin, 1899, p.108), showing that painting is not the reason for her rebellion, but rather since she has chosen solitude over her obligations, she has more time to paint. In this chapter Edna is said to have “had the whole house enrolled in