Figurative Language In The Awakening

Eminent 20th century writer, Kate Chopin, achieved literary prestige through her numerous publications that addressed a feminist ideology; however, such ideas conjured widespread controversy during her time, as it was unconventional for a woman to dare question the role society assigned to her. In 1899, she published her most well-known work, The Awakening, a story that follows the life of Edna Pontellier as she reevaluates whether being a wife and mother is enough to make her happy, while concomitantly abandoning her duties and engaging in multiple affairs as she does so. Chopin originally received fierce backlash from critics who condemned her novel based on what they described as unwholesome and immoral themes. It was not until years later
Mallard through the employment of figurative language, Chopin highlights how men overshadow women. It is imperative to first note, however, that not all men necessarily intended to do this to their wives, as supported by the characterization of Brently Mallard. Lawrence Berkove, in his critique of Chopin’s writing, states, “Marriage of course restricts freedom. Whoever marries, or even loves, gives up large areas of freedom--usually willingly… Inasmuch as Brently loves her ‘tenderly,’ her attitude about imposition reveals that she is only irritated by a display of affection and equates it with a loss of freedom” (Berkove). Berkove makes an important point here regarding Brently’s role in their marriage, as he suggests that it is not what Brently does that leads to Louise’s unhappiness but rather that he exists at all. He explains that marriage requires a certain loss of freedom, and although it is unclear how the marriage between Brently and Louise began, it is safe to assume that Louise entered it willingly; however, going back to a previous statement regarding women and marriage, Louise may have entered hers voluntarily, but did she have much of a choice in society’s eyes? In addition, Berkove pulls textual evidence supporting Brently’s loving treatment of Louise, but he then concludes that even displays of affection upset her because it reminded her of her lack of independence. Brently may have been the most loving
Emmert in his article "Naturalism and the Short Story Form: Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’” (Chopin 3). Emmert proposes that Chopin’s short story “offers ‘a criticism of marriage itself, as an institution that traps women’ (10). If, for an hour, she thinks of herself as unique and independent, Louise’s fortunes are reversed suddenly, and she dies not out of ‘joy’ but from a traumatic divestment. Louise’s heart fails at her abrupt return to ‘Mrs. Mallard,’ to her socially constructed identity” (Emmert). Emmert provides the much needed clarity to what Chopin suggested at the end of her story. Louise does not die from the joy associated with the sudden realization that her husband is still alive, but rather the abrupt understanding that the independent world she believed she finally possessed was no longer a possibility. Chopin employs such unfortunate irony in the form of Louise’s death in order to underline just how confined Louise felt by her husband’s existence, for she literally lost her life when she realized he had not lost his. Through the irony corresponding with Louise’s death, Chopin stresses the unhappiness Louise suffered and resultantly enforces it was a product of the repression forced upon her. By accentuating Louise’s cloistered and despondent life as Brently’s wife through the application of figurative