Psychoanalytical Perspective of the Awakening
Psychoanalytical Perspective of The Awakening:
The True Desires of Edna Pontellier
Stacey Berry
South University Online
The True Desires of Edna Pontellier In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the emotional and sexual awakening is exemplified by a significant revelation in regards to the main character. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is a young woman caught in a loveless, but pampered marriage with husband, Léonce. Stirrings of independence began one summer after obtaining a friend in Robert LeBrun while resorting in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. Basking in Robert’s attention, new feelings awaken and unleash themselves beginning a profound change in Edna and liberating her beyond belief. Understanding that she has discarded her youthful hopes and dreams and that her current life is unfulfilling, Edna takes small steps toward freeing herself. This desire of freedom is ensued by infidelity that fills her void to some extent, ultimately at the expense of her marriage and motherhood. A psychoanalytical perspective will enable readers “to reveal the influence of the subconscious in the text's plot, setting, conflict, symbols, point of view, language, and character development” (South University Online, 2011). Assessing this novel through a psychoanalytical perspective will disclose Chopin’s use of symbols and events to uncover Edna’s true desires. This essay uses a psychoanalytical perspective; however, the use of a feminist or historical perspective can be applied to expose other valid points. First, a feminist perspective could reveal how Edna rebelled against the social grain by acting in a way that was not yet acceptable by women. There are two common principles of most feminine perspectives and according to South University Online, “one is that gender is "socially constructed" and another is that power is distributed unequally on the basis of sex, race and ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexuality, and economic
The True Desires of Edna Pontellier
Stacey Berry
South University Online
The True Desires of Edna Pontellier In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the emotional and sexual awakening is exemplified by a significant revelation in regards to the main character. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is a young woman caught in a loveless, but pampered marriage with husband, Léonce. Stirrings of independence began one summer after obtaining a friend in Robert LeBrun while resorting in Grand Isle, an island off the coast of Louisiana. Basking in Robert’s attention, new feelings awaken and unleash themselves beginning a profound change in Edna and liberating her beyond belief. Understanding that she has discarded her youthful hopes and dreams and that her current life is unfulfilling, Edna takes small steps toward freeing herself. This desire of freedom is ensued by infidelity that fills her void to some extent, ultimately at the expense of her marriage and motherhood. A psychoanalytical perspective will enable readers “to reveal the influence of the subconscious in the text's plot, setting, conflict, symbols, point of view, language, and character development” (South University Online, 2011). Assessing this novel through a psychoanalytical perspective will disclose Chopin’s use of symbols and events to uncover Edna’s true desires. This essay uses a psychoanalytical perspective; however, the use of a feminist or historical perspective can be applied to expose other valid points. First, a feminist perspective could reveal how Edna rebelled against the social grain by acting in a way that was not yet acceptable by women. There are two common principles of most feminine perspectives and according to South University Online, “one is that gender is "socially constructed" and another is that power is distributed unequally on the basis of sex, race and ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, ability, sexuality, and economic
References: Chopin, K. (2005). The awakening [VitalSource digital version]. Raleigh, NC: Hayes Barton Press. South University Online. (2011). ENG1002: Composition/literature: Week 3: Psychoanalytic ways of reading. Retrieved from myeclassonline.com