Comparing The Awakening And Story Of An Hour
Individual Liberty Against Company
Humans are social creatures by design, but that does not mean that they do not desire alone time now and then. However, such a claim generates the question of why? Why does solitude seem to matter so much? The question may be answered through either sesquipedalian scientific reports or through observers of human nature, also known as authors. One such author would be Kate Chopin, who expresses through The Awakening and “Story of an Hour” that isolation or separation from society offers a glimpse of true freedom. That in of itself would be due to the feeling of independence from others, while also leading to better development within the growth of the person.
Isolation offers freedom primarily because it separates …show more content…
This is exhibited in Edna during her dinner party, as “she sat there amid her guests, she felt the old ennui overtaking her” (Chopin, The Awakening 120). Ennui means listlessness or dissatisfaction. Edna feels this overcome her due to the presence of guests within her home, of society and societal values entering her life once more. This is when it seems she had just escaped, as the dinner party takes place after she moves to the pigeon house and her awakening has taken place. The pigeon house itself was an attempt to escape the society with had no place for her burgeoning desire to be independent. She moved away from her home because in there, “she felt like one who has entered and lingered within the portals of some forbidden temple in which a thousand muffled voices bade her begone” (Chopin, The Awakening 114). The home, during this time, was not just a private place to live, sleep, and eat, but also a place …show more content…
Because the home is a private piece of property, the owner is allowed to decorate it however he, she, or they want, imbuing it with personality and clues as to how they live when alone. The invitation of society into the home allows them to judge one’s personal aspect of the self, and experiences linger. As Edna changed into a freer being, pushing away from societal values, her previous home became a representation of company. Because of this, she moved away to escape into the isolation of a new house. Society urges one to conform. Only through escape from it—isolation—that one may break free from its oppressiveness.
Isolation is, at its core, separation from other individuals that allows someone the chance to become better acquainted with herself. With a better relationship to the self, better or even beautiful results may follow. For example, in The Awakening, Chopin showcases this idea best in the character of Mademoiselle Reisz who, though often leaving a “rather disagreeable impression” on others, still gives them a desire to “to listen while she played upon the piano” (78). Mme. Reisz is known throughout the book to be a rather independent woman, unmarried despite
Humans are social creatures by design, but that does not mean that they do not desire alone time now and then. However, such a claim generates the question of why? Why does solitude seem to matter so much? The question may be answered through either sesquipedalian scientific reports or through observers of human nature, also known as authors. One such author would be Kate Chopin, who expresses through The Awakening and “Story of an Hour” that isolation or separation from society offers a glimpse of true freedom. That in of itself would be due to the feeling of independence from others, while also leading to better development within the growth of the person.
Isolation offers freedom primarily because it separates …show more content…
This is exhibited in Edna during her dinner party, as “she sat there amid her guests, she felt the old ennui overtaking her” (Chopin, The Awakening 120). Ennui means listlessness or dissatisfaction. Edna feels this overcome her due to the presence of guests within her home, of society and societal values entering her life once more. This is when it seems she had just escaped, as the dinner party takes place after she moves to the pigeon house and her awakening has taken place. The pigeon house itself was an attempt to escape the society with had no place for her burgeoning desire to be independent. She moved away from her home because in there, “she felt like one who has entered and lingered within the portals of some forbidden temple in which a thousand muffled voices bade her begone” (Chopin, The Awakening 114). The home, during this time, was not just a private place to live, sleep, and eat, but also a place …show more content…
Because the home is a private piece of property, the owner is allowed to decorate it however he, she, or they want, imbuing it with personality and clues as to how they live when alone. The invitation of society into the home allows them to judge one’s personal aspect of the self, and experiences linger. As Edna changed into a freer being, pushing away from societal values, her previous home became a representation of company. Because of this, she moved away to escape into the isolation of a new house. Society urges one to conform. Only through escape from it—isolation—that one may break free from its oppressiveness.
Isolation is, at its core, separation from other individuals that allows someone the chance to become better acquainted with herself. With a better relationship to the self, better or even beautiful results may follow. For example, in The Awakening, Chopin showcases this idea best in the character of Mademoiselle Reisz who, though often leaving a “rather disagreeable impression” on others, still gives them a desire to “to listen while she played upon the piano” (78). Mme. Reisz is known throughout the book to be a rather independent woman, unmarried despite