Preview

Houses as Motif: Kate Chopins the Awakening

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2770 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Houses as Motif: Kate Chopins the Awakening
Houses as Motifs in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

Linda Catte Dr. Kathryn Warren ENGL 2329: American Literature March 22, 2012
(KateChopin.org.)

(Krantz’s Grand Isle Hotel Picture of painting by Tracy Warhart Plaisance) (Reflechir: Vol.1. Les images des prairies tremblantes: 1840-1940 by Chénière Hurricane Centennial Committee)

It is not new or unique that an individual is looking for one’s purpose and meaning in life. Nor is it unique that men and women imitate the norms of society. In Kate Chopin’s novella, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the antagonist, knocked against the societal norms of the late 1800’s. Houses represent Edna’s search for her inner self. The houses which Chopin uses in The Awakening come in pairs which contrast each other. Chopin uses the bird cage and the bath-house to illustrate imprisonment and freedom. The house on Grand Isle and the small house on the Chénière Island represent restlessness and awareness. The grand house on Esplanade Street in New Orleans and the small house located just around the corner demonstrate confinement and control in contrast with freedom and independence. Each house brings to light different aspects of Edna’s personality as she searches for her inner soul and finds new awakenings along the way.

As various houses are presented by Chopin, each will provide insight into Edna’s search for meaning in her life. In order to better understand Edna’s state of mind as Chopin begins The Awakening, the norms of society needs an explanation. Mr. Leonce Pontellier demonstrates characteristics of a husband who fits the societal norm of 1899 when The Awakening (Chopin) was written. Behaviors by Leonce are displayed in the opening chapter of Chopin’s novella. There are bird cages with a talking parrot and a singing mockingbird, hanging on the porch of the main house at Grand Isle. “Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust.” (Chopin, ch.


Citations: Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 1899. www.amazon.com/Kindle-eReader-eBook Retrieved on January 14, 2011. http://www.katechopin.org http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images http://www.loyno.edu/~kchopin/Album10.html Reflechir: Vol.1. Les images des prairies tremblantes: 1840-1940 by Chénière Hurricane Centennial Committee.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Suspense In The Awakening
    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Suspense In The Awakening

    The Awakening was about an average woman from late 19th century New Orleans named Edna Pontellier. This was a time in which women had expectations. Expectations to get married, raise their families, and care for their husbands like good little housewives. Edna has a great awakening (hence the title) and she makes it her mission to break free of the societal bonds and become independent. Kate Chopin, the author, had the incredible ability of making a simple woman’s thoughts and desires the most exciting, suspenseful, and thought provoking aspects of a controversial yet popular novel. Chopin gives these internal events a sense of excitement, suspense, and climax by telling the story through Edna's thoughts and actions. Edna happens to be a very…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Imagery In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Imagery In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    There are many auditory images in this short excerpt from The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. The first is where the narrator is describing Edna’s feelings. This put an image of a frightened child in the readers heads. Another that is easily seen is the dog who is barking. Chopin went into detail of the type of tree the dog was tied to, which put an image of a dog tied to a sycamore tree in the reader’s head. The last two were “the spurs of the cavalry officer”, and “the hum of bees” (Chopin). As the reader one can imagine bees flying around the front porch as the officer walked across the porch creating a warm, but suspenseful mood. Readers can assume that it is Spring, a rather warm season, because of the bees. The suspenseful part is self explanatory,…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Awakening And Ethan Frome: Passage Analysis
    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Awakening And Ethan Frome: Passage Analysis

    “The artist never forces anyone to do anything. He merely makes his case the strongest case possible”(Gardner). As I touched upon earlier, too often does it seem an author attempts to impose his will on us. People are much less likely to even consider a point if it is forced upon them. Rather, if you want to convince people of something, give them the facts, give them your case, and then they can make the choice for themselves. In The Awakening we are given just that, the facts. We are told of Edna’s mistakes, marrying someone she doesn't truly love and not following her dreams and passions until it was too late. Chopin doesn’t up and tell us that we’ll be unhappy if we make the same choices as Edna, but rather shows us Edna’s choices, how they turn out, and leaves it at that. She presents Edna’s case, and doesn't force a thing upon the reader, it is up to them if they want to walk away with a message or change in thought. “She looked in the distance and the old terror flamed 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 a hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air”(Chopin). Just like that the book ends, case closed, take…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Perspective In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Perspective In Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour

    Kate Chopin was a novelist and American short story writer. In 1894, Chopin wrote a particularly intriguing short story, The Story of an Hour, about a woman who was trying to escape society’s judgemental image of women. In Chopin’s story, Louise Mallard, the protagonist, feels distressed and restricted because of the expectations society holds for women as subordinate to men. When the protagonist’s husband supposedly dies, Louise finally feels free to make life choices independently and not have to conform to how society wants her to be. Although Chopin’s description of freedom is the freedom for Louise to be independent and think individually, her idea of freedom from society's expectations and stereotypes connects to Douglass and his story. Freedom from society’s view on the privileges that people have and how they live their lives is one theme that unifies Chopin and Douglass’ thought-provoking stories and also is constant “living theme” in my…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Nature Imagery in Kate Chopin's Works
    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nature Imagery in Kate Chopin's Works

    Kate Chopin uses nature imagery in “The Awakening” to reveal emotion and time; there is a lot of symbolism and representation in this short story. Several types of birds appear repeatedly in The Awakening. In the beginning of the story, the parrot shrieks and swears at Mr. Pontellier. The parrot represents Edna and her unspoken feelings. Also, it’s in a cage, which is a form of literal imprisonment that represents Edna’s figurative imprisonment. The mockingbird in the story represents Mademoiselle Reisz in the fact that it is the only one who is capable of understanding the parrot’s Spanish. By the end of the novel, Mademoiselle Reisz is the only one capable of understanding Edna.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Suicide In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Suicide In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    In the story of “The Awakening”, writer Kate Chopin tells the story of a married young woman thrown into the Creole lifestyle in the 1800s. Twenty-eight years old, Edna Pontellier, was brought down to New Orleans by her husband, Leonce Pontellier, where they wed and quickly had two children. Fulfilling the social norm, Edna takes care of the children and maintaining the household. While fulfilling his own social norms, Leonce is busy working to provide for his family and run a wealthy business. However, as the marriage goes on, Edna realizes how unhappy she is with her life and marriage after meeting Robert, a well-known flirter and guest of Grand Isle. After Edna’s vacation from Grand Isle, the reader sees Edna make very rash decisions and somewhat lose control of her life. One of the biggest characters…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    What Is Edna's Role In The Awakening
    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What Is Edna's Role In The Awakening

    In her novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin depicts a woman much like herself. In the novel, the reader finds Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who, like Chopin, struggles with her role in society. The Victorian era woman was expected to fill a domestic role. This role requires them to provide their husbands with a clean home, food on the table and to raise their children. They were pieces of property to their husbands, who cared more about their wives’ appearance than their feelings. Edna initially attempts to conform to these roles, her eyes are gradually opened to possibilities of liberation. Throughout the novel, many aspects to Edna’s awakening are revealed. Edna’s emotional awakening and change in perspective on romance lead to…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Awakening: Women's Role in Society
    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Awakening: Women's Role in Society

    2. Eble, Kenneth. "A Forgotten Novel: Kate Chopin 's The Awakening." Western Humanities Review 10, no.3 (Summer 1956): 263, 267-69…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Edna Pontellier's Awakening
    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Edna Pontellier's Awakening

    At the beginning of the novel, Chopin´s main character Edna Pontellier lives the life of a typical woman in the 19th century. Society and her successful husband Léonce…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbols In The Awakening
    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Symbols In The Awakening

    Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were fixed roles for men and women as dictated by a male dominated society. The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin in 1899, can be taken to show how some women of that particular time felt confined. They were expected to be everything: a caring mother, a loving wife, a social friend. In The Awakening, the main character, Edna, decides to veer off from that path of what is socially expected from her, and in such creates her own desolation. She opts to satisfy herself over what she is accountable for. In the end, there could be no happy ending for her because of this. Chopin assimilates many motifs and symbols including minor characters to contrast Edna’s complications with her own identity and place…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Caged Bird In The Awakening
    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Caged Bird In The Awakening

    In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, the author tells a story of a woman who attempts to discover who she is as a person. That woman, Edna Pontellier, conforms outwardly while questioning inwardly. Edna married a husband who she no longer desires to be with and does not want the love he has given her, she wanted a new love. Throughout the novel, Edna contemplated on who she could be and who she is.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Role Of Tone In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Role Of Tone In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    In earlier times, American literature barely depicted the true feelings of an oppressed woman. The implication of woman in the 1800s was a wife cleaning the house, taking care of the children, and satisfying her husband’s needs. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin wrote about the life of a grown woman, Edna Pontellier, who slowly discovered herself and independence. She used aspects of her personal life to portray Edna Montpellier's thoughts and feelings, in great detail, to express the personality of an independent woman. As a result of Chopin's descriptive imagery and diction in The Awakening, she was denounced by religious groups, critics, and society. The judgmental tone Chopin used towards society's rules on how women should behave, emphasized…

    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In The Awakening By Kate Chopin
    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gender Roles In The Awakening By Kate Chopin

    Edna Pontellier becomes trapped in her marriage with Léonce. One way Chopin signifies entrapment is with birds. The first line of the novel states, “A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door…” (Chopin 5). The parrot is trapped inside it’s cage just like Edna is stuck in her marriage. Throughout the novel Edna longs to be free and independent, but she cannot because she is imprisoned in her marriage. Since Edna is a woman she is supposed to be a housewife who cares…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Awakening The Bird In The Cage Analysis
    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Awakening The Bird In The Cage Analysis

    The significant themes of Chopin's The Awakening are introduced immediately in the opening scene of the bird in the cage. Edna feels trapped in the small realm of her home, as the bird is trapped in its cage. A major theme of the novel, liberation verses conformity is introduced because although Edna struggles if she is liberated, she is really like the bird because she doesn't have a choice. Society makes the choice for her. The indifferent manner in which Mr. Pontellier reacts to the bird introduces how men are depicted and their role in the novel.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism in the Awakening by Kate Chopin Essay Example
    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Symbolism in the Awakening by Kate Chopin Essay Example

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel full of symbolism which reveals much of the deeper meaning in the story. Within each narrative segment there is often a symbol that helps to add meaning to the text, and the understanding of these symbols is essential to a full appreciation of the story. These symbolic elements help the reader to make a connection between Edna’s world and her eventual awakening. Throughout the novel there are a huge number of symbols but three of the most meaningful symbols used are birds, houses and the ocean.…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics