'Awakening' by Kate Chopin

"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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19th September 2012
Introduction
The Awakening is one of the greatest novels that ranks top among the most distinguished masterpieces in the world. In the novel, Edna Pontellier is the main protagonist in the plot (Chopin 1). The author portrays her as a respectable woman who is able to acknowledge her strengths, courage and sexual desires. This character breaks through all the obligations imposed to her by the society to discover he r own identity. She does this to become independent from her children and family (Chopin 19). Chopin portrays Edna as female who is conventional and passionate hence emerges as a heroin in the story. In the book, we find Edna character getting transformed from a state of innocence to being civilized and rebellious as noted in the story, "I was a little unthinking child in those days, just following a misleading impulse without question. On the contrary, during one period of my life religion took a firm hold upon me..." (Chopin 21). This paper discusses how Edna`s character grows and resolves the conflict that results from the transformations.
As the novel unfolds, the author portrays concern on Edna who is brought up in a protestant background in a plantation where she meets Leonce, a wealthy businessman from New Orleans (Chopin 22). The man has separated from his own family and settles with Edna. Appearing romantic at her teen age, she perceives her marriage as the end of a passionate life and the beginning of a more demanding one full of responsibilities. Edna allows her dreams, yearning and fantasies to fade away to pay full attention to her marriage. To support this claim, the author writes, "Edna often wondered at one propensity which sometimes had inwardly disturbed her without causing any outward show or manifestation on her part "(Chopin 21).She finds this decision conflicting with her desires, value and perceptions and this results to frictions between her and her friends. For example, she spends her free time with Adele, a close friend who reminds her of house hold duties as a wife and a mother (Chopin 12).
Edna appears impulsive and passionately loves her two children, Victor and Robert as the author notes that, "Their absence was a sort of relief, though she did not admit this, even to herself…" "(Chopin 23). This makes her to appear in a semi-conscious state where she ignores her own ambitious feelings and makes herself comfortable with the marriage. Nevertheless, we find her latent feeling and passion re-emerging and she develops strong affection for Robert Labrun (Chopin 7). In Grand Isle Edna awakens her urge for art, freedom, sexual satisfaction and music (Chopin 12). At this point, her perspective about the world changes and she begins to rebel against the expected code of behavior imposed to her by the society. She even goes to an extent of ignoring the impacts of her conventional actions as highlighted by the author, "…idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided." "(Chopin 21). From the plot one can discern that Edna has developed unrealistic ambitions on issues related to romance, intimacy and sex (Chopin 24). She is so much overtaken by her ambitions to the extent that she no longer cares the consequences of her desires. She is determined to live independently from her children and husband in order to achieve self-actualization.
The desire for soci...