Kate Chopin And Awakening Essay, Research Paper

A Style of her Own Kate Chopin uses symbolism and realism to enhance her theme

of social conflict in the lives of women during the nineteenth century. These

conflicts seemed to travel from one woman to the next, unnoticed by the rest of

society. Chopin used these conflicts as a basis for all of her short stories and

novels. This inevitably started turmoil about issues that never were brought out

before. This, in turn, opened the eyes of society to the individuality of women.

In The Awakening, by Chopin, a woman named Edna realizes that she is an

individual and has individual feelings. She and her family lived at Grand Isle

during the summer and her husband, Leonce, goes to the city every week, and is

at Grand Isle during the weekend. This allows Edna the freedom to do and think

what she pleases. A young man named Robert, lives at Grand Isle during the

summer also. He flirts continuously with Edna, and she seems to like this sort

of attention. Robert and Edna always went to the waterhole on the hot summer

days to cool off. Of course, they would never go when the sun was high in the

sky. Then, Robert would walk Edna back to her house and they would talk for

hours. Everyone at Grand Isle could see the attractions between Edna and Robert,

even Robert. Edna, on the other hand, did not see this attraction immediately.

When Robert leaves for the Rio Grande, Edna is left feeling depressed and

lonely. She decides that Robert wants nothing more to do with her, since he has

written everyone letters of his journey except her. At this time, Edna is now

living back in the city on Esplanade Street. Her husband is abroad and her

children are visiting family. She is all alone. This allows Edna more freedom to

meet new people without her husband right next to her. This was normal for Edna

since her husband was often tending to business. During time that Leonce was

away, Edna realizes that her life was not how she wanted it to be. While alone

Edna ?awakens? to the fact that she is an individual and has individual

feelings. She also realizes she does not love her husband as she vowed to. At

this point Edna knew what she wanted, and it was not marriage to Leonce, but

divorce. She then moves out of her house without telling her husband. When she

does tell Leonce, he tells everyone that he and Edna were merely remodeling the

house and Edna needed a place to stay. He says this because he cannot stop her,

being across an ocean. Leonce?s lies just go to show that men had more

important things to do in life than please their wives. Wives were the bearer of

their children and rarely the apple of their husband?s eyes. Edna inevitably

tells her women ? friends what is really happening; that she is leaving her

husband. All of these women tell her of what she is about to do to her life,

reputation, and her children. Edna feels that she should come before her

husband, but walks a thin line when asked if she puts her children before

herself. When Robert returns to see Edna, she is full of excitement. When Robert

learns that she lives alone and is away form Leonce, they share a special moment

together. It was not accepted, during the nineteenth century, for women to

divorce and remarry, Edna felt torn and weak. She does not know what to do with

her life. In the end, She walks into the ocean and swims until she can swim no

further. It is inferred, in this, that Edna drowns. In Edna?s drowning there

is a lot of symbolism. Her death shows, in an odd way, the birth of women?s

freedom of individuality. Her choice was to sacrifice her life because her fight

for individuality and freedom had failed. She knew she would never be accepted

being the extremist that society would label her as. Yet, now everyday, you see

women who have divorced and remarried. Her death was a plea for women to

understand their individuality and freedom. In ?Desiree?s Baby? Chopin

uses themes, such as, independence of women and marriage between people of two

different races. When Desiree?s husband notices that his child has a black

tint to him, he feels that she has hidden something from him. Desiree?s

feelings overcome her and she drowns herself and her child. Again, symbolism is

a powerful part of Chopin’s stories. Desiree?s suicide symbolizes the

independence that women do not have because of a male dominated society. Women

had few options, and one of them was, unfortunately, death. In ?The Storm?

Chopin again uses symbolism to emphasize the main event of the plot. In this

particular story a storm begins, and all of the sudden everyone in the house

begins in an uproar of commotion. A boy gets lost and everyone is trying to

help; yet, no one can help. When the storm ends the commotion also ends, the boy

is found and everyone is calm. The storm is used to show the exaggeration of the

commotion and calmness of the household. This particular story shows the

significance of Chopin?s use of symbolism to emphasize a particular point of a

story. Chopin?s realistic tone is revealed in many ways. One way is the

language or slang that she uses to make the reader feel as if he/she is in the

conversation, just listening, not reading words. ?At the ?Cadian Ball? is

one of the stories that portrays this tone. For example, Chopin uses words such

as, ?w?en? and, ?betta make has?e then it?s mos? day? to

illustrate the dialect of southern Creoles. This creates a more natural style in

the short story. Chopin uses very little variation between story lines. She uses

names such as Alce and Esplanade Street as important parts of many

stories. Grand Isle also seems to be a repeated destination in many of her

writings. The realistic style that Chopin uses are also very similar. She uses a

southern dialect and the French language frequently. This all shows that Chopin

only writes about people and places that she is most familiar with which makes

the writing more realistic. When an author writes about something they are

familiar with, they know first hand the issues or the characters, and therefore,

the plot is much more thought out. Chopin?s writing, when published in the

nineteenth century, was not accepted as good, wholesome, literature. ?In her

own city of St. Louis the libraries refused to circulate the book, and the Fine

Arts Club denied her membership because of it. Kate Chopin was not merely

rejected; she was insulted?? (Ziff, p 486). Some critics believe that

Chopin?s, The Awakening, is all about sex. Others believe that it is about

women?s social and personal problems. After reading just The Awakening, I may

have thought it was just about sex. However, after reading many of her other

short stories and seeing the connection among all of them, I believe that

Chopin?s focus is on women?s hardships in life. Chopin uses many stylistic

devices to claim a realistic style and to show problems in the lives of women

during the nineteenth century. She uses the unnoticed problems in women?s

lives to inform society. She also uses real situations to show the significance

of these issues. Chopin?s style is like no other author, which is what makes

her a writer of literary merit.

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening and Selected Short Stories. New York, NY: Penguin

Books, 1984. Klein, Leonard S. (editor). The Critical Temper. New York, NY:

Fredrick Ungar Publishing Co., 1979. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Awakening and

Selected Short Stories. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1984. Ziff, Larzer. ?Life

and Times of a Lost Generation.? The Critical Temper. Ed. L.S. Klein. New

York: Temper, 1986. 486 ? 487.