The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Awakening

Kate Chopin wrote an amazing story called The Awakening in the late nineteenth century. The story focuses on a family that was dealing with struggles not really acceptable by society back in that time. Kate was exploring the growth of woman during that era. One of the main characters was Edna Pontellier who suffered with sexual identity issues, infidelity, and major depression because of the way she was treated by her husband.

Edna was a prisoner in her own society and continues to struggle with her views of motherhood, femininity, and society's views of it. Also, she deals with her husband, Leonce Pontellier, and his feelings that her only goals in life should be worrying about maintaining the house and care of their two children. The problem she had with that is she wants her identity to consist of more than just that. She wants to be seen as a sexual being by her husband as well and not just what his beliefs of what she should be worried about being in life. Edna knew she was wife and a mother, but that is not all she felt her identity should be. She wanted to be shown intimate affection as well. Also she was an artist besides all those other things but wasn't able to pursue that because of her other responsibilities.

Since her husband doesn't identify with her more than a mother and homemaker she looks outside of the relationship to fill that sexual, intimate void. Edna fell in love with another man named Robert, who is the son of the owner of the resort where the Pontellier family spent their summer vacations. He showed her attention that she yearned from her husband but never received. Robert later goes to Mexico and tells Edna it's for business but in all actuality it was to leave the situation. He knew she was married and that nothing could become of their relationship. Edna ends up spending time with another man, Alcee Arobin, while her husband is out of town for a while on business, and also while Robert is gone supposedly on business. This is the first time she was actually seen as a sexual being, something she had been longing for for a long time. Edna ended up cheating on her husband with Alcee. Adultery then was something that wasn't socially accepted. Robert was the man she would have loved to have the affair with, but with him gone and her in need of some kind of sexual attention from someone, she went on and had sex with Alcee instead. Robert returns from Mexico and admitted he lied about the business trip and that it was to get away from relationship that had no future. He also confessed to her the love he had for her. After confessing his love he left a note later at her house saying "I love you. Good-by- because I love you" (Frenkel, L. 2007 pg.1341). That was the last she heard from