Dealing with Society Edna Pontelliers Battle with Social...

Dealing with Society Edna Pontelliers Battle with Social Class Edna Pontellier, the main character in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, is a woman trying to form her own identity, both feminine and sexually, in the repressive and Victorian Creole world of the latter nineteenth century. She is met by a counterpart, Mademoiselle Reisz, who is able to live freely as a woman. Edna herself was denied this freedom because of the respectable societal position she had been married into and because of her Presbyterian up bringing as a child. The role that Mademoiselle Reisz played within society, a society that failed to view her as being a truly respectable social member, was quite opposite to that of Edna’s respectable position in†¦show more content†¦Such social etiquette involved a woman being consistent in â€Å"her ‘duties’ to her husband, her children, and her ‘station’ in life† (Chopin 121). This â€Å"station† is a much smaller term to display a much larger idea for social et hics. It is in this that Edna comes to odds against and struggles with, especially when she realized â€Å"her position in the universe as a human being†¦[recognizing] her relations as an individual to the world† (Chopin 14). The â€Å"relationship† was being that of a subordinate to the male. Mademoiselle Reisz’s station was among that of Victorian society, but with the tragic flaw that it was only by stature and not by divinity. She was in the social order, but without the beliefs that everyone felt someone of her stature should have To broaden this example, Mademoiselle Reisz is much like President Clinton, in the broadest of sense, because Clinton is among the elite in society. Clinton does not truly have the respect, authority, or admiration of his peers, compared to such a President as Ronald Reagan; this example holds true to Mademoiselle Reisz as well. Like a car alarm going off, most everyone notices it, most everyone ignores it. Those women of the lower class were considered below the Victorian order and any diversions, of either men or women, from their set societal positions were overlooked as being done because of a lack of refinery. The broad onset of the way the Victorian class felt towardsShow MoreRelatedGender in Literature Essay2083 Words   |  9 Pagesstereotypical society and rebel against them that can peak curiosity within a reader. There are people in the world who believe that they alone in their thoughts or actions; they can find common ground- or inspiration through a character. These outcasts are the ones that trigger emotions within the audience, ranging all over the emotional spectrum: from anger to shock to envy. Many authors, especially those who lived and wrote during times of repression of groups and urges for social change, wroteRead MoreEssay on The Importance of Point of View in Kate Chopin’s Fiction3285 Words   |  14 PagesThe Importance of Point of View in Kate Chopin ’s Fiction The impact of Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, on society resulted in her ruin, both literary and social. Reviewers called it vulgar, improper, unhealthy, and sickening. One critic said that he wished she had never written it, and another wrote that to truly describe the novel would entail language not fit for publication (Stipe 16). The overwhelming condemnation of the entire book rather than just Edna’s suicide seems surprising