CHAPTER!
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Background of Study
Stories in the form of prose have colored people's lives for centuries. These
stories have been created as short stories, novella, and novel, all of which can be
categorized as literary works if they are note-worthy. Novel, being one of them,
according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary is, "An invented prose narrative
that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a
usually connected sequence of events." (Mish (Ed.), 2000:793). Remarkable authors,
who many of them lived in the past, have written a lot of critically acclaimed novels.
Further, their notable literary works still remain today and become what are
known as classic in term ofliterary fiction. Classic novels have been recognized together
with their talented authors. These authors have ways to bring the stories come to life.
They possess the ability to deliver imagination into life-changing, reality-like plot of the
novels. Moreover, they can create new ways of writing and new perspective of life
through the novel.
One author among the others living in the past era and having such ability is Kate
Chopin. She was a novelist and short story writer born in St. Louis, Missouri, America
in 1851 of Irish immigrant father and old French-descendant Creole mother (Foner &
Keith (Eds.), 1995: 629). Chopin portrayed the lives of Creole (the early French and
Spanish offspring in the region), Cajuns (the French descendants previously living in
Canada but were expelled by the government then), and the biracial African American
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and Native Americans living all across Louisiana, as the central aspects of her fiction
(Foner & Keith (Eds.), 1995:629). She also characterized many local dialects and
customs of Louisiana in her prose narrative. Chopin produced more than 100 short
stories mostly collected in Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie, and a few novels, one of
which is The Awakening, her best-known novel written several years before she was
deceased in 1904. In addition, she also wrote poems, diaries, and letters, which are less
known today (Beach & Rines (Eds.), 1986: 403).
The Awakening as a novel is what has been accounted as a classic in American
fiction (The Awakening (reviewer), 1972: back cover). However, when the novel was
published in 1899, it arose disagreement and angry reaction among the readers. Indeed,
Chopin's daring story and especially the characterization of the main character caused
controversy throughout the country (Foner & Keith (Eds.), 1999: 629). The novel was
obviously not a piece of literary work considered appropriate for the society reading
during the social condition of America in that turn of the century. As a consequence, the
novel was removed from the shelves of St. Louis Mercantile Library and other libraries
in the nation. Chopin was also deprived from the Fine Arts Club and genteel society
(The Awakening (reviewer), 1972: Introduction page). Then half a century later, The
Awakening resurfaced (Walker, 2002).
literature is widely
In the present time, this notable work of
acclaimed and available in translations, including in French and
Japanese, as the society changes and readers' appreciation increases (Delaney, 1996: 43).
The resentment toward The Awakening, in its first publication time, occurred as
the novel portrayed the sensuous character of Edna Pontellier, the heroine (Beach &
Rines (Eds.), 1986: 403). She was a young woman married to a French Creole and had
two children. Yet, she felt dissatisfied with the restriction of marriage and motherhood
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and rejected the idea that she had to give her own well-being for her husband and
children. Mrs. Pontellier chose to deliberate herself from the standard of how a wife and
mother should be in that period of the late 19th century. Then she triedto pursue what
she considered matter and important for her own satisfaction. Her conduct was contrary
to the Creole culture of the surrounding. Edna Pontellier consciously began to determine
what was good for her and had more intimate relationship with the men of her choice.
Moreover, the
characterization of
Edna
Pontellier depicted the
spirit
of
enlightenment in being a woman. In contrast, that kind of characterization was not a
common thing in the society especially the French Creole society during that period.
Tlms, it made Chopin as the pioneer of American female novelist who candidly wrote
about woman's emotions toward the positions as wives and mothers they had (Beach &
Rines (Eds.), 1986:403). In a sense, she had set a revolutionary way of delivering fiction
with the aspects of woman's struggle and effort to act her desire and be free from the
roles in family, which brings us to the concept of feminism.
Feminism itself has occurred since the problem of women's inequality in the
society was noticed and solutions for it were put forward in the form of books such as
Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) and John Stuart
Mill's The Subjection of Women (1869). Then in the 1960s, a powerful women's
movement challenging traditional sex stereotypes emerged. This movement spread into
various fields that were related with inequality toward women. Literature being one of
those fields has produced literary works that either put women in stereotypes or not
(Barry, 1995:121). The Awakening certainly does not limit women to stereotypes but
even pioneer a new path for women to awake and act their true desire.
Kate Chopin and her classic The Awakening, along with Edna Pontellier's
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characterization, aspects of Radical Feminism also the custom and culture of 19thcentury French-descendant Creole society are the subjects underway to be thoroughly
presented in the thesis. The writer
feels the
encouraging
intention
from within to
explore the subjects concerned in order to gain extensive knowledge about aspects of
Radical Feminism through a particular culturally rich novel, for the fulfilhnent of her
own curiosity. In addition, the novel was banned for half a century following its
publication, and now is already more than a century old as well as considered to be
American fiction classic. So it attracts the writer to know why The Awakening had its
disapproval and to derive analysis from the novel. The exploration and presentation of
the subjects will be carefully elaborated to produce a satisfying analysis to answer the
statement of problem and to achieve the goals and functions of the thesis.
1. 2.
Statement of Problem
The issue to study is how The Awakening portrays the Radical Feminism aspects
of Edna Pontellier character's diverging desire that contrast the French Creole culture in
nineteenth-century Louisiana.
1. 3.
Scope and Limitation
The study will explore the thoughts, actions, and speeches of Edna Pontellier in
the novel which are limited to the elements expressing the contrast between Radical
Ferninism aspects and French Creole culture. The Radical Feminism in context applies
the theory of The Dialectic of Sex established by Shulamith Firestone, while the French
Creole culture will be focused only on the custom and cultural traits of the nineteenthcentury surrounding in The Awakening.
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l. 4.
Goals and Function
1. To find out how the contrast between aspects of Radical Feminism and French Creole
culture are found in The Awakening.
2. To extend the knowledge of literature students and academics regarding Radical
Feminism analysis and French Creole culture of Louisiana in The Awakening.
3. To conduct a systematic analysis on one of American fiction classic novels, which
was once banned.
1.5.
Research Methodology
The type of research that was conducted to study the issues and therefore to
achieve the goals and function of the thesis is library research. Data collection was
conducted in some steps.
First, the writer self-intended to study feminism then she found a novel from
her private collection titled The Awakening, which contains feminism idea She did
preliminary reading of The Awakening. Initially, the writer tried to find basic information
about the novel and the author, Kate Chopin, at Bina Nusantara Library. She found few
references about the author and the novel.
Second, to determine which feminism category the novel was, the writer
searched references on feminism and its development. She browsed them at The Center
for Women's Studies Library, University of Indonesia, to find the appropriate category
which is Radical Feminism. The writer took the Radical Feminism theory of Shularnith
Firestone in The Dialectic of Sex that was suitable to analyze the novel. There, she also
found more information about the novel and the author.
Third, to know deeper about the setting and society in the novel, the writer
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browsed the Internet, as it was very difficult to obtain the particular data of Louisiana
French Creole in local libraries foreign collections. The writer managed to find reliable
sources about French Creole culture and society in Louisiana through several education
and organization websites in the Internet. Aside from data of French Creole culture, the
writer also retrieved additional references about the novel and the author. Few other
supporting references on nineteenth-century custom and society in Southern America
were obtained from The American Cultural Center Library.
After the essential data were collected, to sustain a comprehensive analysis the
writer began the systematical writing of the supporting theory on the background and
development of Radical Feminism and specifically more of Firestone's goals in The
Dialectic of Sex. . In the same chapter are also references about history of Louisiana
development and the society where the French Creoles live as well as their culture.
Then, the writer analyzed the parts of the novel elaborately using the theory and
references. Analyzing which thoughts, actions, and speeches of Edna Pontellier express
Radical Feminism aspects of Firestone's points thus contrary to the French Creole culture
in the novel. The analysis will present the explanation able to answer the statement of
problem