Kate Chopin
&
The Awakening
1850 - 1904
Chopin's major work was published in 1889.
- well-established as a national writer
- it was reviewed by critics
who universally condemned it
as "shocking" and immoral
PLOT
It is the story of a young woman’s
gradual awakening.
- sexuality
- individual "being"
- longing for an independence
- suicide
She was very important as one
of the earliest examples of
modernism American
Literature.
Romantic elements & The Awakening
- the exotic locale
- use of color
- heavy emphasis on nature
- romantic theme: individuality and freedom
- rebellion against society and death
Edna - two extremes in life
- completely alone = romanticism
&
- frequent inner thoughts
- memories of childhood
- the personified sea (nature)
- the mysterious woman in black
- the romantic music, dinner party
- desire to express herself
Naturalism & The Awakening
- Edna as hostage to her biology
- She is female (children & wife)
- society dictates behavior
- "no attempt to suppress her impulses"
- welfare of her
children
Local Color & The Awakening
- characterizations of the people
- the descriptions of places
- fundamental meaning of the story
- Creole society and its social mores
- women making choices that create a life
STYLE:
Chopin interested in how one
tells the story as the story itself.
Perspective – multiple
Point of view
Imagery
Appearance in reality:
- seen in the New Orleans experience
- things are not always what they seem
- things are different to different players.
All of these formed her style
- theme based
- her stories were very short
- she was experimenting with style
Women’s Rights:
- Chopin: was not a feminist nor
a suffragist
- took women extremely seriously
- due to her background (mother …)
-
- lack of interest in feminism and
suffrage: she simply had a different
understanding of freedom.
- Freedom = “character of living your life
within the constraints that the world
makes [or] your God offers you,
because all of us do live within constraints.”
Religion:
- influence of Catholicism
- she promoted the idea that every
human person could be excellent
and valuable
Social Classes:
- Black v. White
- Rich v. Poor
- Male v. Female
- comfortable with difference
- part of life
Theme:
- No true beauty without complexity or
conflict
- tragedy and complexity are needed
Story information:
Creole: is a ‘white person
descended from the French
or Spanish settlers of Louisiana
and the Gulf States and
preserving their characteristic
speech and culture.’ . . .
Three groups:
1) whites - highest class
2) free Blacks - emancipated slaves
middle class
3) slaves household property
the lowest class
They had a complex social organization
which included foreign groups: Germans,
Irish, and Spaniards.
Culture:
- father was dominant
- his word was law
- not always a faithful spouse
- ruled like a king
- dutiful in the sense he went places
with his wife
Young men:
- given their own quarters
- entertainment
- had mistresses
(Black or mulatto)
- couldn’t marry them
- accepted custom
- marriages = business
- wives = passive and ‘innocent’ lovers
Young Women:
- needed a dowry
- marry before 25 years old
- “coming out” event (theater)
- beginning search for a husband
Other customs:
- weddings on Mon. or Tues.
- bouquet = relative’s grave
- the family signed the register
- bride’s home for the banquet
- bride cuts the cake (pieces to single girls)
- cake put under their pillows
- bride and groom spent their honeymoon
in her parents’ house (bedroom = 5+)
Three kinds of French:
- traditional French
- Acadian
- Black Creole
- Louisiana natives = francophone
French-speaking