Edna Pontellier And The Awakening

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Time has a profound effect on people’s actions and reactions. In the early 1800’s, it was customary and natural to own a slave and in the early 1900’s, having a divorce was asking to be ostracized from society. For this reason, Edna Pontellier from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a different figure for different times. Modern radical feminists and scholars may think she’s pathetic for her actions. She chases after men while allowing them to defeat her unknowingly. On the other hand, more lenient activists may find her heroic for standing up to a broken system and being a feminist of the time. For her time, the actions she committed were considered sin, yet she was not ostracized. For her time, her deeds were seen as ludicrous, but she acted …show more content…
It was expected that the husband had the final say in all matters and women had to stay shushed. At the same time, sexual intercourse was something reserved to the husband’s discretion. Sex happened when he wanted and the wife was obligated to comply. Edna was not one to fall into this category. In fact, “a green and yellow parrot… with maddening persistence” (1) represents Edna and her unwillingness to stay quiet. The parrot represents Edna and she is caged in by a world that wants to keep her shackled to womanly responsibility. The parrot spoke a language that nobody understood because it was speaking the language of female freedom. No one in this time could even fathom giving women freedom but that’s exactly what Edna yearned for. She desired sovereignty from her responsibilities as a mother and wife. “He reproached his wife… insistent way” (5) shows an instance where Edna feels that her children simply are not entirely her responsibility. As she starts to leave the shell of a typical housewife, Leonce Pontellier, Edna’s husband, attempts to be the chain that holds her down from flight. He becomes the very same cage the parrot was trapped in. Edna is much stronger than her husband though. Despite his attempts to keep her in check, she breaks free to learn about herself from others. Edna takes a liking to the sensuality of the creole people, especially Adele Ratignolle. “Madame Ratignolle… gentle caress” (17) demonstrates her opening up to others. In this time, women were not allowed to caress other women and they were not allowed to explore their feelings. Here Edna does exactly that and with a married woman nonetheless. Although the novel never reveals if the two women have sexual intercourse, or if they even share a kiss, it can be inferred that the two gals were on a whole new level of intimacy. Edna is consistently being caged by different sources. Be it her husband or societal expectations
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