Sunday, March 4, 2012
The discontented female
Throughout many of the works that we have read this semester, I think that a major theme has been the discontented female. The idea of a woman who is unsettled due to her role and stifling domestic life is shown in the works of Bradstreet, Plath, Freeman, Gilman and Chopin. Chopin's The Awakening has served as the one of the best examples of this. The only issue comes along with this feminine discontent hurting other characters. Edna is clearly unhappy in her marriage and potentially her role as a mother. She is seeking whatever is missing inside of her through the characters Robert Lebrun and Madame Ratignolle. I believe that this book is serving as a warning to the dangers of stifling women. I keep thinking about the Pontellier children and what there future will be like. I also wonder if they notice that anything is wrong or troubling within their parent's marriage. There does seem to be a favoritism that is leaning towards Mr. Pontellier. Chopin writes, "Both children wanted to follow their father when they saw him starting out" (3). It is also pointed out that Mr. Pontellier worries about how the children do not rush to their mother or vice versa when they children become hurt. I think that this issue is very interesting and worth discussing more. We touched on it in class a bit, but do we think that Mrs. Pontellier is a good mother and wife? Can we blame her if she isn't?
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Terrific points and questions. Bring them up in class!
ReplyDeleteI was particularly struck by your statement that you "believe that this book is serving as a warning to the dangers of stifling women." It made me think of "Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" and made me wonder if Chopin ever wrote anything similar - a sort of "Why I Wrote The Awakening" - that reveals that she, too, wanted to write literature that "worked." It would be interesting to investigate how people reacted to "The Awakening" (I know that it was pretty controversial) and whether Chopin ever wrote anything about her intentions behind the book.
ReplyDeleteI think that Edna is a terrible mother. Also, as the novel progresses, she proves that she is a horrible wife too. She neglects her children constantly to the point where they are never in her care. Edna shows little to no consideration for anyone but herself. She is completely selfish.
ReplyDeleteI think that after finishing this book, I see that maybe the point is that we should not label Edna as good or bad. Whether we sympathize or abhor her decisions, this issue probably effected a lot of women and still does today. Maybe we are not supposed to get attached to the characters of this story and perhaps see Edna's life as objectively as possible.
ReplyDeleteI personally think Edna is a neglectful mother but not necessarily bad. Her children are taken care of, have plenty of food, clothes, and get candy all the time. She might not spend a lot of time with them but at least they aren't uncared for.
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