Friday, March 9, 2012
Missing the Point
The reviews for Kate Chopin's The Awakening drove me crazy. I felt as if the critics didn't even try to see what Chopin was trying to convey through her story. Both the Providence Sunday Journal and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that The Awakening was not meant for young people and could only be understood by those "matured" or "seasoned." First of all, what do they mean by "young"? I agree that elementary-age children would not understand the text, but anyone beyond puberty would most likely be able to relate to the book in some way or other. It's as if the critics are suggesting that young people cannot or should not experience any feeling of discontent with the life of patriarchal rules laid before them. They also suggest that any fantasies that promote "unholy imaginations and unclean desires" (by their definition) should be surpressed. Edna's suicide is implied as a triumph in extinguishing a rebellious soul. The critics completely missed the point of the story that loosening up on these patriarchal ideals of marriage, childbirth, and passionless relationships would prevent a woman like Edna from existing.
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I found some of the reviews (especially the one that claimed that The Awakening was not for young people) to be very ironic, too. Perhaps the critics sensed that Chopin was making this bold statement against the patriarchal archetype and reflexively pushed back. It is also possible, though, that this critic was referencing life experience in general. It is not possible for a person to be able to fully and wholly identify with a character who has children if he or she is not a parent.
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