I am really glad we read The Awakening in class because this is the first time I've ever read it. Like some other people in the class, I am on the fence with how I feel about Edna. I understand her position of wanting more independence and freedom, especially during the period when the novel was written. Edna was looking for life experience away from her normal duties as a wife and woman, is that so wrong? Yes, I don't agree with every decision she made regarding her family responsibilities--like Edna only wanting to be a mother when she thinks she has to or should--but I respect her for being bold enough to want a life of her own, to experience the world outside of her societal roles.
With that being said, and as I mentioned in my Discussion Questions for Friday, I was very intrigued by the Providence Sunday Journal review of The Awakening. The author called Chopin "another clever woman" which I interpreted such a condescending description--I can totally tell this review was written by a male. It's as if the review author is almost dismissing Chopin's greatest work as it being silly or a cute idea created by someone whose trying to start a controversy. The author follows that up with Chopin putting her "cleverness to very bad use" and deems the language "unfit for publication." It's no doubt that Chopin's novel was a radical idea at the time to suggest women to have a life outside of their husband and children, but I think the opinion of the novel being forbidden and for Chopin to not "realise what she was doing when she wrote it" is radical idea in itself. At this time, the prospect of men not being in control of their wives was unacceptable, so the idea that a woman had the opportunity to have independence wasn't thought of. Then Chopin comes along and blows that idea out of the water, and suddenly, I think the male audience became just slightly nervous.
My favorite part of the review was the last line about the novel falling "into the hands of the youth." I think this was where the nevousness grew. We've all heard the phrase, "Children are our future," so I'm guessing the thought process at the time was that The Awakening could potentially start a revolution in the minds of younger children--girls could grow up with the notion that they didn't have to conform to society and obtain a husband and have children if they didn't wish to. The "unholy imaginations and unclean desires" are a cop out to suggest a fear of change and keep tradition alive, so chalking this up to being a literary failure is a way to do that.
What would make this even worse is if the writer of the Providence Sunday Journal had been a woman. Many feminists during the revival felt that their fellow woman was a worse obstacle for the movement than men. It would be interesting to find out who wrote each of these articles. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting but to the case of young girls thinking that you shouldn't be a mother and have children I don't think that's what Chopin was doing. Mrs. Ratignolle is very happy in her role and she seems to be very wise and caring. Edna also does not say she does not want children or to be a mother. She comes across more as realizing that she wants to do what she wants to do and when you have children and become a mother this is often hard.
ReplyDelete