Really Edna?

So, The Awakening is my favorite read this semester and I really enjoyed it, but not for the characters.  I liked all of the drama and the ending was unexpected.  I'm really upset with the character of Edna.  Edna is a very selfish women who tries to make you think that she cares about her husband and kids but she just doesn't.  We talked in class about the fact that Mr. Pontillier and the children are probably better off with Edna dead, but if I had the choice of my parents being separated or one of them dead; I'd rather have them separated.  The children don't really seem to care that their mother has other people taking care of them and that she doesn't fawn all over them.  The children just want sweets and to play, so if Edna left and only came by every so often they would probably be perfectly fine with that.  Mr. Pontillier on the other hand would probably be very upset and his "perfect" image would be ruined.  Would people blame him for his wife leaving? or would they blame Edna?

Drama Queen

As I was reading The Awakening all I could characterize Edna as was a dramatic. She seems to be unrealistic and impractical in her fantasy of a romance with Robert as well as selfish and inconsiderate in her eventual suicide. Then I realized that what I was reverting to was another stereotype of women, the Drama Queen. Some interpretations of this work point to her behavior as a triumph over the status quo of her time, but I think it simply puts her in a different stereotype. Edna disregards traditional responsibility and practicality to, in my opinion rather dramatically, indulge in desire and self-centered actions. Does this not go against what many women writers worked for, to show women as intelligent and reasonable people and not over-zealous simpletons? Does this characterization of Edna as being passionate or dramatic play into the stereotype of women being simplistic and irrational, or is this a real example of female independence?

Edna and Robert - Cohn, not Lebrun

I found it interesting that as vocal as some people were in their condemnation of Edna as a mother, I don’t recall spending much time on the fact that one character in The Sun Also Rises was a father – the nearly universally disliked Robert Cohn. Robert Cohn’s fatherhood is far from the focus of The Sun Also Rises – ironic in a book obsessed with definitions of masculinity. In The Awakening, on the other hand, motherhood (Edna’s as well as Adèle Ratignolle’s) comes up frequently. Robert’s children never appear as characters in the book, while Edna’s children receive vivid if brief characterization. When describing Robert’s life, Jake says, “He…had three children” (Hemingway 12). A bit later, Jake briefly mentions, “He’s got children,” and Frances responds, “Oh, yes. He’s got children” (54). That’s all we really get. The children are dismissed, inconsequential.

Clearly Robert is not an attentive father. Hemingway doesn’t give any indication that Robert is even in contact with his children. If he is in any way supporting them, neither Hemingway nor any of the characters mention it. I have a feeling that if Robert were funneling some of his money toward child support (if such a thing existed in the 1920s), one of the characters would surely have commented on it because the book is peppered with mentions of spending money. And I would venture to say that Robert Cohn’s children cross his mind with even less frequency (and with much less fondness) than Raoul and Etienne cross Edna’s. So does Robert Cohn deserve just as much censure for being an absent father as about half of us gave Edna for being a distant mother?

Motherhood

Continuing what I said in class, I want to discuss Edna and her children. There's a lot of talk back and forth about whether or not she is a bad mother, whether the children really need her anyway, and so forth. I think that Edna is neglectful of her children and for a while I was thinking that this is unforgivable of her; when a person becomes a parent, male or female, they are responsible for the well being of the child and have to put its health and happiness before their own. I'm not saying that the parents have to sacrifice everything in their lives for the sake of this child, but its concerns do outweigh theirs.

On the other hand, what if the parent (in this case Edna, so I'll just revert to saying "she") didn't want to be a parent and it was forced on them? I absolutely do not want children, and if hypothetically I was forced to take care of an infant I would try to do my best, but I'm pretty sure it would drive me insane. Edna's clearly not the motherly type, but if she didn't have a choice in becoming a mother then I can't really blame her.

Other thoughts?

Celebration of Fluidity

Although my initial blog posting focused on blame being placed with Edna Pontellier, it seems that the work as a whole suggests an underlying favoritism to her. I have found The Awakening to operate on two different levels. Firstly, we have the surface level plot in which the protagonist’s demise is caused by marital infidelity. On a deeper level, we can detect the author making a disapproving statement about the restrained nature of women in society during her day.  It almost seems as if this entire story has been crafted as a covert jest toward the oppressive tendencies of the American patriarchal society. I have come to this conclusion through the analysis of a few major elements in the work. Firstly, the resolution of the story is death. By showing us that the only acceptable route for a woman who follows her true passions is death, Chopin is commenting on the absurdity of the lack of feminine freedom in such a “free country.” This comment is well concealed, however, by the projected ideal of remaining faithful to husbands. Chopin’s voice resonates clearly in my head, saying “remain faithful to your husband or you will die” (a statement too absurd to be called anything other than ridicule). One of the images used in this work is the gulf. The fact that this large body of water accompanies both Edna’s arousal for Edward and her suicide suggests that water is associated with danger. Chopin’s narration effectively embodies the masculine perspective that water is dangerous. Apart from the sexual connotation that it carries, water by itself is fluid and formless: for women, fluidity suggests infidelity. The constantly changing and fluctuating nature of water mirrored the perceived tendency of a woman to be dishonest and unfaithful during this time period. This comparison is evident, as Edna is sexual, free spirited, and enigmatic to the men of the work, just like the gulf. I experienced an undertone of support and admiration for Edna throughout the work. Although Chopin makes her actions (with regards to her family and kids) rather detestable, I found that the writing style offered sympathy and a certain level of identification with the protagonist. Chopin achieves this in a very veiled manner. She presents Edna as an underdog that ultimately meets her demise, yet through this demonstration, she makes a subtle statement about the injustice of life for women in the late 19th century. 

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.

Discussion Questions for 3/9

1. I was really struck by the review from "Books of the Week" (and I will probably be writing my blog post about it) published in the Providence Sunday Journal, especially the ending where it begins, "The worst of such stories is that they will come into the hands of the youth--" Looking at this review from a feminism perspective, what do you make of the language? Why does there seem to be such a fear of accepting a sense oif female independence?

2. Why do you think Chopin wrote this story as a kind of mirror image to her life? Was it simply for the purpose of being rebellious against societal expectations, or was Chopin perhaps attempting to "awaken" other women?