Introduction
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a novel narrating about one woman who realizes about her world as well as the potential she has. She is a woman who grew audacious and wild, and always overestimated her strengths. It was always her desire to dip further, to a place that no woman had ever reached. In her expedition to realize herself, Edna Pontellier is awoken to various significant parts of her true well-being that affects her family life, as well as her social, sexual, and spiritual lives. These effects of the awakening are discussed intensively in this paper, as well as the area that is most important to her, that is worth dying or living for. Chopin has included these awakenings in her novel as a way of defining womanhood as well as the independence of women.
Effects of Edna’s Awakening
Edna’s awakening of womanhood and motherhood has affected her family lived in several ways. The Grand Isle society where she came from had numerous expectations for women since they believed that women belonged to men and were supposed to be subordinates of their children. It was thus a society that clanged to mother-women, who adored their children, worshipped their husbands (Berke 145). We thus see Edna oscillating between these personalities up to when she is awakened to womanhood as an individual. Her attitude towards a husband and children changes, and at one point, she states, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money; I would give my life for my children, but I wouldn't give myself” (Kate 35). Although Edna exhibits great love towards her children, she is not now not ready to give herself to them.
Awakening also affects her social life in that it addresses gender roles and feminism. Edna thus becomes aware of her role in society as well as how she is supposed to be treated as a woman, and she starts fighting against societal norms that restrict women. The awakening enables her to separate herself from the private spheres and even starts selling her paintings. Her engagement to a profession as an artist positions her to a public sphere where she aggressively works in making money for herself since here social life has been already established.
The effect of awakening on Edna’s sexuality is the most important area since it had an overall effect, up to her suicide. It made her reject the pure idealism of women's sexuality that believed women did not experience sexual desires (Berke 2). She thus opted to explore her sexual desires with Robert Lebrun and Alcée Arobin. Her affair with Arobin assisted her in understanding and exploring sexual desires that lacked any love. Although she had no feelings for Arobin, her affair with him helped her recognize her physical needs and desires. Her sexuality linked her to the family and thus the most important element of her awakening. Also, her spirituality is affected as from when she began an affair with Arobin. It made her more independent but reportedly rebellious.
Conclusion
The awakening in the novel defines womanhood and how they strive for their independence as women. Though she loves her family, she is not ready to give herself to the children. Awakening makes her leave private spheres and start her own painting business. The effect on sexualism is most profound and makes her have an affair with multiple partners. Her awakening in spirituality makes her more independent but rebellious in the sense that she has attained her freedom. She however fails to attain any once she commit suicide.
