Kate ChopinKate O'Flaherty

*February 8, 1850-St. Louis, Missouri-Eliza and Thomas O'Flaherty

*1855-Enters St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart

*1861-Confirmed in the Catholic Church by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick

*1863-death of grand mother and half-brother, George

*1867-poems, essays, sketches, criticismsKate O’Flaherty

*1868-graduated from Sacred Heart Academy

*1869-1870- “Emancipation: A Life Fable”

*1870-Married Oscar Chopin and moved to New Orleans

Kate O’Flaherty

*1871-1878-Jean, Oscar Charles, George, Frederick, and Felix

*1879-moved to Coulterville

*1882 -Oscar dies of malaria, leaving Kate with a heavy debt and six young boys

*1883-1884-tried to run Oscar’s business

*1885-death of her mother; Dr. KolbenheyerKate Chopin

*1888-read Maupassant and wrote “Euphrase”

*1889- “If it Might Be”

* 1890-1892-Joins the Wednesday Club, founded by Charlotte Stearns Eliot

* 1891 -writes "Mrs. Mobry's Reason" and "A Shameful Affair”Kate Chopin

* 1894 -Writes "A Respectable Woman" (Vogue) in January, introducing the character of Gouvernail, who reappears in The Awakening

*1897-1898 –wrote “The Awakening”

*1899 The Awakening published by Herbert S. Stone and Company on April 22

*1901 -wrote and published only one story, "The Wood-Choppers."Kate Chopin

*1902 -published her last story, "Polly“

*1904-Died from a cerebral hemorrhage on August 22, after collapsing at the World's Fair

Kate Chopin

Left: KC’s Grave; Right: KC’s Statue

The AwakeningOriginally entitled as “The Solitary

Soul”Deals about a woman’s transformation

from an obedient, traditional wife and mother into a self-realized, sexually liberated and independent woman

Louisiana law still held that wives were the property of their husbands

Feminism

THE AWAKENING

Date written - 1899Point of View – Third Person Omniscient

Genre – TragedyWriting Style – Controlled, perceptive, concise

THE CHARACTERS

Edna Pontellier (Presbyterian)◦She got a husband and two lovers◦Cannot married the other man she loves because of finding marriage too constricting

◦trying to become a human being the best way she knows how

Robert Lebrun◦handsome, charming, and seems to have

fallen in love with Edna Pontellier◦Robert leaves the country for Mexico,

where he plans to make his fortune and declares their love upon his return

Leonce Pontellier◦A “perfect” husband◦he acts like Edna is his property◦Not Edna’s first kiss :D

Adelle Ratignolle◦Edna’s close friend and almost complete

opposite◦represents the ideal that Edna is

supposed to imitate◦her character started chain reaction in

Edna’s life

Mademoiselle Reisz◦A pianist and an odd “creature” in the

society◦Responsible for keeping Edna’s love for

Robert alive

Alcee Arobin◦introduces Edna to various physical pleasures

◦Has a playboy reputation

Doctor Mandelet◦Family physician

Victor Lebrun◦Robert’s younger brother

The Two Lovers◦Remain faceless and nameless◦Always appear in conjunction with the lady in black

The Lady in Black◦Vacationer at the Grand Isle◦Follows the young lovers around with patient, resigned solitude

Additional CharactersEtienne and RaoulBeaudeletMariequitaMonsieur RatignolleMonsieur FarivalMrs. HighcampMr. and Mrs. MerrimanMiss Mayblunt and Mr. Gouvernail

SETTING

Grand Isle and New Orleans during the

late nineteenth century

Chapter 1The novel opens on Grand Isle, a

summer retreat for the wealthy French Creoles of New Orleans

The parrot repeats phrases in English and French while the mockingbird sings persistently

Léonce smokes a cigar and watches as his wife, Edna, strolls toward him from the beach, accompanied by the young Robert Lebrun, Mrs. Lebrun’s son

Chapter 2

Robert and Edna talk without pause, discussing the sights and people around them

Robert: Plan to find his luck in Mexico

Edna: Her childhood in Kentucky and her sister’s upcoming wedding

Chapter 3Léonce is in great spirits when he returns from playing billiards late that evening

Edna experiences an unfamiliar oppression

The next morning, Léonce departs for a week-long business trip. Before he leaves, he gives Edna some spending money and says good-bye to the small crowd that has gathered to see him off.

Chapter 4Léonce cannot explain why he always feels dissatisfied with Edna’s treatment of their sons, but he perceives a difference between his wife and the other women on Grand Isle

Edna’s friend Adèle Ratignolle, who embodies all the grace and charm of a romantic heroine, is the prime example of the mother-woman

Chapter 5As Robert sits with Edna and Adèle by the shore, he tells Edna of his days as Adèle’s attendant

Although Robert devotes himself to a different woman every summer, his playful attentions to Edna differ from his treatments of past women

Edna declines Robert’s suggestion that they go for a swim

Chapter 6

She is slowly beginning to think of herself as an individual with a relationship to the outer world, and the sound of the sea draws her soul to “inward contemplation” and wisdom that are disturbing in their newness and depth.

Chapter 7Throughout the summer at Grand Isle, her

reserve gradually erodes because of her increasingly close friendship with the candid Adèle

“Sometimes I feel this summer as if I were walking through the green meadow again; idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided.” -Edna

The relationships that most absorbed Edna were her intense, unrequited crushes on men

She considers herself “uneven and impulsive” in her affections for her children

Chapter 8After Edna’s confession of her former

passions, Adèle worries that Edna might take Robert’s attentions seriously and warns him to let her alone.

Adèle reminds him that if he were indeed to court married women with any seriousness, then he would ruin his reputation as a trusted gentleman

Robert launches into stories of a well-known seducer, Alcée Arobin

Chapter 9A few weeks after Adèle’s conversation with Robert, Madame Lebrun and her renters hold a Saturday-night celebration to entertain their weekend guests

Edna’s response to Adele and Mademoiselle Reisz’s piano piece

Robert suggests that the party go for a nighttime swim.

Chapter 10As the crowd makes its way from the party down to the beach, Edna wonders why Robert has distanced himself from her

Despite the attempts of the other guests to teach her, she is still unable to swim

Robert runs after Edna as she makes her way home, and she asks if he thought she was afraid to walk home alone.

Chapter 11

Léonce returns and urges Edna to go to bed, but she tells him not to wait for her—she will stay outside in the hammock

Chapter 12Edna wakes up after a few hours of restless sleep

The two lovers and the lady in black, are on their way to the wharf to take the boat to the isle of Chênière Caminada for Sunday mass

Edna and Robert together

Chapter 13In the middle of the church service, Edna feels drowsy and troubled

Edna takes a rest on the cottage of Madame Antoine

They rest together under a tree, listening to the Antoine’s stories until the sun has set and they must return home.

Chapter 14When Edna returns, Adèle reports that

Edna’s younger son, Etienne, has refused to go to bed

Léonce was worried when Edna did not return from the Chênière after mass, but once he was assured that Edna was merely resting at Madame Antoine’s and that Madame Antoine’s son would see her home, he left for the club on business

“Ah! Si tu savais . . .”

Chapter 15One evening at dinner, several people

inform Edna that Robert is leaving for Mexico that evening

Mrs. Lebrun sends a message requesting that Edna sit with her until Robert leaves, but Edna replies that she doesn’t feel well and wants to stay in

Robert himself then visits Edna and bids her good-bye and is unable to say when he will return

Chapter 16Edna is constantly possessed by

thoughts of Robert.Edna’s jealousyWhen Edna learns that Léonce saw

Robert in New Orleans before his departure for Mexico, she questions him extensively about their meeting

Mademoiselle Reisz gives her Mrs. Lebrun’s address in New Orleans

Chapter 17Léonce takes great pride in his

possessions and enjoys walking around his lavishly decorated New Orleans home and examining his household goods

She replies that she was not at home to receive visitors, nor did she leave the servants with an excuse with which they might placate her guests

She throws her wedding ring to the floor and tries unsuccessfully to crush it.

Chapter 18The next morning Edna declines

Léonce’s request that she meet him in town and instead tries to work on some sketches.

Edna informs her friend that she wants to take drawing lessons and presents her portfolio, seeking praise and encouragement in the matter

She pities Adèle’s “colorless existence” and “blind contentment”

Chapter 19Léonce, severely displeased by Edna’s

refusal to submit to his demands, scolds his wife for spending her days painting instead of caring for the “comfort of her family.”

Léonce sometimes speculates that Edna suffers from some mental disturbance, and he leaves Edna alone to paint and sing Robert’s song to herself as she dreams of the sea and Grand Isle

Chapter 20Edna visits Madame Lebrun in search

of Mademoiselle Reisz’s new addressEdna is depressed to hear that Robert

enclosed no message for herShe asks about Mademoiselle Reisz,

and Madame Lebrun gives her the pianist’s new address

“Some way she doesn’t seem like the same woman.” –Victor Lebrun

Chapter 21Mademoiselle mentions nonchalantly that Robert has sent her a letter from Mexico, in which he has written almost entirely about Edna

She mentioned that Robert requested to play for Edna “That Impromptu of Chopin’s”

Edna as an artist“Isolde’s song”

Chapter 22Léonce expresses his concern about

Edna to Doctor Mandelet“She’s got some sort of notion in her

head concerning the eternal rights of women.” - Leonce

“A wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth.” - Edna

Suspecting a secret affair

Chapter 23Edna decides to sketch her father in

her studioThe Colonel takes Edna’s painting very

seriously, posing patiently for her sketches

“We wouldn’t have anything to say to each other.” –Edna

Chit-chat “I hope to heaven it isn’t Alcée

Arobin.”- Dr. Mandalet

Chapter 24Argument about Janet’s weddingColonel criticizes Leonce’s lack of control and authority over Edna

Edna suddenly changed her attitude towards Leonce

She find “radiant peace” on the absence of her husband

Chapter 25The initial restfulness and ease Edna feels

after the departure of her family quickly dissipates

One day, Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp, whom Edna had run into recently while at the races with her father, call on her to accompany them to the track

A few days later Alcée and Edna attend the races alone

Infidelity towards Robert

Chapter 26Alcée writes Edna an elaborate letter

of apologyEdna plans to rent a small house

around the corner, which she will pay for with her winnings from the racetrack and the profits from her sketches

As usual, Mademoiselle Reisz gives Edna Robert’s latest letter

Real feelings

Chapter 27“The bird that attempts to fly above tradition and prejudice must have strong wings, or it will “fall back to earth, battered and bruised” - Mademoiselle Reisz

Edna’s FIRST KISS :*

Chapter 28After Alcée leaves, Edna weeps

The thought of Robert and of her love for him, growing ever “quicker, fiercer” and “more overpowering” that affects her

Her kiss with Alcee was not motivated by love

Chapter 29Moving to the pigeon houseEdna in her old dress and kerchiefAlcee begs to see her sooner, and she scolds him but laughs as she does so, looking at him “with eyes that at once gave him the courage to wait and made it torture to wait.”

Chapter 30The dinner Edna hosts in celebration of her new home is small and exclusive

In her magnificent gown, Edna seems a woman who “rules, who looks on, who stands alone.”

Someone begs Victor to sing and he accepts dramatically, looking at Edna and beginning, “Ah! Si tu savais!”

Chapter 31

Alcée stays with Edna after everyone has left and assists her as she shuts up the big house. He accompanies her to the pigeon house, which he has filled with flowers as a surprise. He tells her he will leave, but when he feels her beginning to respond to his caresses he sits beside her and covers her shoulders with kisses until she becomes “supple to his gentle, seductive entreaties.”

Chapter 32

Léonce writes a letter of stern disapproval in response to Edna’s move

In her husband’s continued absence, Edna feels her sense of individuality and spirituality growing

Chapter 33

Adele confesses to Edna that she worries about the impulsive and reckless nature of her actions, adding that perhaps she should not be living alone in the little house

Seeing RobertAlcee’s photograph

Chapter 34After they have eaten, they sit in the parlor, and Edna questions Robert about the young Mexican girl whose gift of a tobacco pouch has become the topic of discussion

Robert ---Edna--- Alcee

Chapter 35

“She had abandoned herself to Fate and awaited the consequences with indifference.”

She awakes each morning in a state of hope and expectation, but retires each evening in despair

Edna and Alcee

Chapter 36One day Edna bumps into Robert in her

favorite garden café, which is nestled in the suburbs of New Orleans

She emphasizes that she is not afraid to share her opinions, however “unwomanly” he may think them. He responds by accusing her of cruelty, of wishing him to “bare a wound for the pleasure of looking at it, without the intention or power of healing it.”

Chapter 37

Edna begins to feel uneasy as memories of her own childbirth experiences surface but seem removed, vague, and undefined

“Think of the children, Edna. Oh think of the children!” – Adele

Chapter 38

A talk with Dr. MandeletShe begins to say that no one has any right to oblige her to do what she does not wish, excepting, perhaps, children

“Good-by—because I love you,” – Robert Lebrun

Chapter 39

“Bonding” with Victor and Mariequita

The night before, Edna realized EVERYTHING

Edna committed suicide by drowning herself into the sea, naked

PLOT ANALYSISExposition

◦Edna is stuck in a loveless marriage

Conflict◦Robert Lebrun came into the scene

Complication◦Robert was awakened that he was in a wrong affair; Edna became independent

PLOT ANALYSIS

Climax◦Edna and Robert met again

Denouement◦Robert left Edna forever

Conclusion◦Edna drowns into the sea

SYMBOLISMS

Edna Pontellier◦Typifies an individual who is afraid to express himself because of the criticisms and judgments he might received from society

◦Symbolizes unstable mind; pleasure

SYMBOLISMS

Grand Isle◦The quest in finding Edna’s real self and identity

SYMBOLISMSBirds

◦The parrot (Edna) and the mocking bird (Mademoiselle Reisz)

◦“The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings.“

- Mademoiselle Reisz

◦Bird with the broken wing

SYMBOLISMSSea

◦Empowerment◦Lover “"The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.“

◦Ending her life where it truly began

SYMBOLISMS

Music of the piano◦Edna’s unconscious thoughts, desires, and feelings

SYMBOLISMS

The Two Lovers◦Edna and Leonce◦Edna and Robert◦Edna and Alcee◦Young love accepted by society

SYMBOLISMS

The Black Lady

“Love does not always last forever.”

THEMESSolitude as a Consequence of

Independence

 Edna realizes that independent ideas cannot always translate

into a simultaneously self-sufficient and socially acceptable existence.

THEMESSelf- expression

◦Once her Creole friends show her that it is okay to speak and think about one’s own feelings, Edna begins to acknowledge, name, define, and articulate her emotions.

◦Artwork

THEMESFreedom

◦Withdraws from social obligations that are important to her husband

◦Moves to “pigeon house.”◦Ventures out on her own and discovers people and places she would have previously ignored

THEMESFree will

◦Her choice to remain in a relationship with Léonce would result in her continuing dissatisfaction with life

◦No matter what choices she makes, Edna can never be totally free within the confines of the society in which she lives.

ThemesSex

◦The choices Edna makes in her life result, largely, from her rediscovery of sexual pleasure

◦Her unfulfilled love for Robert and her loveless affair with Alcée demonstrate to her that love and sex are entirely separate entities

Themes

Public vs. Private Lives◦The public is not ready to embrace the private Edna, and Edna is unwilling to yield to public sentiment

Themes

Repression

*will be discussed further in

Psychoanalytic Approach*

END OF PART 1