Report about “The Awakening”

“The Awakening” novel which is written by the ‘realist’ woman

author, Kate Chopin in 1899, came as controversial piece of literature
and didn’t receive the acknowledgment it deserves until the death of
Chopin 65 years later, when it finally got it’s first successful
publication when women’s awakening movement and liberation took
place.
The novel focuses mainly on the story of Edna Pontellier as she tries
to find her new self and awaken the liberal desires that started
igniting inside her, which she felt are being challenged by the norms
and expectations of society.

The first chapter starts at Grand Isle, which is located in the coast of
Louisiana. Mr. Pontellier finds difficulty concentrating on his
newspaper due to all the noise coming from birds and other activities
around him. Later his wife (Mrs Edna Pontellier) enters the scene
coming from the beach with a yong man named Robert Lebrun which
as the stories continues seems to have a deeper relation with her.
Mr. Pontellier views his wife a merely a piece of his property and
criticises her for getting sunburned in the beach and also not
showing any interests in her story with Robert before deciding to
leave for billiards game.

The second chapter focuses mainly about Edna Pontellier and Robert
Lebrun who engage in long conversation that further suggest a
deeper relation developing between them as they seem to hung
around each other for long periods of time. Here they discussed
various topics like how Robert wishes to go to Mexico for money and
his work in New Orleans, while Edna shares stories about her family
background and childhood in Kentucky. Then, Robert continued
klinging to the Pontellier family by going for some croquet time with
the children after Edna going inside.

The third chapter explores more about Edna’s marriage and the
struggles surrounding her. The chapter starts with Mr. Pontellier
returning from Klein’s hotel and claiming about his son’s Raoul high
fever, for which he accused his wife of child negligence and failing in
her duties as a mother.
This made edna sad and kept crying on her porch almost all night
while her husband sleeps.
In the morning he gives her half the money he got from the hotel, and
she accepted it, promising to buy a gift for her sister Janet.
This chapter shows that there is a growing communication problem
between the Edna and her husband which suggest a lack of
understanding and connection which would develop more later and
would be one of the reasons for Edna’s rebellion against her role and
a place as a wife and mother in society, even though her husband is
providing her with all the needs necessary for a descent life.

The next chapter,4, shows a contrasting image between a woman

that happily embraces her roles in society as a mother and wife
which is presented by madame Ratignolle, versus a woman that
seemingly started to rebel against those norms and demonstrating
desires to break from those societal expectations. This further
indicates for potential future conflicts and problems that are waiting
the main character as she tries to find a new way of life for her away
from her current situation in society.

These four first chapters of “the awakening” starts the journey for
Edna’s self discovery and introduce the social restrictions and
expectations that Edna feels surrounding her and the conflicts she is
facing as she tries to endure that social pressure and her duties as a
mother and wife. This sets the scene for future problems that will
face the main character as she tries to find her new happiness.

Mohamed Dallal
PS. Sir, I managed only to read the first 4 chapters due to the time I have and I hope you can
accept this much from me, as little and as incomplete as it is. And thank you professor.