Personal Demoralization In The Awakening - 1561 Words

Personal Demoralization in The Awakening To demoralize someone is to dishearten or discourage them and cause them to lose hope. Kate Chopin uses words like â€Å"depressed† (56), â€Å"hopeless† (56) and â€Å"despondency† (p115) to describe Edna Pontellier, the heroine, in The Awakening. Coupling this description with Edna taking her life at the end of the novel and Chopin’s own inferred demoralization, due to the universal aversion to The Awakening, the natural conclusion is that it is a work of â€Å"great personal demoralization†, (Companion 5) as Michael Levenson states. Levenson suggests most modernist authors and artists paint a bleak picture of their time period because they are demoralized. Although the portrait Chopin paints of female oppression†¦show more content†¦But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul...† (p26). Mrs. Pontellier’s soul is shaken and her deepest emotions aroused causing a seismic shift in her soul. Kate Chopin no tes that all of the partygoers were moved by Mademoiselle Reisz’s performance of renowned composer Frederic Chopin’s music. This alludes to Kate Chopin’s desire to inspire her audience, through her novel, in the same manner as Mrs. Reisz and the importance of art as it can penetrate the soul. In the next scene Mrs. Pontellier suddenly learns to swim and Chopin describes, â€Å"A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul.† (p27). Mrs. Pontellier, now fully awake, realizes that she has control over body, she has autonomy, and Chopin emphasizes her individuality by referring to her as Edna. Edna’s awakening is important because in 1899, women did not have autonomy; their main purpose was domesticity. The church and patriarchy reined over women who were the property of their husbands and considered inferior to men with no sexual desire. Chopin pr esents Mr. Pontellier as a perfect specimen of late nineteenth century patriarchy. Some women thrive in this culture as Chopin demonstrates through Mrs. Ratignolle. However, for many women, like Edna this world was suffocating. The natural reaction to this oppression is feminism, but Chopin does not preach feminismShow MoreRelatedDemoralization In The Awakening1584 Words   |  7 PagesChopin uses words like â€Å"depressed† (56), â€Å"hopeless† (56) and â€Å"despondency† (p115) to describe Edna, the heroine, in The Awakening. Coupling this description with Edna taking her life at the end of the novel and Chopin’s own inferred demoralization, due to the almost universal aversion to The Awakening, the natural conclusion is that it is a work of â€Å"great personal demoralization†, (Companion 5) as Michael Levenson states. Levenson suggests most modernist authors and artists paint a bleak pictureRead MoreEco-Buddhism7194 Words   |  29 Pag estwenty years. 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