Gender Issues and Awakening

Awakening by Kate Chopin

In "The Awakening", Chopin portrays a character, Edna Pontellier, who has identity issues with the traditional gender norms that are present in the Victorian society of the time. Edna is described in ways that would not fulfill the traditional feminine stereotype of the period, and that she is not content with the roles that she plays as a wife and mother. The author ascribes to Edna traits that seem more masculine in nature than descriptions of other characters in the story. The societies reliance on various social norms makes this story is relevant in today's contemporary period as gender issues are still a polarizing issue. However, today's issues are on a different scale by comparison, and comparing and contrasting the social norms of these two periods offers interesting insights in regards to how social norms have evolved, yet in some ways, things haven't changed as much as they may seem on the surface.

Body

Edna is the main character in the story who goes through a series of transformations; mostly internally as she pushes towards greater self-awareness. In the beginning of the story, Edna is first described as "handsome" and is contrasted with her Adele who is described with more of the feminine norms that are expected of females in the Victorian period in which the story takes place (Chopin, 2012). Although the descriptions of Edna are beginning to set the stage for her issues with her identity early in the story, her character must go through a series of revelations before she comes to terms with her inner longings that are largely gender independent. "In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her" is used by the author to describe the beginning of this journey.

While some might think the road to a sense of self-actualization might be virtuous by most measures, it can also be a lonely one. "How few of us ever emerge from such beginning" is used to describe the unique attributes of the quest that Edna sets herself upon and "how many souls perish in the tumult" provides a description of how difficult it can be for those to embrace such a journey. However difficult these inner revelations must have been to accept for Edna, they also offered a sense of freedom as she began to discover who she was independent of what was expected of her. "How many years have I slept?" was a question that she posed to herself when she began to embrace a sense of self-awareness that was contrary to the social conventions of the period. However, not fulfilling the roles that were expected of her ultimately overcame her as she struggled to cope with her uniqueness in the backdrop of the societal norms that expected her behaviors to be a certain way.

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