Kate Chopin By: Kierra J. Otis. Born February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri Grew up speaking French...
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Transcript of Kate Chopin By: Kierra J. Otis. Born February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri Grew up speaking French...
Kate Chopin
THE AWAKENING
By: Kierra J. Otis
• Born February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri• Grew up speaking French & English• Father killed when she was 5 years old, allowed more
maternal influence• Married the French Oscar Chopin in 1870• Moved to Louisiana • Had six children• Husband died when she was 32, never remarried• Immersed herself in writing novels and short stories
while raising a family
THE AUTHOR- KATE CHOPIN
• Transformation from rural agricultural nation to urban industrial
• “Labor Conflict” – 37,000 strikes• Innovative times – 36,000 patents issued• Over a 40-year period, 23.5 immigrants arrived• 95% of women still served as homemakers
THE TIME PERIOD- LATE 19TH CENTURY, EARLY 20TH
• Published in 1899• Story of protagonist Edna Pontellier’s awakening as a
woman• Met with wide criticism for condoning adultery and
disregard for womanly duties
THE NOVEL – THE AWAKENING
1. Women’s Search for Identity – Edna is trying to discover what she should do with her life without conforming to her husband, children, friends, or society
2. Women’s Revolt against Conformity – ties in with the first theme, she rebels against society’s ideas concerning marriage and motherhood
3. Womanly Experiences – a lot about marriage and motherhood, something widely unaccepted at the time, women weren’t supposed to talk about pregnancy/giving birth
THEMES
• Art (Painting & Music) – freedom and failure• Birds – communication, or lack thereof• Food – symbolic meals, (Chapter 30- last supper)• Water – freedom and escape• Sleep – awakening
SYMBOLS & MOTIFS
• Edna Pontellier – protagonist, character experiencing the awakening
• Leonce Pontellier – Edna’s husband, treats her well but like an object
• Robert Lebrun – begins as just a friend to Edna but evolves into a lover
• Alcee Arobin – a man Edna has an affair with who she actually feels passion for but not real love, described as a womanizer
• Adele Ratignolle – Edna’s close friend, represents the perfect mother and wife Edna doesn’t believe she’s capable of being
• Mademoiselle Reisz – A woman who is described as true artist when it comes to the piano, uncommonly unwed
MAIN CHARACTERS
• Imagery • Parallel Structure• Narrative Control• Narrative Stance• Modes of Disclosure• Regional Dialects
STYLE ELEMENTS SIGNIFICANT TO AUTHOR
Common Motifs• Food• Walking• Music• Painting• Clothing & Fashion
Always with men• Edna vs. Leonce Pontellier, Husband• Edna vs. Robert Lebrun, Lover• Edna vs. Alcee Arobin, male version of a Mistress
CONFLICTS