Women are not only Beautiful, but Equal: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

In the novel, “The Color purple” written by Alice Walker, Celie is shown to take control over her life during the events of when, she meets Shug Avery and she drastically changes her life and motives. Secondly, when she finds out that Mr. Albert has been hiding all of Celie’s letters that Nettie had written her. And, finally when Celie finds out that Pa is not really her real dad. “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.” Robert E. Lee This quote is related to this topic of Celie taking control because of the men in her life, the men believe that woman have no self worth and were only made to do work and give sex to them. And since they follow that moral because of society, they are not controlling themselves

This is gender inequality because Celie, as a woman, gets no respect from men along with other women throughout the story. Another part displaying gender inequality is when Walker says, "He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens" (Walker 5).

It is often deemed that during the Victorian era women’s social mobility and free-will were stifled, and society scorned against any deviation from a set of antiquated standards. This is evident in Kate Chopin’s classic novel The Awakening as the main protagonist, Edna Pontellier, struggles against her gender restraints in an attempt to live life in the way she desires. However, in the novel the misconceptions of Victorian society and set gender roles also stifle men- as evidenced by Edna’s husband Leonce being unable to escape from his duties as a man to properly love Edna. This duality reveals Chopin’s message that gender roles and societal preconceptions serve no purpose but to fetter and chain individualism, self-concept, and happiness.

In Kate Chopin, “The Awakening”, longing for passion and freedom Edna Pontellier leaves the safety of her gilded cage, only to find that death is her only salvation. In the 1800’s the main role in society for a female was to be a wife and mother, women at this time were the property of their husbands and had little say in anything. Which for Edna was the opposite of what she wanted, she wanted to be free from these responsibilities and to live her own life. Although Edna is not a victim in the role society has chosen for her, she freely walked into her gilded cage and into the role of wife to Leonce Pontellier and mother to their children. The longer she stayed in her marriage, the more she realizes that the passion she needed was not

During the late nineteenth century, a woman's place in society was restricted into submitting to her husband and taking care of her children. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, embodies the hardships, frustrations and the accomplishments of the main character’s life (Edna Pontellier) while simultaneously attempting to deal with society’s demands and over time overcoming them. While consistently defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman", Edna battles with the pressures that are imposed upon her, the same ones that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's suicide is a dreadful ending of her ongoing battles against an oppressive culture, The Awakening (unlike many other novels from the era) supports and encourages feminism

Within The Color Purple by Alice Walker, women are treated as inferior to men therefore they must obey them. Through the strength and wisdoms Celie gains from other women, she learns to overcome her oppression and realize her self worth as a woman. The women she has met throughout her life, and the woman she protected since young, are the people that helped her become a strong independent woman. Sofia and Shug were there for Celie when she needed someone to look up to and depend on. Nettie was able to push Celie to become a more educated, independent person. The main source of conflict in this book is Celie’s struggle with becoming an independent woman who needs not to rely on a man. Throughout the book we see her grow as a person and

The oppression of women is represented in literature through the social roles and the experiences of the women since the early 19th century. In Literary and Cultural Theory by Donald Hall, he states that a feminist analysis is “Language, institution, and social power structures have reflected patriarchal interests throughput much of history; this has had a profound impact on women’s ability to express themselves and the quality of their everyday lives” (Hall 202). Patriarchal oppression is shown in any text that delivers a man regulating the life of his wife or any women in his everyday life by restricting and encroaching the rights and experiences of life of that woman.

When Celie is given to Mr. her life does not improve. Mr. treats her poorly as well, treating her more as a slave than a

The role of women in history has changed dramatically over time, especially in the past century. Most of the time, she is presented as a victim of society, helpless and hopeless. Blamed and accused of being the root of all the problems. She is often sidelined because of being a confused being, not knowing what she wants and at the same time, she is the center of attention and the subject of man’s fantasy (the male gaze). History is full of evidence and stories of violence against women, who are subject to the cruel tortures in the male dominate society. It was not until the 20th century when women got the right to vote after several years of protests and movements. It is of great interest to me to notice, observe and analyze what the role

All of the abuse that Celie experiences from the men in her life rather than aggravating her and prompting her to take action against her oppressors instead breed complacency in which she believed that her situation although not ideal, was normal and therefore needed to remain the same. She even goes so far as to tell Harpo after he begins complaining about how rebellus his wife Sophia is to “beat her” (Walker, 37). This suggestion shows that Celie, “in experiencing masculinist domination, has to in some degree normalized it” (Bealer, 2012). This means that she sees the domination of Mister, as just another part of life, rather than a problem. The same can be said for the men in the novel The Color Purple as they have, like the women normalized

The 1900’s – a time when blacks were segregated from whites and women were seen as inferior to men. Alice Walker's character Celie, from The Color Purple, was ugly and terrified as a young girl. Though many trials and tribulations, she would become strong and independent. In addition, Celie built up a resistance to the hurt and suffering that she painfully endured from her stepfather and husband. She eventually allowed herself to not take simple things for granted therefore recognize the beauty of everyday life. In her final years, Celie is portrayed in a blissful state and displays her independence as a mature woman. Alice Walker’s use of the first-person point of view, tone, and

Social inequalities like racism and sexism can result in silence and a lack of independence. Firstly, from a young age, Pa orders Celie against her own will, to obey and submit to him without any objection. Pa takes advantage of Celie to get back at what her mother could not give him. Celie details what Pa does to her:

For centuries, woman and their rights have been oppressed by the dominance of man. There has been continued struggle for the recognition of woman’s cultural roles and achievements, and for their social and political rights. It was very much a patriarchal society for woman, which hindered or prevented woman from realizing their productive and creative possibilities.

The literary novel The Awakening written by author Kate Chopin was groundbreaking in its time as a story following Edna Pontellier’s transformation from an obedient, traditional housewife and mother into a self-realized, sexually liberated and independent woman— all written during the Victorian era of patriarchal constraints and beliefs that a woman was fit to be only a wife and mother. Chopin introduces a multitude of feminist issues throughout the duration of the story, including the societal structures of motherhood, marital expectations and feminine liberation. The fact that Chopin’s novel addresses these issues is a testament to how radical and ahead of its time The Awakening was. Although this novel was originally published over a century ago, it is clear that the feminist topics that Chopin proposes in the novel are still relevant today in our modern day patriarchal society.

In Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening”, Edna finds herself in a society where women were socially confined to be mothers and wives. This novel embodies the struggle of women in the society for independence along with the presence of women struggling to live up to the demands that their strict culture has placed upon them. A part of Edna wants to meet the standards of mother and wife that society has set, however her biggest desire is to be a woman free from the oppression of a society that is male dominant. Readers will find that the foundation of “The Awakening” the feminist perspective because of the passion that Edna has for gaining her own identity, and independence …show more content…