Critical Analysis of “The Awakening”

Critical Analysis of “The Awakening”

Thesis Statement

The paper reflects how unacceptable traits becomes the reason of spoiling and finally to the destruction of feminism. Freedom is just a tool used to fulfill lecherousness feelings for personal satisfaction, without caring about the societal norms and values.

Introduction

The novel “The Awakening” is a Kate's master piece that was primarily published in the year of 1899. The novel is set under the Southern Louisiana coast and New Orleans at the ending part of the 19th century. The plot of the novel is designed on the female character and her struggle for reconciling her increasingly independent views on motherhood and femininity with the existing social attitudes in that century. The novel is one of the earliest American works that highlights the issues of women in society without condescension. The critical analysis of “The Awakening” is based on the pointer of feminism.

Discussion Analysis

The chief conflict in the novel is linked to the needs and requirement of the women, for having rights to live freely and express their selves against the expectations of Victorian society and its fine resolutions for what a woman can and cannot do. Throughout the book, this struggle is aroused as the storyteller describes the account of the Edna's awakening and her struggle to the process of realization and awakening the expectations of Victorian age about the women, which she never wanted to place over her (Bloom, 2007). This struggle continued in the sequence of novel during the higher moves of Edna that were far from the norms of society.

Initially, the conflict was developed after the realization of Edna unhappy feelings and she wanted to free herself with boundaries and limitations. Edna wanted to spend some time with Robert, her friend, to whom she eventually fallen in love. The relationship was already ended but Edna made the decision to live a carefree life, leaving behind her marital life and children, and brings back her lover into life (Bloom, 2007). At this moment, the great conflict erupts between the society of Victorian age and the decisions of Edna. Eventually, these conflicts made her depress and she knew that she could never walk on the expectation being laid on her. Edna continuously found herself under the dilemma of her own concerns for the self-development and satisfaction, without thinking about other expectations for her. It has been observed that these conflicts never found to be completely resolved. The central character of the novel chooses to solve this conflict by walking into ocean for suicidal commit or other several ways. It should be analyzed that Edna was combating this conflict instead of resolving. It would be only reasonable way to comment that eventually she found the resolution by stating that she cannot keep a balance between her own will and wishes, and the expectation of society (Beer, 2005).

In the novel of Kate, the key character, Edna has three certain personality traits, in which the most prominent trait is her irresponsibility towards her marital life; ...