#Quotes from the awakening full#

LГ©once, her well-respected, businessman husband, clearly objectifies Edna when she returns from a sunny beach day: вЂњYou are burnt beyond recognition,вЂќ added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property. Marriage and motherhood constitute unsupportable restrictions for Edna. Vacationing at Grand Isle on the Gulf of Mexico, she undergoes life-changing transformations. The restrictions of marriage and motherhoodД®dnaвЂ™s first depicted episode of awakening, literally, comes at the expense of a good nightвЂ™s sleep, and leaves her crying and frustrated but unable to articulate the source of her emotional response to a callous, if affectionate, husband.ДЇrom this powerless starting point, Edna will experience a series of discoveries about her world and her self that inspire her to experiment and explore, but leave her ultimately defeated.

The author died virtually forgotten, yet The Awakening has been rediscovered and holds a secure and prominent position as a watershed text in U.S. Many times, we find Edna Pontellier awake in situations that signify more metaphorical awakenings to new knowledge and sensual experience.Д¬onsequently, ChopinвЂ™s work came under immediate attack when published and was banned from bookstores and libraries.

#Quotes from the awakening full#

Following is Professor Sarah WymanвЂ™s analysis of The Awakening by Kate Chopin, an 1899 novella telling the story of a young mother who undergoes a dramatic period of change as she вЂњawakensвЂќ to the restrictions of her traditional societal role and to her full potential as a woman.