Chopins The Awakening - Essay Example

? Prof’s Part I: Symbolism The Sea is one of the most potent symbols in Chopin’s The Awakening. It clearly representsescape from the pressures that she faces, but there are more nuanced ways of examining this symbol. When one examines the sea through a psychological lens, it represents the paradox of freedom: that happiness requires both freedom and fellowship, and that freedom is inherently also isolation, with the ultimate freedom being the ultimate isolation. The sea functions as a symbol of freedom, clearly, but it is also a symbol of intense isolation. The novel begins the development of this symbol from the very beginning of the novel, calling the “abysses of solitude” a place of “inward contemplation” (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 4 Par. 6-7). Yet this is not necessarily posited in positive ways: while the sea is certainly seductive for its allowance of isolation, there is little to show that this is actually good for Edna. In fact, she gets most of her satisfaction through interactions with others, especially her lover. The sea’s connection to isolation, beyond simple freedom, is further expanded throughout this work through its symbolic connection with death and disappointment at those who surround one in one’s life. A particular quote demonstrates this symbolic connection, and bears close scrutiny. Robert whispers a story about a ghost of the sea, who searches every year for “one mortal to hold him company, worthy of being exalted for a few hours into his realm of the semi-celestials,” before finally noting that “his search has always hitherto been fruitless, and he has sunk back, disheartened, into the sea” (Chopin 1899, Ch 10, Par. 30). This reinforces that the isolation of the sea is both a blessing and a curse, allowing those who dwell in it to be free, yes, but also so fundamentally alone that they will never truly enjoy happiness. The sea as isolation is sealed in the conclusion of the story. Edna enjoys complete freedom by casting herself into the sea and killing herself, but there is always a note of unwholesomeness in her relationship with it – it is “sensuous,” tempting, but not necessarily good for her (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 39, Par. 27). It allows her the freedom to be “completely naked” in a way that she never could have been before, but this independence brings no solace – in fact, her last memory is of the companionship of her father, something she cannot have while out on the sea (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 39, Par. 33). Works Cited Chopin, K (1899). The Awakening. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/160/160-h/160-h.htm Your Name Prof’s Name Course Code Date Part II: Paraphrase Original paragraph I: “The linguistic strategy of economy of stereotype is prominent in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Edna has a “quadroon nurse” (7) who is looked upon as a “huge encumbrance” (7) by Edna's children because it is the nurse who performs the duties of making sure the children look presentable. Edna is described as “not a mother-woman” (8), and this description is helpful in understanding why Edna eventually must end her life. But the nurse is never described or designated as anything other than a “quadroon.” This word signifies that the nurse is black, and therefore easily dismissed from Edna's world. But if the reader does not dismiss the nurse, it becomes obvious that “quadroon” tells the reader nothing about what the nurse looks like. Is she light? Is she dark? Fat? Skinny? She is described as meek; she follows the children “at the respectful distance which they required her to observe” (12). She knows her position in the world, and this contrasts sharply with Edna's realization of her own position, which is revealed a few lines after the nurse is seen following the children.” (Powell, 2009, pg. 277) Original paragraph II: “Has the nurse been forgotten? Does the nurse not know her place in the world? This is an example of what Morrison calls metonymic displacement. The reader must not consider the nurse as a woman. Indeed, in the discourse of the dominant culture, women are white. By being described as a “quadroon” the nurse can be dismissed as the reader ponders “larger” issues, such as a (white) woman, Edna, realizing her place in the world and becoming depressed at the realization.” (Powell, 2009, pg. 278). Paraphrase Paragraph I: Powell (2009) argues that Chopin’s The Awakening uses stereotypic short hands that reduce people’s identities from fully complex, realized human being. This form of stereotyping is especially visible in reference to race. The children’s nurse is described in such stereotyped terms – the text indicates that the nurse is a mixed-race woman, but declines to give any further details of her character (Powell, 2009, pg. 277). This kind of stereotyping in literature gives the reader two and only two options: they can either disregard the information given, and then know nothing about the stereotyped character, or buy in to the stereotype to gain the information associated with it (Powell, 2009, pg. 277). Chopin’s use of stereotyped terms to describe characters allows them to be quickly read then ignored for the rest of the reading, but according to Powell (2009, pg. 277), these terms describe very little other than the fact that the character can safely be ignored in most real respects. Paragraph II: Direct quotation. Powell (2009) continues her evaluation of stereotyping through an analysis of the “quadroon” character though the lens of “metonymic displacement” (pg. 278). This essentially argues that the purpose of the stereotyping is for the reader to “not consider the nurse a woman” (Powell, pg. 278), as, of course, women in her society were by definition white. The stereotyping used this section purposely dehumanizes a character based on their race, allowing the other characters and the reader to dismiss them. Thus, Chopin’s description of the character as a “quadroon” serves two and only two purposes: to give the vaguest of notions of her look, by giving a hint of her skin color (darker than white), and telling the reader that, by that information, she can be safely “dismissed” (Powell, 2009, pg. 278). Summary of Both Paragraphs In these two highly interconnected paragraphs, Powell (2009) argues two things: first that Chopin uses a stereotyping shorthand to refer to certain racialized characters, and second that this stereotyping is essentially a code for the dismissal of that character as a human being. First, Powell (2009, pg. 278) unpacks the word “quadroon” that is used to describe Edna’s children’s nurse in The Awakening. Powell does not describe the nature of the term, other than indicating that it denotes that the character “is black” (2009, pg. 277). The word would usually be used to refer to someone of mixed-race ancestry. Powell notes that no other description of the character is given, either physical (height, size, beauty etc.) or mental, other than a brief comment that she “knows her place” (2009, pg 277). This lack of description occurs, Powell argues, because the only real intention of the designation is to dismiss this character as unimportant (2009, pg. 278). Thus, unless the reader taps into his or her own stereotyped knowledge of what a quadroon is supposed to be in terms of character or appearance, the reader knows nothing about this character. The reader can thus choose to either dismiss her, or treat her as a caricature of humanity, though not truly human herself. Works Cited Powell, T. (2009). Chopin’s The Awakening. The Explicator, 67(4), 276-279. Your Name Prof’s Name Course Code Date Part III: Ain’t she a woman? Discounting Colored Bodies in Chopin’s The Awakening. The Awakening, published by Kate Chopin in 1899, is oft hailed as one of the most important protofeminist or early first wave feminists texts, and for good reason. Chopin’s work shows an awareness of gender and the socially constructed nature of gendered roles that allows her work to still be highly relevant to this day, and in her time surely would have been revolutionary in the same way that Ibsens’s Dollhouse was. The story revolves around a woman, Edna, who finds herself in a marriage that fails to satisfy her, and follows her through her quest for self-actualization, and the struggles that this quest brings when women’s roles were more about service to family and husband than service to one’s self. Current feminist theory, however, shows several areas in which this novel acts as an oppressive rather than freeing manner. “Intersectionality,” the idea that different aspects of a person’s identity intersect to form the cohesion of who they are – which has a significant role to play in the privilege they enjoy or the oppression that they receive (Krenshaw, 1991). Though this is a developing field of feminist study and theory, the effects of intersecting identities would have been just as prominent in Chopin’s time, and, indeed, some non-white authors were already starting to comment on those ideas. Chopin’s work, while laudable for its depiction of the injustices inherent in gendered social roles with forced mores of behavior, nonetheless also operates in oppressive spaces and exerts oppressive forces against many of its characters based on race or ethnicity. While much of this work is laudable, Chopin shows little to no engagement with constructs of privilege outside of gendered privilege in white society, thus oppressing others as a part of expressing the struggle for greater freedoms for white women. It might be useful to begin with a brief historical overview of the growth of feminist discourses, to ascertain where Chopin fits into these arguments. Feminisms has two famous “waves” – first wave feminism, which existed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth, and Second Wave feminism of the 1970s and 80s, followed by the current discourse around feminism. The issues that took primacy with each wave was very different. The first wave was primarily politically motivated: women wanted more involvement in the political system, and the main focus of first wave feminism was, arguably, suffrage (Liggins, 2006, Ch. 3). Second Wave feminism focused much more on economic issues: women involved with second wave feminism rebelled against unequal access to education, promotions in the workplace, and high paying jobs, seeking to make professional women’s pay largely in line with professional men’s pay (Liggins, 2006, ch. 5). The problem with both of these waves of feminism is that they were focused on women who already had a great deal of privilege compared to other women – usually white women of means. During First Wave feminism, white women of means even sought to increase their status by playing on their privilege – noting their education, wealth, Christianity, and sometimes even race directly (Liggins 2006, ch. 3). Thus they actually participated in the continued repression of others who did not meet these criteria by admitting that they also believed that they were accurate barriers to voting. Second Wave feminism faced similar problems. The issues they were fighting about – equal pay, bringing down the glass ceiling and so forth, disproportionately affected white middle and upper class women, while doing very little to advance the struggles of other women. bell hooks notes that Second Wave feminists often had “difficulty understanding” that black women might actually feel much more closely connected to the struggles of their black men than they did towards the struggles of these upper class white women (hooks 1984, pg. 173). So in the history of feminism, there is a tradition of facilitating repression or at least dismissal of oppressed peoples within the feminist movement, in order to focus the vast majority of the attention, money and power of the movements towards advancing the already privileged women, sometimes at the direct expense of those who have less privilege. Chopin’s The Awakening falls directly into this line of feminist thought: providing space for advancement of white women and the privilege of white women while dismissing or ignoring the struggles of non white women. The first clue to this practice occurs in the way that women of varying races are depicted – and the degree to which their inner thoughts are given credence. A great deal is told of Edna’s inner thoughts, feelings and emotions. To some degree, this is understandable, as she is the protagonist of the work. Nevertheless, her thoughts and inner feelings are given frequent voice – the narrator telling the reader of every “shock … astonishment … feeling” and so forth that she has (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 4, Par. 14-15). Yet it cannot be said that this is solely because of Edna’s role as the protagonist. Similar, though less extensive, consideration is given to the inner thoughts of other white, female characters, ranging from the most important, such as Mademoiselle Reisz to even minor characters such as Madame Lebrun, whose inner “knowledge” and “regrets” are expressed to the reader (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 20, Par. 9). Whenever the story introduces or includes a white female character, it thus treats her as a fully fledged human being, with inner thoughts, desires, dialogue and so forth. While white women consistently give voice to their inner thoughts, desires, and so forth, and are thus represented as fully developed human beings, this same treatment is not ever given to women of color within the narrative. Women of color are never named within the narrative, and are thus identified only by the color of their skin, and sometimes age or occupation (usually simply what that woman was doing at that particular time). Without even giving these women names, it is unsurprising that the novel fails to mention any inner thoughts or dialogues that these characters have – the reader surely does not care about the private life of a character named only “black woman” (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 20, Par. 6-7), or perhaps the “quadroon nurse” (Chopin, 1899, Ch 4, par. 2; Ch. 5 Par. 18). As Powell (2009) notes, these characters serve only as place holders, and their race is seen as the only important thing about them, and it is only important in so far as it tells the reader that the character can be safely dismissed (Powell 2009). The lack of inner dialogue or real identity given to women of color in this narrative forces the reader to ignore such characters as human beings, and thus perpetuates systems in which women are only truly women or ladies if they are white women. Thus, this novel, by ignoring and not critically engaging with intersecting identities of power and oppression, hugely restricts the struggles that it advances: rather than fighting for all women, it fights for privileged women to break out of their own particular cages, while doing nothing for any other women, whom the novel barely treats as even human. Simply ignoring and diminishing the role of women of color and making them less than fully fledged characters demonstrates a lack of concern for such people. This lack of concern is further emphasized by the differing amounts of notice and criticism placed on the treatment of white women and the way societal structures affect them versus women of color. The novel pays great attention to the plight of white women, especially the protagonist, Edna. It recognizes, for instance, from the opening lines, that women are relegated to the realm of things by society, and tacitly decries this practice. In the opening scene, Mr. Pontellier makes a comment about his wife’s burnt skin while “looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 1 Par. 9). Naming Mr. Pontellier’s treatment of his wife as property is powerful – it calls attention to a relationship between man and wife that had been tacitly accepted for centuries, and in stating it in such cold and clear terms demands that the reader question this situation, question their relationship, and question the role to which Edna is relegated in society. The novel frequently draws stark attention to the societal structures that keep white women from actualizing their desires, and in doing so criticizes and undermines these structures. While the structures restraining white women are named and a great deal of attention is drawn to them, the text seems to tacitly accept and fails to criticize oppressive structures that operate around women of color, which constitutes a continuation of that oppression (hooks, 1984, pg. 13). While white women are treated to long treatises and powerful language about their state, women of color simply work in relative silence – accepting the instructions that are given to them. The quadroon nurse, for instance, meekly follows the children at “the respectful distance” she is “required to observe” (Chopin 1899, Ch. 5 Par. 19) while other black serving girls and women work under the “supervision” of the white people around them (Chopin, 1899, Ch. 9 Par. 13). The lack of explicit identification of oppressive structures against women of color in this novel lies in stark contrast with the criticism foisted against similar structures that oppress white women, demonstrating again that the feminist struggle advanced by this work ignores intersecting identities and argues only for the improvement of the station of a very narrow and privileged type of woman. It may be tempting to offer excuses for the oppressive nature of aspects of The Awakening. One could look through a psychological lens, for instance, and argue that much of the novel states that independence is tantamount to loneliness, and a form of narcissism may be important in finding what one truly wants. Thus the novel obviously focuses on the struggles of Edna, and not others. This argument, however, is undermined by the fact that so much attention is paid to the inner lives of all of the white women, not just Edna, and that the acceptance of oppression against black women is so universal. One might also argue that, historically speaking, this oppression was common – feminist movements often ignore large portions of women when striving in their struggles. The issues of intersection and oppression, however, were not new even in 1899. Nearly 50 years earlier Sojourner Truth in her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech pointed out that the concern for the weakness of women made no sense when black women were considered women as well – black women who worked their entire lives, demonstrating strength and endurance (Truth, 1851). So even in the time of Chopin’s writing, she could have been aware of the oppressions she was tacitly foisting on the women of color around her. Chopin’s The Awakening is certainly a great piece of writing and deserving of its place in the annals of feminist literature. When reading it, however, one must be critical of the way it treats women of color. While providing a megaphone against the oppression of privileged white women, it continues oppressions against other women, rendering them dismissed, silent, or worse, subhuman. It thus fails to recognize or engage with the intersecting natures of identity, power, oppression and privilege. Works Cited Chopin, K (1899). The Awakening. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/160/160-h/160-h.htm Crenshaw, K (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color. Standford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. Liggins, E (2006). “Feminisms” Camebridge: Harvard UP. hooks, b (1984). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Camebridge: South End Press. Powell, T. (2009). Chopin’s The Awakening. The Explicator, 67(4), 276-279. Truth, S (1851). Ain’t I a Woman? Retrieved from http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/sojour.htm Read More