The Influence of Kate Chopin on Toni Morrison's Language Style - Essay Example

Analyzing the influence of Kate Chopin on Toni Morrison’s Language Style Kate Chopin (1850-1904) is a highly acclaimed and respected American novelist and short story writer. Chopin is considered the pioneer of feminist literature in the twentieth century and holds and influential position when it comes to writing on female-oriented subjects primarily oppression and repression of female gender in early modern society. Such huge was her stature in the world of English literature and her impact on the literary norms of twentieth century that her works continue to influence writers from all parts of the world till date. It is said that no other writer could portray the nineteenth century American society as realistically yet compellingly as Kate Chopin did and this is the main reason that award-winning writers like Toni Morrison derived such huge influence from Chopin in their writing. Toni Morrison (born 1931) emerged as a great advocate of African-American feminist literature and her works have received tremendous popularity and critical acclaim. From the themes to narrative form and characterization ethics, Morrison’s language and writing orientation bear stark resemblance from Chopin’s trademark style of narrative. It is evident that most of her language style has drawn influences from Chopin. This paper aims at exploring the various language style similarities shared by Kate Chopin and Toni Morison. For the sake of having an accurate understanding, Kate Chopin’s language style in her masterpiece The Awakening (1899) will be compared with popular and acclaimed work of Toni Morrison Beloved (1987). The first aspect of similarity that hits the reader instantly from the language of both Beloved and The Awakening is that of the straightforwardness and directness of narrative. The element of stylistic writing is there in both writers’ narratives however, the language is not complex in itself. The sentences are neither plain nor are they highly interrupting; there is a certain flow in their writing which instantly hooks the reader. This sort of approach in language found in Morrison’s works is an influence received from Kate Chopin. Chopin started writing in an era when a lot of emphasis was laid on incorporating elegance, classiness, word-smithing, and embellishments into literature be it poetry or prose. Since Chopin wanted to be direct in her approach towards presenting womanly issues, which she deemed was a far greater task then proving her expertise on the language therefore, she employed a completely opposite approach. Her works come across as a creative amalgamation of complex themes, experimentalism yet the language has been kept direct, simple and straightforward so that the message is conveyed effectively to a wider population. Kate Chopin writes in The Awakening: “He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that she was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world’ (147). In these simple lines Chopin managed to enclose such a complicated aspect of realizing self-identity. Referring the outward personality of her protagonist Edna as a fictitious one and like a garment that she adorned to receive the approval of her husband and the society is carefully handled and amicably described. This is the strength of Chopin’s writing that she explained such deep and complicated theories and themes like that of fake persona for social identity and realization of true self with utmost simplicity, ease and directness. In Morrison’s most valued novel Beloved, this kind of language is evident throughout. Morrison writes: “Let me tell you something. A man ain’t a goddamn ax. Chopping, hacking, busting every goddamn minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can’t chop down because they’re inside.” (123) Rafael Perez-Torres considers the language style of Morrison in Beloved as demonstrating “a concern (characteristic of experimental twentieth-century literary discourses) with the production and meaning of language. The narrative emerges, then, at the point at which pre-modern and postmodern forms of literary expression cross.” (689) The second aspect that clearly links Chopin’s style as an influencing factor on Morrison’s use of language in her works is the lyrical type of sentences that Chopin used to write from early on. She mixes rhyming words in a sentence and provides more than one instances for portraying the sentiments of the character. This can be understood by this particular quote from The Awakening: “The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude.” (Chopin 34) At another point Edna responds as “the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul; swaying it, lashing it” (Chopin 66). These are examples that provide evidence of the rhythmic and lyrical trait in the language used by Chopin. Harold Bloom explains: “These references are on one level allusion to an intimate, romantic and poignant musical oeuvre but on another level, they function as what Nancy K. Miller has called the “internal female signature” in women’s writing” (18) This usage of musical or rhyming phrases is an outcome of Chopin’s love for music and it is a well-known fact that she was a talented musician too, and same is true for Morrison (Bloom 18). Such intentional incorporation of aesthetics in a rather complicated web of mixed emotions of distraught personalities prevails in Morrison’s works comprehensively. “Morrison’s style is lyrical, and her prose is poetical,” affirms Camelia T. Sadehi (1491). In Jazz Morrison largely endorses the lyrical and repetitive approach Chopin so overwhelmingly loved. Morrison writes “they dangle and writhe, singing pain. Waking me with the sound of itself, thrumming when I sleep so deeply it strangles my dreams away” (Pici 373). Likewise in Beloved Morrison employed similar approach in language “In this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder they do not love your flesh.” (156) Another type of repetition used by both authors is of using similar sounding phrases such as those ending with ing. In The Awakening Chopin used “ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting” in one sentence to create a rhythmic effect. (Sadehi 1492) Similarly, in Beloved Morrison employed the same strategy by using “fucking… dreaming…thrashing… rubbing…..and waiting” in the same line (25). These instances clearly portray the presence of musical influences and the writers’ intention to induce aesthetic appeal into their somewhat sad and dark themes and stories. This is why Morrison’s novels bear that addictive charismatic feel; she borrowed the Chopin’s way of narrative and utilized her own love for music into her writing style. Nicholas F. Pici believes that: “Virtually all of her novels touch upon music in some way or another. And whether that music is slave work songs, spirituals, gospel, or the blues, and whether the vehicle she uses to convey this musical experience is content, language, form, or a blending of all three.” (372) Repetition of words in a phrase and in a scene is another style used by Chopin and later by Morrison in their literary linguistic preferences. Repetition of words also at times enhances the lyrical attribute of the language style. For instance, in Beloved Morrison writes “Too little to understand. Too little to talk much even” here repetition of too little creates a certain kind of musicality that bears strong similarity with Chopin’s language style (Morrison 14). Morrison uses words at least twice or thrice in a sentence such as “dead or gone or dead or gone” and “flat-headed nails for pounding and pounding and pounding.” (76-79) In The Awakening, this style is prominent throughout, for instance, in these lines the repetition of I would is clearly deliberate, “I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin 122). In another scene the feelings of Edna are portrayed through repetition of similar phrases “There were days when she was very happy …. There were days when she was unhappy.” (Chopin 149) Repetition of words and sentences are a common occurrence in Chopin’s style of language and this is also obvious in Beloved. The kind of repetitive phrases used in the novels acted as a useful tool for encouraging the poetic aura in the otherwise melancholic feel of the storyline. Apart from simplistic, repetitive and musical narrative, semiotics is probably the perfect category of language orientation in which Kate Chopin’s style can be included as well. Rosemary Franklin in her article on The Awakening’s linguistic style concluded that “we find at least two styles in the novel, the plain style and the semiotic. The semiotic is characterized by rich diction and poetic sounds.” (Franklin) Semiotics is usually incorporated by a writer through repeating words sometimes on the same paragraph or page, using rhyming terms in the same sentence, alliteration and/or heavy reliance on symbolism and metaphors to explain the unexplainable or narrate the feelings of the character. (Kahane 816) Chopin uses symbols and codes as well as diction to signify the element of semiotic in her novel The Awakening. Semiotics in The Awakening happens at the “level of character more than that text” (Kahane 817). For instance, the eating and dressing is often used to explain something else. Clothing in this novel expresses the transformation of Edna from a person bounded by the rules and duties imposed on her in a patriarchal society and later when he starts wearing less layers of clothes this portray her changing personality. The use of rich diction is also evident from the beginning when the caged bird speaks in French language “Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!,” or when Edna says in chapter five “sonorous murmur [that] reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty.” (Chopin 1-31) At other occasions semiotic happens in The Awakening as echo such as in these lines: “There was no sound abroad except the hooting of an old owl in top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea, that was not uplifted at that soft hour. It broke like a mournful lullaby upon the night.” (Chopin 14) There are innumerable examples of usage of semiotics in The Awakening. These come across either through use of exquisite diction such as repetition of “murmur, melting, vague anguish” and/or embedding of thought provoking statements like “melted imperceptibly out of her existence.” (Franklin). However, the use of semiotics is not overwhelming at all and the plaintive and simplistic style of storytelling is never compromised upon, which is the foremost aspect of Kate Chopin’s linguistic style. “Most of the novel is, in fact, in the plain style, but it is punctuated with the emergence of the Semiotic clusters.” (Franklin) Toni Morrison borrowed this style of narration from Chopin’s preferred literary approaches. Morrison’s Beloved, according to critics, is a poetic-fictional novel that has elements of semiotics resembling that of Kate Chopin and Julia Kristeva (Sadehi 1491). Since semiotics is primarily used to describe the inner feelings, sentiments and desire of a character, therefore, Beloved can be easily categorized as on the lines of semiotics. In a scene where Morrison wanted to portray the jealousy Denver feels when Paul D. is around Sethe she uses semiotics by writing that Denver ate the jelly “slowly, methodically, miserably.” (40) Repetition is also used by Morrison as a form of oral expression and usually in Beloved repetition happens when Sethe or Paul D. are thinking about their past. Similarly, Morrison uses semiotics to express the feelings and desires such as in this sentence when the author wanted to show that Paul D. is sexually aroused, it was explained as “Paul D's chest rose and fell, rose and fell under her hand” (232). At another occasion when the town wants Sethe and Beloved to be separated, this desire is expressed through a song by incorporating repetition into it. ““Yes, yes, yes, oh yes. Hear me. Hear me. Do it, Maker, do it. Yes”(Morrison 69). Here yes is used for intimidation and pressurizing. Metaphorical instances are also a part of semiotic style in language and is important in a novel for allowing the characters to equivocate and say the truth implicitly so as not to hurt anyone (Sadehi 1494). Since the central objective of both Chopin and Morrison’s literature was to highlight feminist issues in a prejudiced and oppressive society therefore, for expressing the character’s plight they used figurative devices like metaphors. Metaphors comprehensively aided in the development of the characters in both novelists’ works. Kate Chopin was an admirer of symbolism and metaphors and extensively used them to provide an insight into the deliberations, confusions and depressions of Edna. Such as placing a caged bird in Edna’s home shows the bounded and confined Edna and her admiration for freely flowing sea shows the desire for freedom to express, love and choose a life style that she truly wanted. In this context, sea is a vital and probably most powerful metaphor used in The Awakening since it acts as “seductive, and when Edna is drawn in the water she feels empowered and becomes aware of the depths of the universe and of her own position as a human being in the universe.” (Svoboda) Through metaphors, a writer achieves the task set out in the beginning without laying out the message in plain black and white. For example, Chopin compares mother-women to ministering angels in these lines: “It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood.” (19). Morrison took inspiration from Chopin in this sphere of language style as well and uses metaphors and symbols excessively in her novel Beloved. For example, in a conversation with Paul D., Sethe explains about Baby Sugg’s death as “soft as cream” just to ensure him that her death was not painful and in another scene she compares the terrible disease of Mrs. Garner as a “lump… the size of a sweet potato” to minimize its horror (Morrison 19-22). Denver believes that her mother is a Rag Doll due to her indifference and dullness. These lines provide strong evidence of the dominant role played by metaphors and symbolism in Beloved: “How she flew, snatching up her children like a hawk on the wing; how her face beaked, how her hands worked like claws, how she collected them every which way” (Morrison 273). Morrison also used color imagery in her attempt to depict the gloominess and somber atmosphere that encircled the personality of Sethe by devoting dull, grayish and earthy tones to the home where she resided. Morrison writes: “The walls of the room were slate-colored, the floor earth-brown, the wooden dresser the color of itself, curtains white, and the dominating feature, the quilt over an iron cot, was made up of scraps of blue serge, black, brown and gray wool” (73). Likewise, in another scene Paul D. expects Sethe to prefer green, yellow, and blue instead of red since these colors signified calmness, kindness and caring attitude whereas red was associated with violence and aggression (Sadehi 1494). This is yet another inspired feature from Morrison’s work since the usage of color to depict a person’s feelings, personality and life circumstances is present in Chopin’s novels too. Saundra Weiss writes that “in the opening passage.. Chopin sharply contrasts the vivid colors of a green and yellow parrot with the monochromatic placidity of Leonce Pontellier.” (146) The truth is that readers feel attracted to a story that has been narrated with utmost style, vividness and dramatic opulence without making it overtly complicated. This is the primary reason behind the popularity of Chopin’s works and later Morrison’s. Chopin incorporated an unusual style of storytelling in her works especially The Awakening by providing vivid and somewhat lavishly conceived details about the places, backgrounds and surroundings in a scene setting. This was a great approach provided the fact that the novel depicted the story of a depressed and deprived woman’s journey towards self-identity and ultimately suicide. Chopin described the lush green landscape of Grand Isle vividly and compared it to the “emerging passions of Edna” (Weiss 146). Chopin dramatically explained the interior and exterior of Pontelliers’ house in one beautifully crafted paragraph. She described it as “painted a dazzling white.. [the yard was] was kept scrupulously neat.. the softest carpets and rugs covered the floor; rich and tasteful draperies hung at doors and windows” (Chopin 127). Morrison also used similar style of vividness and dramatic alluring in her explaining of the scene setting and backgrounds so that readers never got bored and the story come alive as they read on. Morrison writes: “In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in it.” (204) In conclusion it can be said that Kate Chopin’s linguistic preferences and style of word-smithing has hugely inspired Toni Morrison. A comparative analysis of both writers’ acclaimed and most revered literatures showed that there are countless aspects that are similar including the utter simplistic approach towards narrating some extremely complicated situations for example the realization of self-identity or resonances from the past. In both works that were analyzed for this paper extensive use of metaphors, semiotics and narrative extravagance is also evident. Thus, it can be stated that Kate Chopin’s language style is definitely a source of inspiration for Toni Morrison. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Kate Chopin. Infobase Publishing, 2007. 11-20. Print. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. 3. H.S. Stone & Company, 1899. Print. Franklin, Rosemary. "Chopin's "The Awakening": A Semiotic Novel." PsyArt:A Hyperlink Journal for the Psychological Study of the Arts. (2001): n. page.Web. . Kahane, Claire. "Reconstructing Desire: The Role of the Unconscious in Women's Reading and Writing, and: Telling Tales: The Hysteric's Seduction in Fiction and Theory ." Modern Fiction Studies. 37.4 (1991): 816-818. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. . Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Thorndike Press, 1987. Print. Perez-Torres, Rafael. "Knitting and Knotting the Narrative Thread—Beloved as Postmodern Novel." Modern Fiction Studies. 39.3&4 (1993): 689-707. Web. . Pici, N. "Trading Meanings: The Breath of Music in Toni Morrison's Jazz." CEA CRITIC 62.3 (2000): 18-38. Print. Sadehi, Camelia Talebian. "Beloved and Julia Kristeva? s The Semiotic and The Symbolic." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 2.7 (2012): 1491-1497. Print. Svoboda, Steven. "Metaphors in the Road and the Awakening Cormac McCarthy and Kate Chopin Metaphor Comparison." Yahoo Voices!. Yahoo News Network, 06 May 2013. Web. 9 Dec 2013. . Weiss, Saundra Tara. "Passion’s Delirium, Passion’s Torment–A Discussion of One Woman’s Arousal in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening." Art, Literature, and Passions of the Skies. Springer Netherlands, 2012. 145-152. Read More