The Awakening: A Battle of Individuality vs. Conformity - Research Paper Example

09 December The Awakening: A Battle of Individuality vs. Conformity This research paper seeks to illustrate that the novel “The Awakening” authored by the famous Kate Chopin is based on a battle of individuality vs. conformity. More than anything else, this novel seeks to portray this battle and establish how difficult it was for a woman of the 19th century to maintain her individuality. Edna, the protagonist in the novel, favors individuality over conformity and her life becomes increasingly difficult consequently. Following discussion aims to reinforce this reality that in the battle of individuality vs. conformity, a woman undergoes a lot of suffering because it is not easy to opt for individuality when the whole society wants her to conform to patriarchal ideals. Following discussion will include evidence from the text also to prove the horrors of this battle which are encountered by Edna. The Awakening is not just another story of a woman’s struggle. Rather, it is the story of troublesome consequences born for a woman when she is courageous enough to choose individuality over conformity. This is not just one woman’s struggle, rather women everywhere even today are seen engaged in this battle. This means that the message of Chopin’s novel is relevant even today and has not lost its significance. In the novel, we see Edna frenetically struggling to break herself free from social tangles by rebelling against them. She is trying so hard because she wants to realize her real potential. Chopin writes, “Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being” (33). This suggests that Edna or Mrs. Pontellier is perfectly aware that her real potential cannot be executed in the domestic world of her peers. So, she puts her individual potential above everything else. Edna’s journey through the battle of individuality vs. conformity is unique, riveting, and refreshing. This is because it has the potential to offer the readers, particularly women, great insight on the inner life of a struggling human being. This is the reason why this novel attracted so much criticism when it was first published in 1899 (Corse and Westervelt 139). It told the story of a woman who blatantly refused the societal ideals and openly engaged in a battle of individuality vs. conformity (Jen). The battle which Edna takes on in the novel is not an easy one. Rather, it is riddled with myriad powerful examples of both the most basic and the most arduous life experiences. Chopin’s discussion of societal oppression of women through the character of Edna is flawless and people from all backgrounds can relate to that effortlessly. The fight Edna engages in makes her a very real woman to the readers. She is more real than fictitious because so many women can relate to her battle. In order to survive the battle of individuality vs. conformity, a very strong will is required to help the fighter survive amidst the darkest and cruelest forces. This message of a strong will is the most important lesson which Chopin’s novel has to offer. It seeks to make this argument emphatic that a bird needs to have stronger wings if it intends to fly high above the accepted level of tradition. Chopin writes speaking of Edna, “a certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her” (33). This is to suggest that that interest to fight a tiresome battle had just been born in Edna. Chopin’s take on struggling women’s experiences of the 19th century is unique and mesmerizing. We see how much a woman is forced to lose in the battle of individuality vs. conformity. Speaking of this loss, Chopin writes, “How many souls perish in its tumult” (34). This suggests that the battle of individuality vs. conformity bears a lot of tumult. This is why if a woman like Edna refuses to behave like a submissive automaton and does not take pride in compliance, the society begins to reject her and questions her mental faculties. Edna is able to survive the battle of individuality vs. conformity for a very long time because of her psychological complexity. Edna is no average woman. She is very different in the way she perceives life and her surroundings. To win individuality and defeat conformity in a battle as serious as Edna fights, it is important to benefit from the factor of psychological complexity. Like Edna, people have to have this will and desire to sit in the driving seat for a change. Edna is seen feeling very tired of having to sit in the back seat and taking orders from others all her life. Chopin’s novel is unique in respect that it focuses on a very serious and important subject of life which is the battle of individuality vs. conformity. People lose a lot in fighting this battle because it is as hard to assert individuality as easy it is to go on living life like the rest of the herd. Designing your own route and defending it is not an easy task. This is why we see Edna suffer from a lot many pressures and anxieties throughout the novel until the grief of losing the love of her life becomes too much for her and she commits suicide. Before that step, we see Edna taking myriad important steps to achieve personal growth. Chopin writes, “A feeling of exultation overtook her” (70) and that “she grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength” (Chopin 70). This means that once Edna engaged in the battle to assert her individuality, she became fiercer and more confident. The advice offered by the authoress through this great story of a great battle is that the act of preferring individuality to conformity holds in store many sacrifices and sufferings for the fighters. This is why we see Edna facing a lot of pressures throughout the story. Her husband begins to question her mental faculties. Her friends warn her of social exclusion. Even her personal love interest, Robert, is not strong enough to operate as an individual and shun traditional ideals. He is not strong enough to fight this tough battle like Edna is, exultant and daring. In order to fully appreciate the intensity of the battle of individuality vs. conformity in the novel “The Awakening”, it is important to consider that Edna may be a freethinker in her imagined life as she wants it to be, but she is situated at a very different place in her real life. This is because the character of Edna in Chopin’s novel is not a single woman aspiring to grow or develop any way she want without having to deal with domestic responsibilities. Rather, Edna is a wife and a mother of two sons (Jen). These kinds of responsibilities make the battle all the more difficult for her. Deyo is one critic who accurately understands the complexity and legitimacy of Edna’s situation. He reviewed that “one day Edna Pontelier . . . suddenly becomes aware she is a human being” (Corse and Westervelt 144). So, the more she is reminded of her duties by those around her, the more she finds herself wanting different things in life as an individual human being. She wants to be recognized as an individual human being instead of being forced to conform to man-made ideals. It is her way of rebelling against the role imposed by society on her that she is driven to go out and develop a secret connection with another man named Robert. The battle and the desire to defeat conformity so influentially controls Edna’s mind that she designs a secret world in her heart where she is a freethinker and a liberated soul. In that world, she seeks to be free from the tangles which stop her from being really happy and satisfied. Choosing agency and individuality over conformity takes Edna on a journey of sufferings. We see through her eyes what life was really like for a 19th century free-spirited woman and it helps to appreciate the freedom we have presently. Chopin writes about Edna, “even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself” (35). This suggests that Edna had always been a fiercely independent person. But, Chopin also writes speaking of the chaotic battle which Edna engages in that “How few of us ever emerge from such beginning!” (34). This is why in the end of the novel authored by Chopin, we see the toll the battle of individuality vs. conformity can take on some. Edna decides to commit suicide and find her independence in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Like mentioned before, a bird which intends to fly higher than the level of social tradition and prejudice ought to have very strong wings. Edna tries to fly high for as long as she can. Eventually, she gives in to the loss and grief of losing her love. It is safe to assume that Edna wins the battle and dies as an individualist and not as a conformist. She finds her freedom in death. Research claims that Edna’s awakening process is “the discovery of her individual self separate from her role as wife and mother” (Corse and Westervelt 144). This discovery leading to the battle as illustrated in the novel awakens us to the heavy cost of turning back on valuable relationships. This battle is a very strong theme in the novel and it dominates over rest of the themes. Concluding, this much becomes clear from the above discussion that “The Awakening” is a story which gloriously details the battle of individuality vs. conformity. Even in the face of society’s disapproval, the choice of individuality makes Edna feel happier and more liberated despite many hardships she has to endure. The beauty of this character springs from her perseverance and faith in the face of growing pressure associated with the battle of individuality vs. conformity. This is why Edna does not live her life taking orders from others like she has no mind of her own, rather she goes all the way through to achieve independence which is every human being’s basic right. She is virtually bored in a relationship with a man which does not touch her soul. Her decision to seek thrill makes her a corrupt woman in the eyes of an orthodox and patriarchal society. The more Edna is reminded of how she ought to behave by others around her, the more she becomes committed to the battle of individuality vs. conformity. She is not a conformist, but an individual with an individual opinion on life and all the worldly affairs. Works cited: Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. H.S. Stone & Company, 1899. Print. Corse, Sarah M., and Westervelt, Saundra D. “Gender and Literary Valorization: The Awakening of a Canonical Novel.” Sociological Perspectives 45 (2002): 139-161. Print. Jen. “The Awakening by Kate Chopin.” PAJIBA. Pajiba.com, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 09 Dec. 2014. Read More