The Story of The Awakening and The Storm - Essay Example

Sexual Awakening Sexual awakening is the theme that underlies both the story of “The Awakening” and “The Storm”. But this sexual awakening impacts differently upon the two characters. While Calixta returns to her domestic life with the passage of the storm, Edna seeks independence as a result of the sexual awakening; however society has ill equipped her to handle such independence. While Calixta’s sexual encounter is invigorating and sends her back to her life with renewed happiness, Edna’s unrequited quest for independence sends her to her self destruction by drowning in the sea. As the stories begin, both the protagonists, Calixta of “The Storm” and Edna of “The Awakening” are trapped in the confines of domesticity, however awareness of its confines slowly begins to dawn in both of them. In “The Storm” Calixta is busy with her domestic chores, “sewing furiously on a sewing machine”, until the storm starts brewing. “Suddenly realizing the situation” she goes about shutting doors (www.ablongman.com). The storm symbolizes the spur that jogs her into a new awareness. In a similar manner, Mademoiselle Reisz serves as the spur that jogs Edna into awareness, especially as contrasted with Madame Ratignole who is repressed and conservative and is described as the “bygone heroine of romance” (Chopin 888). As opposed to this, Madame Ratignole is “the embodiment of womanly grace and charm” but her race is also known for “their entire absence of prudery” (Chopin 889). In interacting with Madame Ratignole, Edna becomes conscious of a vague dissatisfaction with her life and the narrowness of her upbringing, desiring to be as sensual as Madame Ratignole instead. This initial awareness leads both the protagonists into a sexual encounter. As Calixta gathers up the sheet she has been sewing, she appears to be unconsciously dispensing with the outward signs of her domesticity and submitting herself to the wildness of the storm raging outside. When Alcee gathers her into his arms, she looks up at him and the “fear in her liquid blue eyes had given place to a drowsy gleam that unconsciously betrayed a sensuous desire.”( www.ablongman.com). Edna’s awareness also leads her into a sexual encounter, and this is described as a light which begins to “dawn dimly within her – the light which, showing the way, forbids it.” (Chopin 893). This reveals the inner conflict which the sexual encounter generates in Edna, the path to independence lies revealed to her, yet it is not one encouraged by society. Water is associated with the sexual awakening of both the protagonists. Edna finds that “the touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft close embrace.” (Chopin 893). It stirs her unawakened sexuality, which has been trapped into the narrow confines of domesticity, making her “realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her.” (Chopin 889). However, Calixta has been exposed to sexual desire with Alcee before, when she had been an “immaculate dove” yet a “passionate creature”. (www.ablongman.com). The water in this case therefore pours down from the sky in a torrent, unleashing her inner passion, while in the case of Edna, the soft pull of the sea reflects her cautious entry into her sexuality. The differences in the sexual temperaments of the two protagonists is represented through the different way in which water, the force that releases both these women from their domesticated inhibitions, plays out in their respective stories. Water is the source of freedom for both the women, however they react differently to their respective sexual encounters. In Calixta’s case, it is a passionate one-time sexual encounter like a single fiery storm, laced with the complete awareness that love and sex are separate. As a result, it is fully satisfying to her senses. Just as a storm spends its fury and ceases, yielding to calm in the atmosphere again, in the same way, the intensity of Calixta’s passion is awakened and spent during the duration of the storm, so that once the sexual act is over, she is able to return to the calm complacency of her domestic life. In Edna’s case, the water symbolizes the ambiguity in Edna’s sexual life where the expression of her sexuality awakens her but leaves her still dissatisfied and tormented by even more unrequited yearning, so that she ultimately walks into the sea to her death to escape the inner torment of her mind. Edna’s affair with Arobin is laced with regret because it appears to lack the love that she eagerly seeks out of sex, which she does not find even with Robert, despite her sexual obsession with him. According to Showalter, “Although her affair with Arobin shocks her into an awareness of her own sexual passions, it leaves her illusions about love intact” (Showalter 184). She views love and sex as the force that will liberate her and provide her the inner independence that she needs, but her actual experience of it is disillusioning because the independence she seeks is not available to her within the confines of the social role expected of women in her day. After her sexual encounter, Edna leaves her husband and starts living alone, seeking the inner independence that she associates with the expression of her sexuality, while Calixta does not leave her husband but is happier with him after the incident, since her repressed passion has found an outlet. Martin argues that if Edna’s action in leaving her husband is viewed as a regressive rather than a progressive growth, The Awakening becomes a story of the repressed autonomy in Edna’s feminity, which continually seeks an outlet throughout the story.(Martin 22). The character yearns for love and independence at the same time, but this presents a conflict that she is unable to resolve. Having been raised all her life in a restrictive environment, the expression of her sexuality no doubt sets her free from her cage of domesticity, yet society has not provided her with the skills she needs to survive independently without a man, so she is like a bird with a broken wing that is trying to fly. The differences in the two protagonists thus serve to highlight the differences in their mental temperament. Calixta is able to achieve the temporary respite from traditional feminity that she seeks, yet she is mentally aware that she cannot survive outside the confines of domesticity. The storm is temporary; it pours down from the sky and cleanses everything it touches, releasing Calixta’s sexuality in a torrent of desire. But once the storm abates, things return to normal. “She lifted her pretty chin in the air and laughed aloud “, thus going back to her chores refreshed and invigorated by the encounter. In the case of Edna however, the character does not seek only sexual release, she seeks love and the freedom to express herself sensually with the permanence of the sea. But this is a goal that society does not allow her to reach, so that the character is tormented throughout the story by the struggle between love and independence. When she walks into the sea and drowns, it is as if she is punishing herself for having transgressed the role that society expected of her, but which she was unable to conform to. Unable to live her former trapped life, yet unable to find strength to live independently, she self destructs to find peace. Works cited: * Chopin, Kate, 1899. “The Awakening” IN “The Complete works of Kate Chopin”, (Seyersted edn), Louisiana State University Press, pp 881-1000 * Martin, Wendy, 1988. “New Essays on the Awakening”, Cambridge University Press * Showalter, Elaine. “Tradition and the Female talent: The Awakening as a solitary book” IN “The Awakening: A complete authoritative text with biographical and historical contexts, Critical History and Essays from five contemporary critical perspectives”, Martin Press, pp 169-189 * The Storm by Kate Chopin. Retrieved November 27, 2007 from: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_longman_mylitlabdemo_1/0,9668,1606831-,00.html Reference no: 1: Showalter, Elaine, 1993. “Tradition and the Female talent: The Awakening as a solitary book” IN “The Awakening: A complete authoritative text with biographical and historical contexts, Critical History and Essays from five contemporary critical perspectives”, (Nancy Miller edn), Martin Press, pp 169-189 In this essay, Showalter analyzes Chopin’s story and places in the mid civil war category. i.e, subsequent to the pre civil war works of the 1850s and 1860s by women writers such as Beecher Stowe and before the modernist period, when writing by women became more avant garde. Showalter points out that Chopin’s work reflects the transitional stage at which women were and analyzes this in the context of all the female characters in the book. She has pointed out how the conflict between domesticity and independence is evidenced in The Awakening, where the protagonist rebels and chooses to reject the traditional womanly domain of marriage and home, yet resorts to self destruction, as if she is punishing herself for her transgressions. Reference no: 2: Martin, Wendy, 1988. “New Essays on the Awakening”, Cambridge University Press In this book, Martin discusses the controversy that erupted when Chopin’s book was first published. The author provides an exhaustive description of the history of this novel and analyzes how the heroine evolves from her expected feminine role into one that is characterized by a higher degree of autonomy. She analyzes various themes from the book, also incorporating into her discussion, the views of other writers and researchers into Chopin’s work. Outline Thesis Statement: The results of the sexual awakening are different in both stories; while Calixta goes back to her chores refreshed, Edna sinks into self destruction. A. The Awareness 1. Both protagonists trapped in domesticity 2. Awareness through the storm –Calixta; Awareness through the sea and Madame Ratignole for Edna B. The Sexual Encounter: 1. Calixta surrenders to desire in Alcee’s arms, Edna with Arobin and Robert 2. Calixta’s passion represented by the storm; Edna’s unfolding sensuality represented in the sea C. Differences in the encounter: 1. Calixta aware that it is only sex; Edna seeking love and independence 2. Temporary in Calixta’s case; an expression of independence in Edna’s case which seeks a more permanent freedom from traditional feminity D The result of the encounter: Calixta smiling and happy; Edna realizing that society has ill equipped her to survive independently which leads her to self destruct. Read More