The Awakeing

THE AWAKENING

Kate Chopin used her writing of fiction as a way to represent to her readers, her life and experiences, as well as society’s beliefs about females. The Awakening is one of her stories that caused controversy because of its themes about female independence, sexuality, oppression, and infidelity as seen through her eyes

In 1848, a few years before the birth of Kate O’Flaherty, a women’s convention in Seneca Falls New York was held. The purpose of this convention was to begin the planning of reforms that would make the lives of women better. At that time, women had no right to vote, were not allowed to work or be self sufficient, and if married, considered not as an individual, but as property of their husbands (Catt et al. 6). Over the next 40 years, and as Kate O’Flaherty was growing up, several women’s rights conventions were held, and women such as Susan B Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sorjornor Truth, traveled across the country speaking about women’s civil rights. During this period of time, women, not only desired their right to independence, but also desired control of their own sexuality. The sexual desires of women were considered to be inappropriate and not natural. Sexual desire was assumed to threaten mental health. Pro-creation was the only valid reason for women to engage in sexual intercourse. Because of these beliefs, independence, sexual desire and passion were not written of in most literary works of the 19th Century. Kate Chopin crossed these boundaries, with The Awakening, describing the sexual desires of Edna Ponteiller, and her infidelities with lovers.

Louisiana, during this period of time was made up of three different ethnic groups. They were American, Southern, and Creole. The Creole ethnicity is generally known as a people of mixed French, African, Spanish, and Native American ancestry, most of whom resided in Louisiana. This culture began as combination of the old and the new when the country was still being colonized. The Creoles were predominantly white, spoke with a French accent, and looked down on other Americans. Unlike the women in the North, the Creole women were involved in the arts, educated in literature, and were very conservative. They were very open in discussions regarding their marriages and children, and they were very committed to their husbands and to fidelity. The families in the south were moving more toward a social system in which men have control over the women and children as the north was making subtle moves away from it. This was mainly because of the black slave system in the South. If a man could not control his wife, how could he control his slaves? Louisiana was the only state in the nation that under law, women were considered property of their husbands. The males had complete control of the family. Married women, children, and the mentally insane, were all considered incompetent. Women of the South did not have access to the women’s movement, and were at least a generation behind the Northern women. The South viewed the movement as another example of the North imposing its’ beliefs on the South. Southern women, were idealized, and considered morally virtuous and happy to serve their husbands and families. The United Confederate Veterans actually placed young virgins from each state in the South on a pedestal at their annual reunions to pay tribute to the ideal women who was obedient, trusting solely in the protection of the man. It was not until the end of the 19th Century, that the Southern women began to stand their ground and desire the same individuality, as did the Northern women (Ayers). In Chopin’s The Awakening, great emphasis is placed on the obedient wife and the satisfaction that women experience by just taking care of their husbands. Edna is the exception to this portrayal. Her need to be herself, and deal with her own needs causes her to be restless and to stray from her marriage. Chopin writes about the way it looks in society, when Edna leaves her husband for her own life, and about the opinion others will have of her dissatisfaction with her motherly life.

In 1861, the Civil war broke out, contributing somewhat, to the change of the female’s role in society. During the Civil War, women’s suffrage movements grew, and upon its’ conclusion, women of the North began to acquire some additional rights. The Industrial Revolution, that followed the Civil War, allowed lower class women to leave their homes and go into the workplace. Although able to earn wages, conditions were poor and women’s pay was still controlled by their husbands or fathers. Middle and upper class women were still expected to stay home and have children. They were considered adornments for their husbands. They were still considered possessions of their husbands. The Women’s Rights Movement continued, and women slowly began to seek higher education, and become professionals in art music and literature (Jordan et al.). As noted by Showalter, “the homosocial world of women’s culture began to dissolve as women demanded entrance into education, professions, and politics” (67). Edna in The Awakening, talks about her вЂ¦Ð²Ð‚¦.

Kate O’Flaherty was born on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri to Thomas O’Flaherty and Eliza O’Flaherty. Eliza Faris was a girl of French decent, and of social status, who married Thomas at the age of 16. Thomas was an Irish immigrant who was successful in business ventures, and was 39 at the time. The difference in age was considered normal in this era (Toth 6). Mr. O’Flaherty had been married until six months before his marriage to Eliza, when his wife died. Thomas was left to raise their son, George alone. Residing with the O’Flahertys was Eliza’s widowed mother, and great grandmother, Mme. Victoria Charleville. Mme Charleville told Kate stories of her own grandmother, who had run her own ferry service on the Mississippi, and entertained her with lively stories about women who dared to be independent. She taught Kate music and art, as well as the importance of living life fearlessly (Toth).

On September 3, 1855, at the age of five, Kate was sent to school at the St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart. Two months after she was sent to Sacred Heart, her father was killed, when a train that he was riding on, during a ceremonial celebration for the Pacific Railroad, crossed a bridge that collapsed. Kate’s mother brought her home from boarding school following the accident. For the next two years, Kate lived with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother,