De' Awakening mon ami

We are back ladies and gents. After a brief hiatus your favorite literary masterminds have returned and this week I, the ever enchanting Trevor Mashburn, will be tackling the complex and creole loaded story of The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

First off let's take a second and talk about the author for a minute. Kate Chopin was, no doubt, a very tough lady. Her life, especially her childhood, was by no means an easy one. We at TTWU believe that her rough upbringing also unhinged what later became her intriguing literary style. One word to describe Chopin is gutsy. One of her favorite story themes is feminism. In the modern climate this theme goes off without issue. However, this was a very touchy subject especially in the South where Chopin hailed from. I use the word touchy, but in all honesty trying to change the ways and traditions of the 19th century deep south could, and often did, get very messy and occasionally violent. So it definitely took brilliance on the part of Chopin to both clearly broadcast her message, and subtly place it in her story.

Now we enter the story itself. We are introduced to the Pontelliers featuring the nice but overly work oriented Leonce and his exasperatedly frustrated wife Edna. Edna and her unrest is the focus of the story and the plot line follows her various experiences that cause her eyes to open up to who she could be. An awakening if you would (thats where that comes from). The story is set in the French Quarter of Louisiana, and of course is filled with Creole people, and their fantastic food. Edna's two close friends are Adele, who is the epitome of what a stereotypical southern woman should be, and the untamed and passionate Mademoiselle Reisz. These two represent a sort of yin and yang of the internal battle going on inside of Edna. Adele is who Edna is supposed to be in that culture, and initially Edna believes this as well. Yet, as the story progresses Edna realizes that she hates many of the things Adele implores her to love. Reisz clearly has a much greater influence over Edna especially as the story progresses. The reason for this is simply passion. Edna's life is devoid of passion and she hates it. Her marriage is self proclaimed as passionless, and the man she has an affair with Robert is a very passionate individual. Edna spurns the normal expected lives of woman due to the lack of much freedom or fire. This is what Reisz brings to the table and it is through this that Edna begins to become a new more passionate woman.