Kate Chopins Awakening - Edna Pontellier as Master of Her Destiny Essa

In Kate Chopins The Awakening, the main character, Edna leaves her husband to ascertain place in the world. Edna believes her new sexually in expectent power leave behind make her master of her own life. But, as Martin points out, she has overestimated her strength and is still hampered by her limited ability to direct her energy and to master her emotions (22). Unfortunately, Edna has been educated in addition much in the traditions of society and not enough in background and independent survival, admitting to Robert that we women learn so little of life on the consentaneous (990). She has internalized societys conception of woman as guided by her emotions and not her estimate and, therefore, in the search for another man to fill the void of slam in her life, lets her goal become clouded instead of learning to depend on herself alone. Edna wants to overcome gender stereotypes, and is already using behaviours such as assertiveness and independence to question them, but the s truggle is new to her and she fails to get hold a method that would allow her to successfully leave behind societys preconceptions. Martin writes, Ambition, striving, overcoming odds, the snap of energy on a goal are habits of mind associated with male mastery. A woman who wants to develop these skills has to defy a centuries-old tradition of passive voice femininity. . . . But Edna Pontellier does not have the emotional resources to transcend the conventions that regulate distaff behavior, conventions that she has, in fact, internalized. (22) Even in her defiant disobedience to her husband, she is subconsciously alert of the futility of her struggle. During a fit of violent frustration with her marriage, she stopped, and taking off her spousal relationship ring, flung it upon th... ...Giorcelli, Cristina. Ednas Wisdom A Transitional and Numinous Merging. Martin 109-39. Martin, Wendy, ed. New Essays on the Awakening. Cambridge Cambridge UP, 1988. Papke, bloody shame E. Vergin g on the Abyss The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton. Westport, CT Greenwood, 1990. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin A decisive Biography. Baton Rouge Louisiana State UP, 1969. Showalter, Elaine. Tradition and the Female talent The Awakening as a Solitary Book. Martin 33-55. Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. Boston Twayne, 1985.Stein, Allen F. Women and Autonomy in Kate Chopins Short Fiction. NY Peter Lang, 2005. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. Wells, Kim. Kate Chopins The Awakening A unfavorable Reception. Kate Chopins The Awakening A Critical Reception. N.p., Aug. 1999. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.