Essay Database

Kate Chopin's The Awakening takes place during the late 1800's in New Orleans, Louisiana. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier, fights to obtain independence, which places her in opposition to society. Her society believed that a married woman needed to make both her husband's and children's needs her first priority. Her duty included chores around the house and obeying her husband's demands. Chopin focuses triumph as the theme in The Awakening, as Edna unleashes her true identity …

…her time period. Edna provided an example for all women to follow in attempts to further their position in society. She demonstrated that a woman has the ability, at any time, to feel, "...like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" (Chopin 152). Edna Pontellier struggled; however, due to her will power and courage, she broke free from her society's strict boundaries and became, beyond doubt, a triumph.