The Awakening VI
"In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to 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. This may seem like a ponderous weight of wisdom to descend upon the soul of a young woman of twenty-eight—perhaps more wisdom than the Holy Ghost is usually pleased to vouchsafe to any woman.
But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!
The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace" (Chopin 17).
This passage introduces the main ideas and themes of The Awakening, including intelligence, self-discovery, independence, and maturation. Edna is beginning her awakening and self-realization. She begins to think upon herself and sees that she is not living as the person she would like to be. A few paragraphs above, Edna is quoted saying “…and in the second place have followed in obedience to one of the two contradictory impulses which impelled her” (Chopin, 17). This shows that she is emerging from a single person into a new person with new beliefs and ideas. This passage also shows that she is brave and courageous, and is unique compared to those around her. The lines “How few of us ever emerge from such a beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!” (Chopin, 18) show us that Edna is unusual, and there are few people brave enough to stand up and truly become themselves and live as they want. It also begins to foreshadow Edna’s death. “How many souls perish in its tumult!” This illustrates the many who do not succeed. The following paragraph becomes very stylistic in the writing- using metaphors and descriptive words to foreshadow Edna’s death. The line quoting “… to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation” is very powerful because Edna’s newly awakened self is beginning to form from the ideas of suddenly contemplating her inner self, so it is showing that she will eventually lose herself.
I selected this passage because it is a good summary of what is happening to Edna, and what will come. Her awakening is explained, and you begin to see what is going on in Edna’s mind. The last two paragraphs about the voice of the sea interests and confuses me. The writing style seems to change so quickly, from being mostly straight-forward and simple, to very symbolic and stylistic. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the passage, but I think it adds beauty to the writing. Using descriptions such as ‘seductive,’ ‘clamoring,’ and “inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude” adds a different and unique visual to my understanding of the story.
"In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to 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. This may seem like a ponderous weight of wisdom to descend upon the soul of a young woman of twenty-eight—perhaps more wisdom than the Holy Ghost is usually pleased to vouchsafe to any woman.
But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!
The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace" (Chopin 17).
This passage introduces the main ideas and themes of The Awakening, including intelligence, self-discovery, independence, and maturation. Edna is beginning her awakening and self-realization. She begins to think upon herself and sees that she is not living as the person she would like to be. A few paragraphs above, Edna is quoted saying “…and in the second place have followed in obedience to one of the two contradictory impulses which impelled her” (Chopin, 17). This shows that she is emerging from a single person into a new person with new beliefs and ideas. This passage also shows that she is brave and courageous, and is unique compared to those around her. The lines “How few of us ever emerge from such a beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!” (Chopin, 18) show us that Edna is unusual, and there are few people brave enough to stand up and truly become themselves and live as they want. It also begins to foreshadow Edna’s death. “How many souls perish in its tumult!” This illustrates the many who do not succeed. The following paragraph becomes very stylistic in the writing- using metaphors and descriptive words to foreshadow Edna’s death. The line quoting “… to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation” is very powerful because Edna’s newly awakened self is beginning to form from the ideas of suddenly contemplating her inner self, so it is showing that she will eventually lose herself.
I selected this passage because it is a good summary of what is happening to Edna, and what will come. Her awakening is explained, and you begin to see what is going on in Edna’s mind. The last two paragraphs about the voice of the sea interests and confuses me. The writing style seems to change so quickly, from being mostly straight-forward and simple, to very symbolic and stylistic. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the passage, but I think it adds beauty to the writing. Using descriptions such as ‘seductive,’ ‘clamoring,’ and “inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude” adds a different and unique visual to my understanding of the story.
The Awakening XI
"She perceived that her will had blazed up, stubborn and resistant. She could not at that moment have done other than denied and resisted. She wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command. Of course she had; she remembered that she had. But she could not realize why or how she should have yielded, feeling as she then did" (Chopin, 42).
This passage illustrates the first time that Edna doesn’t habitually follow her husband’s commands. She stands up for herself and does as she pleases. As her awakening begins, she also begins to step back and view her former self, and she is not pleased with what she finds. Edna realizes that she never wanted to obey her husband, and she wonders why she has this whole time. She seems to have been in denial; never taking into account what she truly wanted for herself. She is becoming farther from her former self, and this is shown by her not being able to understand her past behaviors. This is important to character and plot development because she is beginning to take action and she is taking steps forward. She feels good about standing up for herself, and this is important in order for her to continue.
I find this passage interesting because it illustrates Edna stepping away from her past self and stepping into her newly awakened self. She begins to see herself as a completely new person. For that reason, I think that this is a crucial and powerful moment in her awakening. Edna is finally beginning to actually act out on her new thoughts and ideas, which shows that she is serious about breaking away from the norm.
"She perceived that her will had blazed up, stubborn and resistant. She could not at that moment have done other than denied and resisted. She wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command. Of course she had; she remembered that she had. But she could not realize why or how she should have yielded, feeling as she then did" (Chopin, 42).
This passage illustrates the first time that Edna doesn’t habitually follow her husband’s commands. She stands up for herself and does as she pleases. As her awakening begins, she also begins to step back and view her former self, and she is not pleased with what she finds. Edna realizes that she never wanted to obey her husband, and she wonders why she has this whole time. She seems to have been in denial; never taking into account what she truly wanted for herself. She is becoming farther from her former self, and this is shown by her not being able to understand her past behaviors. This is important to character and plot development because she is beginning to take action and she is taking steps forward. She feels good about standing up for herself, and this is important in order for her to continue.
I find this passage interesting because it illustrates Edna stepping away from her past self and stepping into her newly awakened self. She begins to see herself as a completely new person. For that reason, I think that this is a crucial and powerful moment in her awakening. Edna is finally beginning to actually act out on her new thoughts and ideas, which shows that she is serious about breaking away from the norm.
The Awakening XV
"For the first time she recognized the symptoms of infatuation which she had felt incipiently as a child, as a girl in her earliest teens, and later as a young woman. The recognition did not lessen the reality, the poignancy of the revelation by any suggestion or promise of instability. The past was nothing to her; offered no lesson which she was willing to heed. The future was a mystery which she never attempted to penetrate. The present alone was significant; was hers, to torture her as it was doing then with the biting conviction that she had lost that which she had held, that she had been denied that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded" (Chopin 61).
This passage shows that Edna feels the need to move forward now. She realizes that the present was hers, and that she has the ability to take control of it. She feels like she has no choice but to continue her self-recognition. “…that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded” (Chopin, 61). This line shows how powerful her new self is. It has completely taken over her being, and her old self seems very distant and unimportant. She doesn’t want to look back on her past, because she doesn’t feel it is of any importance to her; there is nothing to learn. She seems unsure of what will happen in the future to her, but that doesn’t have significance to her, because she will take the present into her own hands regardless. The idea of infatuation is also introduced in this paragraph. Edna realizes that she doesn’t have true feelings for Robert, she simply likes the idea of it. The idea of breaking away from her husband and being able to fulfill whatever she wishes is exciting and new to Edna. She jumps at the idea of Robert simply because he is new and exciting.
Parts of this passage puzzles me because it doesn’t seem to fit together. It ties together the infatuation into her past, present, and future, and how demanding her new self is. I think this passage is important because it shows how dominant and empowering Edna has become. Her new self is described as demanding and passionate. She had never out-thought herself nor gave herself choices regarding her future. She now feels excited, passionate, and full of life.
The Awakening XXIV
"That night Edna dined alone. The candelabra, with a few candles in the center of the table, gave all the light she needed. Outside the circle of light in which she sat, the large dining-room looked solemn and shadowy. The cook, placed upon her mettle, served a delicious repast—a luscious tenderloin broiled a point. The wine tasted good; the marron glace seemed to be just what she wanted. It was so pleasant, too, to dine in a comfortable peignoir" (Chopin, 98).
This scene shows Edna with the house to herself for the first time. She is very intrigued with how nice and peaceful it is and she enjoys the freedom to do as she wishes. She dines alone, and enjoys the food and the lack of people. She doesn’t have to try to please anyone, she is free to do as she wishes. Walking around the house, she sees things in a new sort of way. This is because the sense of aloneness and peace is foreign and new to her. The way that the light shines on her shows that she is focusing on the present alone, and the darkness outside of this is foreign and mysterious. This goes back to the ideas in the previous passage. The present alone is all that is important to her, and she is content with that. She says that the light from a few candles is all she needs.
I choose this passage because I related it to Foster’s ideas of the importance of communion. Edna has a good communion. She enjoys the food and enjoys the solidarity. This symbolizes that Edna is currently content with the way things are going. She really likes the peace that came over her as soon as she was left alone, and she finally feels at ease. “And as she snuggled comfortably beneath the eiderdown a sense of restfulness invaded her, such as she had not known before” (Chopin, 99). This is meal shows Edna’s happiness of being on her own, which is a main idea of her awakened self.
"That night Edna dined alone. The candelabra, with a few candles in the center of the table, gave all the light she needed. Outside the circle of light in which she sat, the large dining-room looked solemn and shadowy. The cook, placed upon her mettle, served a delicious repast—a luscious tenderloin broiled a point. The wine tasted good; the marron glace seemed to be just what she wanted. It was so pleasant, too, to dine in a comfortable peignoir" (Chopin, 98).
This scene shows Edna with the house to herself for the first time. She is very intrigued with how nice and peaceful it is and she enjoys the freedom to do as she wishes. She dines alone, and enjoys the food and the lack of people. She doesn’t have to try to please anyone, she is free to do as she wishes. Walking around the house, she sees things in a new sort of way. This is because the sense of aloneness and peace is foreign and new to her. The way that the light shines on her shows that she is focusing on the present alone, and the darkness outside of this is foreign and mysterious. This goes back to the ideas in the previous passage. The present alone is all that is important to her, and she is content with that. She says that the light from a few candles is all she needs.
I choose this passage because I related it to Foster’s ideas of the importance of communion. Edna has a good communion. She enjoys the food and enjoys the solidarity. This symbolizes that Edna is currently content with the way things are going. She really likes the peace that came over her as soon as she was left alone, and she finally feels at ease. “And as she snuggled comfortably beneath the eiderdown a sense of restfulness invaded her, such as she had not known before” (Chopin, 99). This is meal shows Edna’s happiness of being on her own, which is a main idea of her awakened self.
The Awakening XXXII
"The pigeon house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm which it reflected like a warm glow. There was with her a feeling of having descended in the social scale, with a corresponding sense of having risen in the spiritual. Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual. She began to look with her own eyes; to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life. No longer was she content to "feed upon opinion" when her own soul had invited her (Chopin, 127).
This passage is important to understanding how Edna feels about society. As her independence grows, she feels farther and farther from society. She feels a strong sense of strength from this. Although she has become poor, and lives in a very small house, she is much happier than when she was wealthy. She feels there is an inverse relationship between spiritual richness and social rank. The higher social rank and wealth you have, the less independent you become. Oppositely, the lower you are on the social rank, the more happiness and independence you have. Edna is very satisfied with her new life. She is proud of having her own opinions and choosing her own lifestyle. By ignoring the expectations of those around her she is able to deepen and follow her opinions and emotions about life. Edna now defines herself by separating herself from people, and being completely herself, not at all by interacting with those around her, which is the cause of her depression.
Edna having her own living space is important because she becomes very alone. She likes this and it makes her very independent. The farther away she becomes from living in social norms, the richer her spiritual life becomes. She appreciates life in a different way. The fact that she no longer feels connected to the real world is crucial to her awakening. Although at this point in the novel she feels very strong and successful, she also feels there is something wrong, or missing. This strong sense of solitude may be the ultimate cause of her suicide. In her society, women are unable to think or choose for themselves, which causes Edna to rebel into such strong solitude, she becomes depressed. She comes to realize that she will never be able to completely succeed regardless of what she does, she will not be happy. If she goes back to her husband or to Robert, she again will be controlled by a man. If she continues to live on her own, she will end up like Mademoiselle Reiz, who is obviously not happy or successful either.
"The pigeon house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm which it reflected like a warm glow. There was with her a feeling of having descended in the social scale, with a corresponding sense of having risen in the spiritual. Every step which she took toward relieving herself from obligations added to her strength and expansion as an individual. She began to look with her own eyes; to see and to apprehend the deeper undercurrents of life. No longer was she content to "feed upon opinion" when her own soul had invited her (Chopin, 127).
This passage is important to understanding how Edna feels about society. As her independence grows, she feels farther and farther from society. She feels a strong sense of strength from this. Although she has become poor, and lives in a very small house, she is much happier than when she was wealthy. She feels there is an inverse relationship between spiritual richness and social rank. The higher social rank and wealth you have, the less independent you become. Oppositely, the lower you are on the social rank, the more happiness and independence you have. Edna is very satisfied with her new life. She is proud of having her own opinions and choosing her own lifestyle. By ignoring the expectations of those around her she is able to deepen and follow her opinions and emotions about life. Edna now defines herself by separating herself from people, and being completely herself, not at all by interacting with those around her, which is the cause of her depression.
Edna having her own living space is important because she becomes very alone. She likes this and it makes her very independent. The farther away she becomes from living in social norms, the richer her spiritual life becomes. She appreciates life in a different way. The fact that she no longer feels connected to the real world is crucial to her awakening. Although at this point in the novel she feels very strong and successful, she also feels there is something wrong, or missing. This strong sense of solitude may be the ultimate cause of her suicide. In her society, women are unable to think or choose for themselves, which causes Edna to rebel into such strong solitude, she becomes depressed. She comes to realize that she will never be able to completely succeed regardless of what she does, she will not be happy. If she goes back to her husband or to Robert, she again will be controlled by a man. If she continues to live on her own, she will end up like Mademoiselle Reiz, who is obviously not happy or successful either.