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Women’s Movement in Literature. Late 1800s, Early 1900s. Where Did Women Fit In Society?. Women were considered second-class citizens Existence was limited to the interior life of the home and care of the children. After marriage: they did not have the right to own property
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Women’s Movement in Literature Late 1800s, Early 1900s
Where Did Women Fit In Society? Women were considered second-class citizens Existence was limited to the interior life of the home and care of the children. After marriage: they did not have the right to own property maintain their wages sign a contract vote Women were to be obedient wives, never to hold a thought or opinion independent of their husbands. It was considered improper for women to travel alone or to speak in public.
Con’t Women were taught to refrain from pursuing any serious education (intense physical or intellectual activity might injure the delicate female biology and reproductive system.) Women were considered merely objects of beauty, and were looked upon as intellectually and physically inferior to men.
The “Ideology of True Womanhood” What is it? : Dominant ideology of the 19th century that defined the boundaries of acceptable female behavior. Essentially: the ideal for European-American middle-class women. The attributes of true womanhood, by which a woman judged herself and was judged by her husband, her neighbors and society, were divided into four cardinal virtues: piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. Women of the early 20th century began to combat this mentality (i.e. the constraints of the patriarchal society). Some of those who led this unofficial movement were women writers including Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Kate Chopin and “The Awakening” Published in 1899, The Awakening received scathing reviews—ending Kate Chopin’s literary review Referred to as “moral poison” A regionalist text focusing on the heroes/heroines who refuse assimilation: Edna Pontellier refuses to assimilate to Creole society or any society A novel of perpetual “awakenings” (social, sexual, moral, etc) Serves as a commentary on the moral structures of the time: The Victorian period and the ideal, Victorian woman A deeply philosophical portrayal of Edna Pontellier, a character deemed by many as ”amoral” at the time of publication
Kate Chopin Chopin and her family were Creole, just as most of the characters in her short stories and novels are. Therefore, Chopin has a unique insiders view into the isolation and harsh social rules/expectations that dictated the lives of Creole women.
Setting the Scene: Creole Society Predominantly Catholic; extremely conservative Creole women frank and open when discussing family, children, and marriage; deeply personal and religious commitment to fidelity French speaking and predominantly of French origin, residing in southern Louisiana.
Local Color Realism A subset of realism Definition: The detailed representation in prose fiction of the setting, dialect, customs, dress, and ways of thinking and feeling which are distinctive of a particular region. Could be centered around certain regions such as the West, the Mississippi region, the South, the Midwest, New York City—any area that is distinctive in its own way.
Local Color in “The Awakening” Exemplified in the characterizations of the people on Grand Isle and in New Orleans Descriptions of the places Fundamental meaning behind the narrative The Creole society and culture Portrayal of women
A Series of Dilemmas A materialist, economic dilemma – Edna lacks pure economic independence A social dilemma – the ideology of true womanhood and the public and private sphere An artistic dilemma – Can Edna truly become an artist . . . does she have “the ability to dare and defy”? An essentialist dilemma – the burden of motherhood and the role of the “mother-woman”
Romantic Imagery Love, Romance, Passion Passion deconstructed in the text is very chaotic; passion between Edna and Léonce does not exist Romantic delusions and Edna’s series of “awakenings” Flawed heroine – limited, delusional, fantastical perception of life, world, and role in society; clearly not interested in ethical fall
Meet the Pontelliers: EDNA “strong wings to fly above the constraints of conformity . . .” she is the bird with the broken wing who rejects the concept of the “mother-woman” Chopin grants Edna utter sensuality as depicted and explored through her “awakenings” an abundant amount of narcissism (self-absorption) throughout Edna’s search for self-fulfillment A flawed heroine.
Meet the Pontelliers: LEONCE wealthy, everything economically-oriented appearance is of great consequence supports his family . . . buys his wife and children’s affection defined as the perfect husband attempting to sustain family ideals . . specifically the role of “mother-woman” considers Edna’s unconventional behavior to be a mark of mental illness vision is “impaired” in that Léonce does not see or feel deeply like Edna.
