The function of adultery, contract and female identity in Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening'

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book The function of adultery, contract and female identity in Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening' by Martin Holz, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Martin Holz ISBN: 9783640165698
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: September 15, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Martin Holz
ISBN: 9783640165698
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: September 15, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Cologne, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, sexuality, love and marriage are negotiated in connection with the problem of a uniquely female identity which defies the ideas of Victorian prudery and seeks to represent the 'new woman'. But what precisely is the nature of Edna's awakening? Does the novel really convey a feminist tenor, and does Chopin succeed in exploring new cul¬tural and social options in the sphere of fiction? Three major aspects have to be analysed to il¬luminate this matter, namely adultery, the notion of contract and the question of a female iden¬tity, all of which are directly linked to the organization and stability of society in general and in American society by the end of the nineteenth century in particular. Considering the ubi¬quity of adultery - seen as a transgression against the marriage contract - in nineteenth-century novels, Tony Tanner postulates 'relationships between a specific kind of sexual act, a specific kind of society, and a specific kind of narrative' (1979: 12), all of which here imply a defini¬tion of woman's role on a social scale. As far as The Awakening is concerned, however, the case is far from clear because society's ideological hegemony is significantly diminished, though at no point relinquished. It is proble¬matic to speak of Edna's sexual liberation and emancipation for two reasons: firstly, there are no restrictive measures or even social sanctions like ostracism, and secondly, the ending is too ambivalent to interpret it from an exclusively feminist perspective. Nevertheless, Showalter is certainly correct in asserting that 'Chopin went boldly beyond the work of her precursors in writing about women's longing for sexual and personal emancipation'(1993: 170); contempo¬rary reviews and the reception history as a whole supply sufficient evidence of this as well as of the thesis that 'Chopin calls into question the ideologies and assumptions about women's place articulated by leading thinkers of her time' (Bauer/ Lakritz 1988: 47). But the text is neither a tract nor a pamphlet; it is an aesthetically composed novel which works quite differ¬ently due to its fictional status. This paper tries to clarify the complex set of ideas and tech¬niques that operate on the fictional level and is, moreover, designed to show their social and cultural relevance in the context of Kate Chopin's epoch while taking into account several approaches to the text.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Cologne, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In Kate Chopin's The Awakening, sexuality, love and marriage are negotiated in connection with the problem of a uniquely female identity which defies the ideas of Victorian prudery and seeks to represent the 'new woman'. But what precisely is the nature of Edna's awakening? Does the novel really convey a feminist tenor, and does Chopin succeed in exploring new cul¬tural and social options in the sphere of fiction? Three major aspects have to be analysed to il¬luminate this matter, namely adultery, the notion of contract and the question of a female iden¬tity, all of which are directly linked to the organization and stability of society in general and in American society by the end of the nineteenth century in particular. Considering the ubi¬quity of adultery - seen as a transgression against the marriage contract - in nineteenth-century novels, Tony Tanner postulates 'relationships between a specific kind of sexual act, a specific kind of society, and a specific kind of narrative' (1979: 12), all of which here imply a defini¬tion of woman's role on a social scale. As far as The Awakening is concerned, however, the case is far from clear because society's ideological hegemony is significantly diminished, though at no point relinquished. It is proble¬matic to speak of Edna's sexual liberation and emancipation for two reasons: firstly, there are no restrictive measures or even social sanctions like ostracism, and secondly, the ending is too ambivalent to interpret it from an exclusively feminist perspective. Nevertheless, Showalter is certainly correct in asserting that 'Chopin went boldly beyond the work of her precursors in writing about women's longing for sexual and personal emancipation'(1993: 170); contempo¬rary reviews and the reception history as a whole supply sufficient evidence of this as well as of the thesis that 'Chopin calls into question the ideologies and assumptions about women's place articulated by leading thinkers of her time' (Bauer/ Lakritz 1988: 47). But the text is neither a tract nor a pamphlet; it is an aesthetically composed novel which works quite differ¬ently due to its fictional status. This paper tries to clarify the complex set of ideas and tech¬niques that operate on the fictional level and is, moreover, designed to show their social and cultural relevance in the context of Kate Chopin's epoch while taking into account several approaches to the text.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Why did the first revolutionary governments in Mexico fail to survive by Martin Holz
Cover of the book The Dynamics, Magnitude and Scope of MRSA Health Care Associated Infection Concomitant with the Politics in the NHS on the Health Act 2006 by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Figure conception and figure characterisation in Alan Ayckbourn's 'Things we do for love' by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Computing present values by the AGM by Martin Holz
Cover of the book The expressionistic style and the theatricality in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Virginia Woolf as a Character in Michael Cunningham's THE HOURS by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Are Chopin's 'The Awakening' and Cody's 'Candy Girl' 'feminist' texts? by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Description and critical evaluation of an urban policy by Martin Holz
Cover of the book A Book Report on 'Europe as Empire - The Nature of the Enlarged European Union' by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Critically evaluate the view that the Internet facilitates not local cultures but cultural domination by transnational corporations by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Solidarity in Athol Fugards Township Plays by Martin Holz
Cover of the book The WTO Dispute Settlement System by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Joseph Ratzinger. The Life of a Pope before he was Pope by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Statistical Process Control by Martin Holz
Cover of the book Education and Women Empowerment in India by Martin Holz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy