A Deconstructionist Look at Women’s Economic Status in The Awakening

梁簫簫

【Abstract】In the essay a deconstructionist perspective is used to look at Ednas economic status. Ednas economic independence is gained at the absence of her husband and is within the boundary accepted by men. Despite the fact that she has got incomes and a house of her own， men still can claim ownership of Edna， leaving the convention that women shall depend on men economically intact.

【Key words】The Awakening； economic independence； Deconstructionist

A deconstructionist perspective can be used to look at Ednas economic dependence and independence. In a patriarchal community of which Edna is a member， whether she has any income to support herself or the family matters surprisingly little and her attempt to gain economic independence is in vain though she seems， without further contemplation， to have succeeded.

For women， the stereotyped and not imagined， to make the meaning more accurate， role for a woman was a wife and “mother woman” （P29）. Women of high social status accordingly should and did stay at home， when money needed， turning to their husbands， who took up all the responsibility for feeding the family， claiming， therefore， the ownership of women. In such a social background， it is not surprising that Edna is introduced to the reader through the eyes of her owner， namely her husband. In a men/women relationship， money gives Mr. Pontellier such power that after the couple have a fierce fight， he simply gives the woman half of the money he has won the night before and successfully reconciles with her. Regarding his wife as property， he， alone， excluding Edna， claims the ownership of the house. Over the house， Edna has no right. But instead， she is not unlike a canary living in this charming house， both the house and herself belonging to the owner， Mr. Pontellier.

Of such economic dependence， Edna is soberly aware. As a part of her rebellion against the man-dominated society， she takes a daring step and moves out of her husbands house， a cage for her. In a conversation with Mademoiselle about her plan for moving， she exclaims， “It [the house] never seemed like mine， anyway—like a home.” Her meaning is more bluntly revealed by her interlocutor who sharply points out， “They are your husbands.” （P102） With the husband far away， she does move into a house and arrange it as she wishes， turning herself into a decision maker， the role her husband once assumed. The house， thus， becomes “habitable and homelike” （P115） for her. To make her rebellion more precious is her plan to make a living with her own hands， which is unimaginable for married women and can be comprehended only by those women who had no one to turn to， such as Mademoiselle and those in the lower class. Brave and imprudent as well， she has made a plan to earn money out of her painting and stop being at mercy of her husband.

At this point it seems that Edna has gained economic independence， as she has a source of income and a comfortable， though little， house of her own， a symbol of detachment from her husbands control. Yet， in a society whose rules set by men， such independence is superficial and Edna has actually escaped the control of men. In a community ruled by men， womens economic status matters little.

It is of importance to understand how Edna can succeed in moving out. With careful consideration， we may find that the main reason behind is the absence of the husband. So far away is Mr. Pontellier to take charge that it gives a rare chance to Ednas anarchy and autonomy. Assumptions may be made here. What if Mr. Pontellier were not away and did take charge of the house？ What if Mr. Pontellier could come home immediately， without further delay caused by business？ It is not a rash conclusion that under such circumstances mentioned above， Ednas happy stay at her house is out of the question. She would have no chance to move out in case of Mr. Pontelliers presence and would be forced to come back to “the canary cage” in case of Mr. Pontelliers coming back unless they got divorced or Mr. Pontellier succumbed as he took consideration of his wifes mental weirdness. Besides， the reasons for Mr. Pontelliers unwilling acceptance of Mrs. Pontelliers abandonment of his house are that he finds a way to avoid peoples doubt about his financial conditions and he attributes Ednas action to her “whimsical turn of mind of late” （P116）. The idea that his wife is gaining economic independence and gets out of his control never occurs to him， leaving the convention that womens economic dependence on men intact. Thus， Edna can stay in her little place， unbothered. Only in mens absence can women gain independence. Such independence， in a male-dominated society， has little， if any， value， as most women do get married， unlike Mademoiselle in the novel.

As to Ednas earning a living on her own， assumptions again can be made. What if Mr. Pontellier were not away？ What if Mr. Pontellier found out Ednas earning money？ It is reasonable to assume that he would be shocked and blame his wife as he certainly believes he is providing enough money for the family and such behavior would only bring suspicion about the worsening of his economic condition. Meanwhile， he may again ascribe the bizarre behavior to her “whimsical turn of mind” as he does when learning the intention of Ednas moving. Therefore， Ednas success in selling her paintings is again because of her husbands absence. Another assumption is what if Edna did not choose painting as a source of incoming？ Were there a wide range of choices？ Very likely not. Her choices are in fact limited， including being a teacher， maiden， artist， musician and several other professions accepted by society which is ruled by men. The chance that she became a physician， lawyer， businessperson is helplessly slim. Luckily enough， Edna takes painting as her career， which is within the acceptable territories she is allowed to move about. Besides， it is worth noticing that in the area of painting， Edna is not free from the male dominance. Her connection with the customer is in the control of Laidpore， a middleman， who makes evaluation of Ednas paintings.

In the novel， Ednas economic independence is gained at the absence of her husband and is within the boundary accepted by men. Men still can claim ownership of Edna although she has got incomes and a house of her own. Therefore， in a male-dominated society， the supposedly clear distinction between female economic independence and dependence is obscured. Women simply have no language concerning money in The Awakening.

References：

[1]Walker，Nancy A.，ed.The Awakening.Boston and New York：Bedford/St.Martins，2000.