A Quest for Complete Female Identity：An Analysis of Chopin’s Edna

【Abstract】In the novel The Awakening， Kate Chopin reveals the living status and plight of women in the late 19th century America. This paper makes an analysis of the heroine–Ednas journey of awakening and finds that she is a pioneer in the quest for complete female identity.

【Key words】patriarchy； awakening； complete female identity

Kate Chopins novel The Awakening was published in 1899. The setting of the novel is also the late 19th century southern American society， which is still a patriarchal society. As the change in the title from A Solitary Soul to The Awakening， rather than Ednas Awakening or One Womans Awakening suggests， there is something universal in Ednas experience.1 Through the portrayal of a middle-class woman， Ednas journey of awakening from a traditional housewife with a repressed inner self to a new woman questing for independence and self-fulfillment， Chopin became a pioneer in feminist movement.

In the patriarchal society of the 19th century America， the ideal female figure was the so-called “house angel”， who was passive and submissive. The prescribed roles for her were strictly confined to home：daughter， wife and mother. She was expected to sacrifice her true self to serve her family. This ideology of “house angel” was so deeply rooted in the fabric of society that few people realized that it should be protested against. Some women were even “delicious in the role.” Madame Ratignolle serves as a perfect embodiment of “house angel”. Physically she has “flaming and apparent” beauty and “every womanly grace and charm”； she is a typical mother-woman who gives birth every two years and “flutter[s] about with extended， protecting wings [for her] precious brood”； she worships her husband and male elders； she does not play the piano out of interest， but because it is “a means of brightening the home and making it attractive.” Devoting all of her energies to her home， she has totally effaced her own self. Another woman， Mademoiselle Reisz， is the opposite of Adele. She has “strikingly homely” appearance and “absolutely no taste in dress”； remaining single， she has never married nor born a child； as a true pianist， she refuses to play for public entertainment， but for arts sake and for people who understand her music； moreover， she supports herself， living a very frugal life in a house of her own. Her neighbor “[does] not want to know her at all， or anything concerning her—the most disagreeable and unpopular woman ever lived in Bienville Street.” Even Madame Ratignolle tells Edna to keep away from her. In the description of Reisz， we cannot find any streak of femininity and maternity in her. As an independent career woman in that society， Reisz could not be accepted by the public. If Madame Ratignolle is an angel， then Ms. Reisz is a monster in their view. Through vivid descriptions of the living status of the two female characters， Chopin reveals the restrictions and oppressions the patriarchal society has imposed upon women. Madame Ratignolle and Ms. Reisz are like the two opposite ends of a road， between which the heroine， Edna， is struggling to find her own position.

Edna grew up in a Presbyterian family. Her father was authoritarian in family while her mother died young. Her elder sister was “matronly and dignified， probably from having assumed matronly and housewifely responsibilities too early in life.” Her girlfriends were “all of one type–the self-contained.” The reserve of Ednas character is probably molded by these factors. Yet deep in her heart buried a rebellious spirit. She used to defy her fathers authority and ran away from church. She had secretly but passionately fallen in love several times from an early age. An important reason for her to marry Leonce was that her father and older sister disagreed with their relationship. Besides， Ednas longs for spiritual fulfillment. “Her most intimate friend at school had been one of rather exceptional intellectual gifts…which Edna admired and strove to imitate…” So there has always been duality in Ednas character：her outward existence conforms， while her inward life questions. This duality is the internal trigger for her awakening.

External reasons for Ednas physical and spiritual awakening are associated with her experiences in that summer at Grand Isle， such as the factors of nature， culture， art and romance. Her friend Adeles excessive physical charm first attracted her， and Creoles “entire absence of prudery” and “freedom of expression” surprised and impressed her.1 The candor of Adeles whole existence formed a striking contrast to her own habitual reserve. Moved by Creole culture， Edna “began to loosen a little the mantle of reserve that had always enveloped her.” The more time she spent among the Creoles， the more comfortable she began to feel. At the same time， the beautiful and agreeable natural environment of Grand Isle， and especially the seductive voice and sensuous touch of the sea roused passions in her body. Most importantly， her falling in love with Robert changed something inside of her. She was becoming aware of a different self in her body. Every day her knowledge of this new self became stronger and stronger. On a Saturday night social gathering， Robert invited Ms. Reisz to play music for Edna. Reiszs playing again roused passions inside of Edna and demanded a response from Ednas very soul. Edna became full of emotion. That night， she had courage to swim in the sea for the first time on her own. She felt as if she had total control over her body and moreover， she wanted to “swim far out， where no woman had swum before.”1 Hence Ednas inner self was awakened.

Following her inner self， Edna began small or big changes in her life. She didnt follow her husbands demand for sex as naturally as before：

“Another time she would have gone in at his request. She would， through habit， have yielded to his desire； not with any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes， but unthinkingly， as we walk， move， sit， stand， go through the daily treadmill of the life which has been portioned out to us.”

As Beauvoir points out， “Man is the Subject while woman is the Object. Man sees himself as a human being， and sees woman as ‘the sex.” A male controls a female through her body first and then defines her role. So， to be a complete person， a woman must control her own body first. Edna has taken the first step.

Back home in city， Edna started to reject the role of traditional housewife， in which she only sees “an appalling and hopeless ennui.” The first thing she abandoned was every Tuesdays reception， where she needed to be dressed up and “[stayed] in the drawing-room the entire afternoon receiving her visitors， ”1 and where she displayed the treasures in the house as a manifestation of her husbands success and social status. For Edna life should be vigorous and meaningful. When she visited the Ratignolles， she was moved by a kind of commiseration for the colorless existence of Adele.

Asserting that she would give her life for her children， but wouldnt give herself， Edna began to take painting as her career. Driven by the longing for independence and self-fulfillment， she used the money earned by herself to purchase a “pigeon house”， thus she had a room of her own to do her creative work. In that epoch women had very few means of earning a living， but Edna didnt take away anything that belonged to her husband.

In her pursuit for independence， Edna keeps pondering， questioning and exploring her female identity. As she said， “Im going to pull myself together for a while and think–try to determine what character of a woman I am； for， candidly， I dont know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with， I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I cant convince myself that I am.”1 She is not willing to live in the same way as Ms. Reisz does， despite that the latter is her spiritual guide. Because she is “more dependent upon human relationships than Mademoiselle Reisz … [and] will not settle for living as less than a complete person.”

At the end of the novel， Robert left her because of love. Realizing that she could never live as a complete person， Edna committed suicide by drowning in the sea. Living in that epoch， Ednas tragic mistake is her resolute pursuit of independence and self-fulfillment. As Gilmore said， “Ednas drive to experience and articulate her inner life dooms her to incomprehension because the very idea of a wife having a separate and unique identity is alien.” In conclusion， Edna is a pioneer in the quest for complete female identity. Her suicide is not surrender， but a brave rejection of the souls slavery.

References：

[1]Chopin，Kate.The Awakening.1899.Ed.Nancy A.Walker.Boston：Bedford Books of St.Martins Press，1993.

[2]Gilmore，Michael T.“Revolt Against Nature：The Problematic Modernism of The Awakening.” New Essays on The Awakening.Ed.Wendy Martin.Cambridge：Cambridge University Press，1988.

[3]Gothlin，Eva Lundgren.Sex and Existence：Simone de Beauvoirs The Second Sex.

[4]Trans.Linda Schenck.London：The Athlone Press，1996.

作者簡介：高雅（1988-），女， 漢族，碩士研究生， 研究方向：歐洲研究。