The Awakening Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Relationship of The Awakening and Creole Society In The Awakening, Kate Chopin brings out the essence of through the characters of her novel. In this novel Edna Pontellier faces many problems because she is an outcast from society. As a result of her isolation from society she has to learn to fit in and deal with her problems. This situation causes her to go through a series of awakenings that help her find herself, but this also causes problems with her husband because she loses respect for him and the society she lives in. Throughout the novel she is faced with unfavorable circumstances which confuse and eventually kill her. Kate Chopin uses Creole Society in the 1890s as a basis for her novel and expresses it through Creole women, personal relationships, and etiquette. The Awakening is a book based on French Creoles and their lifestyle which is expressed throughout the novel. Creoles were French Creole Society descendents of French and Spanish Colonists of the 1700s. They had strong family ties because of Catholicism and were a tight community because they where considered outcasts of Anglo- American society. Clement Eaton says that "the Creoles, to a greater degree then Anglo-Americans, lived a life of sensation and careless enjoyment. They loved to dance, gamble, fish, attend feasts, play on the fiddle and to live without much thought of the morrow." Eaton 252 Creoles were very lively outgoing people because of their comfortable tight society. Activities such as Mardi Gras and Sunday afternoon Mass holiday spirits contribute the liveliness of these people (Walker 252). A large reason for their comfort and "live for the moment" attitude was that Creoles did not move west like most other colonists to claim land. Instead they stayed in relatively the same area and just grew in population without consumption of other lands . This caused a shortage of land so it had to be repeatedly divided among the families and it also made it difficult for the plantation system to operate successfully (Walker 253). Background of Creoles: Until 1888 the husband was legal guardian and was given custody of the children when in a divorce. In the 1890 segregation was legalized (Jim Crow laws), but blacks horizons were expanding also. "In Louisiana after the Civil War, African American men had voted in lar... ... of the Old South. Ed. Albert D. Kirwan. Lexington: U of Kentucky P, 1968. 83. Qtd. in Walker, 252. Shaffter, Mary L. "Creole Women." The Chatauquan 15 (1982) : 346-347. Rpt. in "The Awakening": An Authoritative Text. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: Norton, 1994. 137-139. Walker, Nancy. "Feminist or Naturalist?" The Social Context of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. 17(1979) : 95-103. Rpt. in "The Awakening" : An Authoritative Text. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: Norton, 1994. 137-139. Wells, Richard A. "An Etiquette Advice Book Sampler." Decorum: A Practical Treatise on Etiquette and Dress of the Best American Society. (1886): 248-49. Rpt. in "The Awakening": An Authoritative Text. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: Norton, 1994.122-125. Young, John H. "An Etiquette Advice Book Sampler." Our Deportment, Or the Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society. (1882): 56. Rpt. in "The Awakening": An Authoritative Text. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: Norton, 1994. 122-125.