Annotations over Chopin's "The Awakening"

Thornton, Lawrence. "The Awakening: A Political Romance." American Literature 52.1 (1980): 50-66. JSTOR. Web. 29 October 2012.

            Thornton states that the issues Chopin raises in her novel The Awakening, is that romanticism, narcissism, and women’s independence can be political. The reading brings new light to the troubled Edna. He explains that her want of freedom was through false independence of the Grand Isle society and Robert’s sentiments and despite her partial understanding she is hampered by her romantic ideals. Her escape is pulled forward by Mademoiselle Reisz music and the sea that encourages her to flee and lose herself in the fantastical. She sees her escape in the sea and dies with the “intimations of the world” that she could never reach in life. Through this article we learn to read Chopin differently. We can see a young girl who is trying to escape but is constantly pulled back in. He explains her relationship with her child, stating that her children, her “soul’s slavery”, would continue to drag her down but to continue living as she must would destroy her children. He paints her not as a selfish mother but as a young woman trying to find her place.

Donald, Ringe. "Romantic Imagery in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." American Literature 43.4 (1972): 580-588. JSTOR. Web. 23 October 2012.

Donald Ringe argues that despite previous analysis, The Awakening by Kate Chopin is not about the question of sexual freedom or purely a strong feminist novel. It is in fact about the development of self-awareness. Edna begins to develop as she interacts with society but it is not until her trip to the sea does she fully begin to change. The sea invites the soul to the bliss of solitude and a maze of inward contemplation but also can cause unbearable “intense concentration of the self”. Her fear of death brings about awareness and self-importance which she develops to the exclusion of everyone around her. When Robert leaves her she discovers that she is truly alone and will never have a life long relationship. The sea beckons her with the promise of the bliss of eternal solitude and she is finally able to shed her husband and children and stand on her own. The consequence of reading this article is that you gain a better understanding of the themes and the novel’s purpose. Ringe states that it is not about morality or feminist ideas but “the philosophical question raised by Edna’s awakening. It is about the relation of self to the world and the price of becoming completely free.