Untitled Essay, Research Paper
By: Alan Eugene Sims, Jr.
Awakening by Kate Chopin- How Marriage Can/Should Work
Marriages in the 1990’s have become uncommon, or they become unstable as
the
relationship between the individuals progresses. The book Awakening, written
by Kate
Chopin, that was written about a woman named Edna Pontellier’s sexual awakening
shows repeated examples of how a marriage should and should not work. Her
marriage
to Leonce Pontellier shows that marriage needs understanding of feelings
between
husband and wife, mutual effort from the individuals, and sexual connection.
The
Pontellier’s marriage shows that without these key aspects, a marriage will
not work.
They especially show that by not understanding one another’s emotions, prosperous
matrimony does not exist.
In the Awakening, Leonce and Edna Pontellier often fight, or Leonce feels
one
way about a situation while Edna looks at it differently. In an early instance
in the book,
Mr. Pontellier makes Edna cry when he says that their son Raoul is running
a fever.
Leonce reprimands her, saying that she does not take care of the kids. He
feels he should
not have to stay at home and take care of the kids while attending to his
business too.
Mrs. Pontellier was brought up in Bluegrass Country in Kentucky, a society
that is
radically different from the Creol community. When her kids are sick or when
they fall,
they do not come running to their mother. Adele Ratignolle is the perfect
mother-woman,
or the mother that gives all and everything to her kids. Edna does not try
to be the perfect
mother-woman that her husband expects her to be. Mr. Pontellier also shows
that he does
not understand his wife’s feelings when he goes to Dr. Mandelet. He asks
the doctor for
advice, but Leonce cannot even explain the problem that he sees in Edna.
Due to Leonce
and Edna Pontellier’s constant confusion of feelings, their marriage does
not work.
In marriage, there should be a sexual connection between husband and wife.
When Edna moves out of her house in New Orleans, she moves into a place called
known
as the Pigeon House. She encounters an affair with Alcee Arobin, which makes
her
happy. Her affair with Alcee was a very delicate subject in the book, but
she finally gave
herself to Arobin. Edna spent endless nights with Leonce, but the book quotes
that she
would not go to sleep until she encountered Arobin’s warm embrace. Edna also
shows
that a marriage needs sexual relations by her love of Robert. Even though
she was not
married to him, she was still in love with him. Robert left her because he
knew he would
make a mistake by staying at Grand Isle, the summer resort. Edna committed
suicide
because she could not have Robert to hold and to love. This shows that bad
things can
happen if there is no intimate connection between lovers.
Even more important than a relationship having an intimate connection is
the
mutual effort of both individuals. Edna has violent feelings that Leonce
Pontellier does
not understand. He goes to see Dr. Mandelet, and asks him for his advice.
This
incidence shows that Leonce is very willing to change his relationship, but
he needs help.
Leonce also shows that he wants his marriage to work, when he sits outside
one night
while Edna lies on the hammock. Edna locks up her feelings and never tells
Leonce what
she is thinking about. If Edna showed that she cared about her kids more,
that would
make a major difference. The Pontellier’s marriage goes on with many
misunderstandings.
Leonce and Edna Pontellier’s marriage goes on with many mishaps. They try
to
make things work by having different aspects that a marriage should have.
Without
understanding one another’s feelings, mutual effort from both individuals
and a sexual
connect they could not make things work. The Awakening displays how a marriage
should not work; by reading this book, marriages in the 1990’s might work
more often.
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