Wake Up!

FeracoSearch for Human Potential5 February 2009

Self-Identification What kind of an artist are you? Visual? (Photography, painting, drawing) Auditory? (Speaking, singing, music) Kinesthetic? (Athletics, coordination) Practical? (Mathematics, science, etc.) Some sort of hybrid? What’s your favorite thing that you took the

time to create during the past month? How about during the past year?

Influences Has anyone helped, taught, or influenced your

work or your creative process? If you’re a musician, do you listen to others for

inspiration? If you’re a painter, do you try to incorporate

elements of other styles into your own? If you’re a writer, do you read works and try to

figure out how you can use that writer’s skills for your own benefit?

Art and Compromise Do you mainly create for others, or for

yourself? Will you create something you don’t care

about on demand? Are you good at creating things that

aren’t deeply personal? Would you “sell out” – change your work

in the name of profit, or bow to ideological or popular pressure?

Should we blame those who do?

Early Childhood Kate Chopin was born

Katherine O’Flaherty in St. Louis, MO

Grew up around women Her father and

brothers died when she was young

Raised by Catholic nuns (Sacred Heart Academy) and her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother

French-Creole aristocratic ancestry

Became exposed to a great deal of music, literature, and language

Marriage and Family Life Married Oscar Chopin at 19 in 1874.

Also descended from well-to-do Creoles If you’re wondering why there’s so much French in

The Awakening, or wondering why the author seems to fixate on Creole culture, here’s why!

Settled permanently in Louisiana Six children in ten years! Unusual degree of freedom within society

Oscar was supportive, and Kate was independent When one is raised by wealthy, intelligent,

independent individuals, one tends to mirror that lifestyle

Tragedy Ensues Kate moved to a much

smaller town in 1879 when Oscar’s interests fell through She was an oddity in the

community Oscar died of malaria in

1882 Time to raise six kids!

Moved back to Missouri two years later Her mother died shortly

after their arrival

Rising Like a Phoenix Chopin began writing

when people started dying Her early work grappled

with many of the themes that The Awakening would eventually explore

Love Passion Female repression

Women were still denied many freedoms, from the right to vote to the right to a divorce

Wake Up! Awakening = controversy Adultery, abandonment, and suicide Its central protagonist, Edna, is bent

on violating the social conventions that governed women’s lives

Public reaction to the book: Shun her! Ban her!

Chopin only published three more short stories over the next five years, then died in 1904 of a cerebral hemorrhage

A Blessing or a Curse? Born before her time Strength and independence – good or bad? She was the subject of gossip and innuendo

in the 19th-century South, and her society frowned on women who pursued these things at the expense of their familial duties. It didn’t matter that Chopin was a dedicated

mother and wife Her willingness to write frankly about things

that everyone thought about, but no one talked about, made her an easy target

Died a Failure Her work’s greatness, skill, and profundity were never

truly appreciated while she was alive Largely ignored until the 1960s and 1970s We’re no longer quite as terrified by the idea of a

sexually free woman, although many contemporary readers still react viscerally to the things Edna does After all, many of her actions are still considered to

be unacceptable today Perhaps proving that things don’t change as quickly

as we believe they do...or perhaps simply proving that some things remain socially unacceptable

While You’re Reading… Don’t simply judge Edna based on what you see her do Look for the little touches that Chopin masterfully seeds throughout

the text! For example, the parrot that screams what appears to be random

French words is actually quite important – it’s a stand-in for Edna Pontellier, our trapped protagonist Its speech translates roughly as “Go away! Go away! For God’s

sake!” As a result, the first line of dialogue we hear is a primal scream of

rejection – and a plea to be left alone, albeit a futile one Notice how irritated Edna’s husband grows when he has to listen to

the parrot “express its desires?” Remember, parrots are mimics – the bird’s yelling something it’s

picked up Where did it hear that plea?

Finally, note that the bird’s in a cage The bars are just wide enough to prevent escape; the bird remains

trapped inside, painfully aware of the freedom outside of the cage but utterly unable to access it and be free

While You’re Still Reading The characters that seem to be introduced at

random and never explored are representations of society’s expectations about women

The sisters playing the piano are shallow Their playing expresses nothing about them – yet it

reveals everything Because they exist only to please, the sisters develop no

personalities of their own They simply play the pretty, empty melodies that

everyone expects them to play – and by refusing to exceed those expectations, they perpetuate the cycle of superficiality and “proper” behavior that suffocates Edna

The LIB (Galaxy Defender!) On the other hand, the Lady in Black is the dark

version of Edna Both women are independent (or at least become

independent over the course of the novel), but the Lady in Black carries her independence like a burden

Her black clothes smother any sort of joy she could have; she has dedicated the remainder of her life to suffering because that is what is expected of her

Which is worse – the shallow sisters at the piano, or the woman who throws away the rest of her life because society demands it?

Character Check: Edna Pontellier

The novel’s central figure A married mother of two Feels vaguely frustrated, but does

nothing about it Is she a good parent? Her actions (and inactions) shape the

course of the book

Edna’s Awakening The book’s title refers to Edna’s

slowly deepening self-awareness She discovers that she is unhappy,

and tries to find happiness at all costs There’s a marked contrast between

her and the women around her, who seem either unaware or content Reisz and Ratignolle are parallel

characters – but you’ll get to them later

“Be Careful What You Wish For ‘Cause You Just Might Get It…” Edna is trying to carve out her own identity The problem is that she’s already assumed one,

for better or for worse, and she doesn’t have a whole lot of options

Even when she’s trying to discard it, she runs into people who either disapprove or refuse to help her

Moreover, once she creates a new identity, Edna finds that it is still hard to connect with others She can have her affairs, but it turns out the people

she really wants won’t have anything to do with her because they are unwilling to “rock the boat”

Character Check: Léonce Pontellier

Edna’s husband A bit older – forty years old to her

twenty-eight He’s not uncaring, but he isn’t very

perceptive, and he’s barely around This places Edna in an odd situation –

will her husband even be hurt if she has an affair? He isn’t around much – how would this even affect his life?

Character Check: Robert Lebrun This is the young man who Edna grows

attached to; they flirt and converse, and his presence helps motivate Edna to assume her own identity

However, Robert ultimately embodies as many negatives as positives

His attention seems insincere, but he eventually means what he says

The problem is that he lacks Edna’s conviction – he seems reluctant to buck society’s standards for her

Character Check: Adèle Ratignolle

Adèle is a nicely designed foil, because she embodies the feminine ideal that Edna strives to avoid

She is dedicated to her husband and children – to the point that they are her life, and she pursues nothing else

This may have impressed the men of the time, but Edna finds she cannot follow her friend’s example

Character Check: Mademoiselle Reisz

Reisz represents who Edna wants to be – who Edna may have become if she had faced similar circumstances

Similarly, Reisz is Adèle’s opposite Reisz is single but independent,

unconstrained by family attachments She is intelligent and driven, and lives

her life on her own terms

That’s All for Today! I hope you connect with this book, despite its slow

beginning We’re building towards a mock trial, and you can’t

perform well during it unless you understand this book, this society, and these characters on a deeply personal basis More on this when we come to the end of the book

No one comes out of this book looking like a saint, so we’re not searching for saintliness – we’re searching for truth, even if what we find makes us reevaluate ourselves and the preconceptions we treasure

Don’t forget to annotate, and I’ll see you in class tomorrow!