{"id":6837,"date":"2019-04-01T17:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T00:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=6837"},"modified":"2019-03-15T10:58:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T17:58:14","slug":"write-3-the-awakening-themes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/write-3-the-awakening-themes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write About 3 Important The Awakening Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever wake up and say to yourself, \u201cI need to make some changes in my life\u201d?<\/p>\n

Maybe you want a new job, a new college major, a new significant other, or even a new haircut. Whatever it happens to be, you know that something <\/i>has to change.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever felt this way, you can relate to The Awakening<\/i> and its protagonist, Edna Pontellier. Edna is need of some serious changes in her life, and not just the \u201cI hate my haircut\u201d kind of changes, either. She wants to make some serious, life-altering transformations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s these transformations that are the basis for many of The Awakening<\/em> themes. Interested in learning more? Keep reading to learn about three important themes in the novel.<\/i><\/p>\n

A Little About Edna (and the Plot)<\/h2>\n

Edna truly is a woman ahead of her (Victorian) time.<\/p>\n

She realizes she doesn\u2019t have a strong connection with her husband and maybe doesn\u2019t even love<\/em> him. Instead of suffering in silence, which is what would be expected of her during the Victorian Era, Edna yearns to break free of the gender roles that have kept her oppressed.<\/p>\n

The plot of The Awakening<\/h3>\n

While on vacation, she ends up falling in love with Robert, but she\u2019s pretty bummed when he leaves town. It\u2019s after her vacation (and after Robert is absent from her life) that she turns to hobbies, such as painting and playing the piano, to pass the time and mend her broken heart.<\/p>\n

Edna isn\u2019t the type of gal to sit around moping, though.<\/p>\n

Another man, Alcee, flirts with her, and while her husband is in New York for work, she begins an affair with Alcee. There really isn\u2019t a love connection this time, however. It\u2019s more of a friends-with-benefits relationship as Edna is still in love with Robert.<\/p>\n

All of these new feelings surrounding passion, love, and independence leave Edna more than confused, and she ultimately decides to move into a home by herself in order to be fully independent.<\/p>\n

But Robert throws a wrench in all of this when he returns from Mexico. You\u2019d think Edna would be head over heels and ready to say yes to his marriage proposal, but she turns him down. She doesn\u2019t want to belong to anyone\u2014not to her husband and not to Robert.<\/p>\n

Robert and Edna’s conversation about their future together is cut short, however, because she gets called away because her friend is in labor. Edna asks Robert to wait, but he doesn’t.<\/p>\n

Again heartbroken, she returns home feeling lonely and isolated. She knows all of this is a result of her choices, of her expressing her independence, and of her straying from societal norms.<\/p>\n

At the end of the novel, Edna goes for a swim and drowns, but the reader can\u2019t be sure whether the drowning is accidental or if she has committed suicide.<\/p>\n

In essence, Edna is a rebel who pays the ultimate price for her individuality.<\/p>\n

3 Important The Awakening <\/i>Themes<\/h2>\n

The Awakening<\/i> is rich with themes<\/a>, but the themes I\u2019ve included here all focus on Edna and how her character establishes three key themes of the book.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also included a few example essays along the way, so make sure to check them out to see what other writers have to say about The Awakening<\/em> themes.<\/p>\n

Identity<\/h2>\n

As you mature and begin to form your own identity, you realize your likes, dislikes, and who you are as a person.<\/p>\n

These discoveries may be as simple as the day you announce to your parents that you no longer want to be called \u201cAndy.\u201d You want to be called by your full name: Andrew.<\/p>\n

Or your discovery may be an entire lifestyle change as you declare that you\u2019ve become a vegetarian.<\/p>\n

Like most of us, Edna Pontellier is still trying to figure out her own identity, but she\u2019s experiencing an identity crisis<\/i>.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not so worried about whether she eats a burger or a salad for dinner, but she is<\/i> concerned about what she’s called. No, she\u2019s not worried about being called \u201cEdna\u201d or \u201cEddie.\u201d She\u2019s struggling with the labels of \u201cwife\u201d and \u201cmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

She longs for independence and doesn\u2019t want to be tied to these labels and lifestyles as Victorian standards require. It\u2019s this identity crisis that causes her to explore her sexual desires through affairs, explore hobbies (such as painting and playing the piano), and assert her independence by living alone.<\/p>\n

Her identity crisis may have also led to her death as she likely committed suicide because she simply didn\u2019t feel as though she belonged within the current constraints of society.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?<\/div>\n\t\t\t
Check Out These Example Analytical Essays<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tYes! Show me examples.<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

How to write about the theme of identity<\/h3>\n

If you decide to write about identity as a theme, you can approach the essay in a few ways.<\/p>\n

You might decide to write a literary analysis<\/a> about the theme itself and provide examples from the novel<\/a> (like those I\u2019ve mentioned above) that illustrate Edna\u2019s quest for her own identity.<\/p>\n

Check out compare and contrast essay<\/a>. After all, Edna isn\u2019t the first female character to search for her own identity.<\/p>\n

You might, for instance, compare Edna\u2019s journey to that of Nora Helmer in A Doll\u2019s House<\/i><\/a>. Nora, too, is unhappy in her relationship and leaves her husband and children in an attempt to find herself.<\/p>\n

Here is an example essay<\/a> that explores both characters\u2019 search for identity and the turmoil they suffer throughout the stories.<\/p>\n

You might also compare Edna\u2019s journey to a current or classic film<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ever see the classic movie Thelma and Louise<\/i><\/a>? <\/i>The movie is about two best friends (named, of course, Thelma and Louise) who long to escape their ordinary lives. They want a chance to experience greater independence and leave the men in their lives behind, which means that they’ve definitely got something in common with Edna.<\/p>\n

Gender Roles<\/h2>\n

The role of a Victorian woman<\/a> was pretty much set in stone: obey your husband, be a dutiful mother, and be a respectable lady.<\/p>\n

Edna\u2019s BFF, Adele, is by most accounts the quintessential example of the Victorian woman who does anything and everything to make her family happy and make her home pleasant and cheerful. She is the wife and mother that society feels Edna should emulate.<\/p>\n

Edna, however, can\u2019t seem to make that happen.<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t fit the mold as she wants more for herself and doesn\u2019t want to (or can\u2019t) live her life for someone else. She longs for the kind of independence that society does not afford women of the Victorian era.<\/p>\n

How to write about the theme of gender roles<\/h3>\n

Comparing Edna and Adele and their feelings toward expectations for their roles in society could be an excellent strategy for discussing gender roles in the novel. You might also complete a more detailed character analysis<\/a> of one or both of the women to explore the theme of identity.<\/p>\n

Of course, gender roles have been debated throughout history, so you could certainly discuss Edna\u2019s thoughts of gender roles as they compare to historical<\/a> or current<\/a> roles of women.<\/p>\n

Looking for an example of a finished paper about the theme of gender roles in The Awakening? <\/i>Take a look at these three example essays:<\/p>\n