Find the Time, Open Your Eyes, "The Awakening"
Midterm week can result in one of two feelings. Either I want to read things for fun and engage in all of my hobbies at once, even though I absolutely do not have enough time for that, or reading for pleasure is the last thing on my mind because I am so drained from homework. Somehow, someway, I feel like a mix of both this time around and somehow through the gaps in my day, I found time and motivation to read.
For this blog, I probably started five different books. I read the first chapter or so and each time I simply was not feeling it. None of the books I was trying to read seemed right, the littlest things about each one was bothering me. I do not think this is too atypical, especially for mood readers, but I knew I needed to try something else. Many times, I have found an author I like or some piece of writing that intrigues me, and I want to read more from them. But it takes me ages to follow through. I first read Kate Chopin in a short story and novel course I took last spring before coming to UIC. I wildly enjoyed that class. The stories we read were weird and a little bit uncomfortable. I read Chopin’s short story The Storm, and in comparison to other texts, Chopin appears fairly tame; however, the discussion was not. Her use of imagery to explore themes that are frankly shocking to many when discussed is gorgeously striking. I knew if I was going to get myself to read (outside of all of my academic assignments) leading up to midterms, it would have to be a book I knew I would enjoy.
The Awakening
The Awakening is a clean 190 pages; the type of book that would fit perfectly in your bag. And maybe it’s just me, but I have absolutely been drawn to a book by how well it fits in my hands. Published in 1899, The Awakening was a controversial text. The novel’s reviews were polarizing, and the book was banned from St. Louis libraries, Chopin’s hometown. Because of these negative reactions, Chopin’s publisher refused to publish her next book. Learning all of this prior to reading Chopin’s work I was taken aback. The Broadview Anthology of Short Description described the book as a “story of a married woman in an uninspiring marriage who ‘wakens’ to her own eroticism and sensuality through amorous relations with other men”. And if this doesn’t leave you curious about the book, I don’t know what will. What makes a book from 1899 so horrifying? How could a book from 1899 explore erotism? How could it possibly be so shocking when her short story was rather tame at first glance? Not to say her writing is tame. “The Storm”, written in 1898 and published in 1969, is about a married woman who has a passionate affair while her husband and son are trapped in town for a day due to a storm. Chopin’s exploration of infidelity is of course taboo, but at first glance, one could entirely miss her much more extreme exploration, an underlining metaphor of feminine pleasure.
The Awakening is a similar sort of story. Edna Pontellier is in a bland, unhappy marriage. Her husband seems nice but has a distinct underlying resentment that sits at the core of his character. Mr. Pontellier spoils his family with small gifts but travels often for work and is deeply critical of his wife as a mother. Their children act very much as objects. Edna has a very complex relationship with motherhood, as if mother is not a label she identifies with. As an upper class woman, her children are often a responsibility she is able to put onto others. The lack of responsibility and overall pressure placed on Mrs. Pontellier as an upper class woman frequently leads to the feeling that she is wandering through the text aimlessly in this novel that focuses more on character than plot.
Mrs. Pontellier begins the text enjoying the innocent friendship of Robert Lebrun. Robert begins to open her eyes to her own desires, not only in the context of love. Mrs. Pontellier also begins spending time with Alcée Arobin, a man with a horrible reputation who desires to ruin hers too. As Mrs. Pontellier gains self awareness and frankly develops tangible sentience, she seems drawn to everything but her traditional life.
I would argue that the most intriguing romantic interest Edna Pontellier has is not with any of these men, but the ocean. And maybe it's a stretch, but I found Chopin’s description of a soft breeze against the seductive odor of the sea or the delicious picture Edna describes of the ever extending water against the blue sky more romantic than anything else.
A Taste of the Text
Maybe one of my favorite kinds of books are novels from this era where many men confess their love for a woman who ends up with something much more gorgeous.
Chopin presents glorious dialogue as she writes the character relationships. In a conversation between Mrs. Pontellier and Arobin, Chopin presents the dialogue, “‘You know that I only live when I am near you.’ He stood up to bid her good night. ‘Is that one of the things you always say to women?’ ‘I have said it before, but I don’t think I ever came so near meaning it,’ he answered”. Chopin presents Robert rather differently as he tells Mrs. Pontellier, “I couldn’t help loving you if you were ten times his wife, but so long as I went away from you and kept away I could help telling you so”. Both quotes read romantic and hopeless, but also so different.
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Older and classical writing may not be everyone’s preference, but it is often something I love. For an older text, I find The Awakening to be fairly accessible. Chopin’s dialogue and detailed imagery is absolutely lovely.
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