- a. her individual personality--that is, she is spoiled.
- b. her particular circumstances--that is, her husband is a drag;
- c. the situation of middle-class women of the time--that is, she is given comfort in exchange for self-determination and freedom.
- d. human nature and the human condition, which generates longings that they cannot satisfy,
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
The Awakening Comments and Questions
4. Are Edna's dissatisfactions the product of:
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4. Edna Pontellier’s dissatisfactions are the product of a combination of human nature and the situation of middle-class women of the time – that she is given comfort in exchange for self-determination and freedom. It is in our human nature to desire a certain amount of freedom. Just as a long-domesticated chimp or dog may turn on its caregivers and rebel against its confinement seemingly unprovoked, it is impossible for us to completely separate ourselves from our primal instincts. Edna is simply attempting to secure a comfortable amount of freedom that is being denied to her by the society that she lives in.
ReplyDeleteEdna's dissatisfaction stems from human nature and its insatiable longings. This is evident in that other women, especially Adele, can find and do find satisfaction in the current situation of middle-class women. Adele has it all, the perfect marriage and children, talent, beauty and all the respect and admiration of the other women, so clearly, the situation did not hinder happiness as we may think. Edna, who's thinking is very unlike that of the other women, cannot find satisfaction in her situation because her "longings' are impossible to satisfy, such as her desire to no longer be a mother and her desire to be with Robert, despite her marriage to Leonce.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of her dissatisfaction must come from her individual personality, not just human nature. Human nature is universal, so other women in her position should desire the same things as Edna. Many women in this time seemed to be happy with their children and husband. It was not just Leonce who was a controlling husband, so Edna's actions cannot be blamed only on the human tendency to desire freedom. In the Globe-Democrat review of The Awakening, it says Edna's problems are only relevant to "people with whom the question of food and clothing is not the all absorbing one." This means Edna's problems only matter if you are rich and have no serious issues to worry about, like feeding your family or affording to stay clothed and sheltered. Edna is indeed spoiled, so I believe her personality plays a much larger role than her human nature.
DeleteI agree with Andrew, this dissatisfaction would need need to be universal among all women that are in similar situations to Edna's for it to truly be a product of human nature and its insatiable longings. Leading me to believe that her individual has to have at least a part in her dissatisfaction with her life, Edna is constantly concerned with the status of her love life and what she can do to make herself happy rather than her children and the ones around her, making her seem to me quite selfish.
DeleteEdna's dissatisfaction's are a result of human nature and human conditions and the situation of middle-class women in that time period. As a human, Edna cannot help but desire certain things that she cannot have. People tend to want what they can't have. In this case, Edna desires freedom. After being opressed by society for so long, she just wants to be set free. Just as a bird trapped in a cage can only handle being locked up for so long before going crazy and chewing on the cage, Edna can only withstand being locked away by opression for so long. It's simply the nature of any being. The situation of middle-class women in that time period also contributes to Edna's dissatisfaction's because as a middle class woman in the Victorian era Edna has few rights as a woman. The patriarchal society gives women little opportunity to have their own voice or express their own individual personality. Edna becomes fed up with constantly listening to her husbands demands and her societys conformity to the patriarchal standards. Her situation as a middle-class woman results in her rebellion from her husband and her strong love for Robert as an already married woman.
ReplyDeleteEdna's dissatisfactions result from unsatisfied longings due to human nature and condition. In the Victorian Era women were sheltered and limited, which is exactly what Edna wishes to escape from. Her rebellious actions go against society's label of human nature; they find her ways absurd. Although she tries to do as she pleases, her desires cannot be fulfilled due to society's opinion and judgment. She tries to enter a new relationship with Robert, but he doesn't allow it due to her marriage. Therefore, it is human nature and conditions that prevent her from being fully satisfied.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your comment, I felt like this answer choice could actually be interpreted in two different ways (both of which lead to Edna's dissatisfactions). These different ways come from the character's perspective that you are viewing it from. Your side of the comment was based off of society's overall human nature to judge and how it led to Edna's dissatisfaction. It got me thinking about Edna's own human nature and how it led to her dissatisfaction. "Human nature" is a very broad term and is defined by "the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.". The article on http://www.newscientist.com/special/human-nature list 6 characteristics of human nature. Some parts of this article I related to Edna (completely opposite to many characters) and other parts I related to the other characters of the book. Edna stood out to me when reading about human nature's tendencies to pursue self expression and enjoyment through things like drawing and listening to music. Of course Edna's use of expression lead to her desire for freedom, generating longings that she could not satisfy. Another section of this article discussed being legislative and how it is human nature to fit people into their classes and also have rules that will regulate how we should come across to others. I related this part to what you mentioned- "Although she tries to do as she pleases, her desires cannot be fulfilled due to society's opinion and judgment". These natural judgements made by humans prevent her also from being fully satisfied.
DeleteAlthough society influences the dissatisfactions of Edna, overall, they are a product of human nature and the human condition, which generates longings that they cannot satisfy. Despite the vast amounts of oppression that Edna went through as a woman in a patriarchal based society, in a modern world, there would still be similarities. In the novel, one of the most noticeable issues was the marriage between Edna and her husband, Leonce Pontellier. This marriage was, for the most part, one sided and it is understandable why Edna would want to escape. In a modern world, many people still encounter this issue, whether male or female. That being said, the dissatisfactions are not just of this time. Similar to the bird in the cage, emphasized during the opening scene, Edna wishes to be free from all the restraints that were unnecessarily placed on her. This highlights the natural human desire for something that is not always attainable. Edna not only longs for freedom from society and its oppression, but she craves it. Even those who appear to have everything they want, still wish for certain things that are not always tangible. In many cases, this is happiness. Despite wealth or social standing, humans will always long for something. For Edna, she was well off financially, but she craved a love that could not be met by her husband. Even more, she craved to be free from Leonce, and society. Society cultivated the desire for freedom, but it was already within Edna and other women within the time period.
ReplyDeleteLike pretty much everyone else I agree that Edna's dissatisfaction is a result of the situation of middle-class women of the time (she is given comfort in exchange for self-determination and freedom) and human nature and the human condition. A lot of people have focused on human nature and the human condition so i'll focus on the situation of middle-class women of the time. Although it's implied that Edna would have been just as unhappy if she married a different man Leonce is a main reason for her unhappiness in her specific situation. Leonce is a very materialistic man and is constantly focused on his work so he can provide material things ("comfort") for his kids and wife. In exchange for this Leonce feels like Edna should pay attention to him and his interests even though he doesn't do the same for her "He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him...". This shows the hypocrisy of Leonce, he believes that because Edna is his wife and he supports her he is allowed to uphold hypocritical gender roles like this. This cause gender roles to not only be pushed on her by the broader society but also in her close personal life by her husband. Throughout the book gender roles limit Edna the most and are arguably Edna's main aggravation in life.
ReplyDeleteEdna’s dissatisfactions are a product of the situation of middle class women at the time. I interpreted the situation of middle class women as the gender roles and lack of equality. Men and women operated in two separate spheres-meaning they have very contrasting roles to play in society. As Sarah Ellis put it in The Daughters Of England, women must “be content to be inferior to men”. I think this could summarize Edna’s struggle- she couldn’t handle having to be oppressed to a level that was so low that she just felt insignificant. Edna’s role of “typical middle-class woman of 19th century” is what leads to her ultimate demise. This answer choice to me was the one that served as the root to her problems and dissatisfactions. Without this choice (or dissatisfaction of this choice), there wouldn’t be much of a problem in the story.
ReplyDeleteI found my reference from http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century. It provided other historical documents about gender roles along with topics and how men and women were to follow by them. It makes it easier to fully understand Edna’s dissatisfaction.
Edna's dissatisfactions are the product of the situation of middle-class women of the tim -- that is, she is given comfort in exchange for self-determination and freedom and her individual personality -- that is, she is selfish. Edna displays her selfishness in quite a few ways one being her multiple lovers and husband. She isn't satisfied with her marriage with Leonce so she has an emotional affair with Robert and when that isn't enough, and he's gone, she turns to Alcee and has a sexual affair; alway's looking to satisfy her own needs. This in combination with the oppressive nature of marriages during the Victorian Era leaving her with inability to express herself as she pleases all adds up to her overall dissatisfaction with her life.
ReplyDelete