Gender Roles In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Should women really have to burden the role of housewife and mother, sacrificing everything just to stay home and listen to the husband at all times? Women have desires as much as men do, for example Edna from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening explores her desires. Breaking the role of an average woman, Edna thrived although living the she wanted but soon goes to far as she gives herself to sexual pleasure, even so she still lived a life some women wished they had. Kate Chopin’s The Awakening should be kept in high school curriculum because it teaches woman independence, even through the breaks of morality. Women then, were given the responsibility to be the wife and as the caretaker of the children after marriage, but is that all women are allowed to do? Edna defies the role of an average woman and accomplishes what she so much desires. The Awakening teaches readers that you anyone (particularly women) can do anything they want instead of being chained to home. Now at days this isn’t a problem anymore as women can be just as important as a man, but this book should be kept as it still delivers the same powerful message. “The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.” It takes courage and strong will to break free from the cage of society, but is truly sad to see the bird be once again trapped in the cage. Edna escapes the grip of society and act as her own person, but is captured once as she goes back to her husband. The lesson is that you don’t have to be held back by today’s society, no matter what class, race, religion, or poor. Anything can be accomplished with effort. In the eyes of society and religion the role of a woman is absolute, seeing a woman break this is rather sinful. Society and religion’s view on The Awakening is unmoral and unjust as Edna not only stop the trend of women but she had cheated on her husband, giving into sexual pleasure, showing such vulgarity to students may make cheating an alright thing to do. But Edna does this with purpose to …show more content…
Society’s view on women was really unfair as they are set with the unending role as housewife and caretaker of the children. How can Edna truly understand morality, if she was forever imprisoned at her home, without even experiencing any unmoral actions? “I'm jealous of your thoughts . . . When he leaned forward and kissed her, it was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire.” It would then be that Edna finally breaks through the chains as a repressed woman. Edna shows the realization of what it really is to be a free person with no regret of what society might view her as. “One of these days, she said, I'm going to pull myself together for a while and think--try to determine what character of a woman I . . . But some way I can't convince myself that I am. I must think about it.” Without a care Edna is certain that her actions were not at all shameful instead she feels as though nothing is wrong as she gave into