In the initial pages of The Awakening by Kate Chopin prove through several examples how stereotypes and generalizations are often misleading and innacurate. The first stereotype is broken by the introduction and description of the main character: Edna. Chopin meticulously describes Mr. Pontellier's elegant appereance and delicate manners, but on the other hand, she uses masculine adjectives such as "strong" and "handsome" to describe Edna. The juxtaposition of these descriptions is a metaphor of their relationship: Edna is a strong woman who is capable of independance, while Mr. Pontellier considers himself a family man. This differences make Edna unsatisfied with their relationship, bringing her down to tears. Edna's discontent is a key element in Chopin's novella since through it she shows the reader that women have always had, and always will, their own thoughts and opinion, which are oppressed by men.
Another generalization defied is the one of high society's rules and limitations. In despite of Edna's marriage with mr. Pontellier, she is still a foreign to the Creole society. That summer she discovered a different face of the Creole society, one that she was ignorant of, and one that reminds her that elite people are people too:
A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs.Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery. Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her..." (pg.28)
This is a clear indication of how creole women think of themselves as so chaste and unmistakable, that they are allowed to speak of plebeyan matters with a nonchalant attitude. Even though the ego portrayed by the Creoles in this novel fits Edna's preception of them, the fact that bahind closed doors they behave openly and freely, shocks both Edna and the reader.
0 comentarios:
Publicar un comentario