EDNA'S SELF-EXPRESSION In Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, suddenly finds herself dissatisfied with her marriage and the conservative ... while Robert still feels social pressure to whisper" (Ward 6). While Robert arouses her senses, Arobin releases the "animalism that stir[s] impatiently within her" (Chopin 89). However, Edna only allows herself to be close to Arobin physically, not emotionally: "Alcee Arobin was absolutely nothing to her. Yet his presence, his ... shrinks. In this way she is like the parrot in Chapter 1 who speaks " a language which nob...

• Word Count: 1307
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... era, but you have a hard time finding really "strong" women. In The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, I was hoping to find those strong women role models because they were written by women. I was mostly disappointed because the women I found in ... the markings of what we would now see as a successful woman because she not only beautiful, she is also described as "practical" (Mirth 39), "intelligent" (Mirth 40), and "prudent" (Mirth 41). Unfortunately this is a realistic tale and Lily makes some exceedingly poor choices ... who is independent and strong. ...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School