American Literature

In her essay, Bradley examines the possible German philosophical influence on Chopins story, concentrating on the influence of  The Birth of Tragedy  by Frederick Nietzsche By looking at the text and Chopins own philosophical leanings, Bradley attempts to more deeply understand the message behind Edna Pontelliers choices. In particular, it helps to understand the motivations for the ending of the story, where Edna dies. Bradley notes that in some ways The Awakening mirrors  The Birth of Tragedy  use of classic mythological imagery, with Robert representing the sun god Apollo. This is one of the most helpful points of this article because it draws parallels between the images of Robert in certain parts of the text with Nietzsche use of the myth of Apollo as a supportive comparison. Victor, Roberts brother, is the Dionysus in Nietzsche work, representing an opposition to his brother and creating a conflict. In looking at the story through this lens helps to better understand the relationship between the brothers, and ultimately Ednas relationship to Robert.

In their essay, Church and Havener, look at the significance of the recurring and primarily anonymous figure of the  lady in black  as an important figure in contrasting 19th century womans difficulty in reconciling their physical identity with their  conscious identity  (196). The  lady in black  is represented specifically in the character of Mademoiselle Reisz who, herself, vicariously fulfills the contradictions between societys expectations of women in this respect and Ednas own search for a reconciliation of this type. In addition to Reisz, Church and Havener point out the recurrence of this image, which is representative of women like Reisz who do not fit the mold of such women as Madame Ragnitolle as  mother-women  but still have a place in society. The  lady in black  is seen as a constant backdrop to Ednas dalliances with Robert, which are a kind of culmination of the physical and the internal identity of women. The  lady in black,  experiences her physical self, the sexual and sensual idea of womanhood, through women such as Edna. In this way, Church and Havener show how important Edna is in the overall scheme of the society presented. She is not just the rebellious younger woman, but more importantly a way for other women in the text to experience her rebellion through their mere presence.

In this essay, Clark examines the imagery of birds in The Awakening, as representative of the relationship of women and 19th century society. From the opening image of the birds Leonce hears as he sits on the veranda at the beginning of the story to the image of the  mother-women  as kind of guardian angels in their relationships to their husbands and children. These women are so conditioned by the social idea of their oppression that they do not realize that they are caught in cage of societys expectations of women. For this reason, this article helps the reader to better understand how Edna can differ so greatly in her understanding of the world and how she is able to rebel against the idea, while women like Adele Ratignolle are unknowingly trapped. By making their oppression part of their view of the world, these women have internalized their struggle as part of their daily existence, to the point that they do not react to it. It also helps the reader understand Ednas relationship with these women, even as she herself is trying to break free from the cage.

Kohn examines the differing views on whether or not The Awakening is a classic or modernist text. As a classical text, readers have seen the story as having drawn on the influences of Chopins own reading, in particular Die Leiden Des Jungen Werthe by Wolfgang von Goethe. In looking at the book in comparison to Goethes work, such things as Ednas first independent swim on August 28th take on a new meaning due to the 28th of August being both Goethe and Werthes birthday. Kohns look at The Awakening as a modernist text is helpful in understanding the psychological influences of such psychologists as Freud on Chopins writing. In his understanding of human nature and death, such as the  Nirvana principle  in helping explain why Edna chose death. In the end, the two readings of the text disagree on the point of Ednas death as suicide. Overall, the essay helps understand the differing interpretations of Chopins story and how the writers beliefs on the human mind had influenced the plot and characters.
Powell, Tamara.  Chopins The Awakening.  Explicator. 67.4. 2009 Fall. 276-279. Academic Search Premier.

Powells examination of The Awakening concentrates on the concept of viewing the story from what writer Toni Morrison describes as an  africanist  perspective. By looking at the way in which African Americans, such as the servants who make periodical appearances throughout the novel, we can better understand the plight of such women as Edna. Their place in this society, illustrates the hierarchy of social, racial, and gender influences on how society accepts people and how they are ultimately viewed. Ednas economic and racial privilege shown against the backdrop of the racism against her servants, shows how the privilege of her station is oftentimes neglected in looking at the text. This essay will be particularly helpful in showing how Ednas relates to the wider world and not simply the world of Victorian era Creole society.

In this essay, Streater examines how the character Adele Ratignolle represents a feminist character. Though often Ednas struggle against the expectations of marriage and motherhood, as well as the proper physical and sexual identity expected of women, are often seen as feminist, Agnes place as a feminist is often more difficult to see. However, Streater looks at how Agnes status as a  mother-woman  and her close friendship with Edna act as a different kind of feminism. In Agnes, the feminist principles are more subtle and are bound to her place as an ideal representation of women. Pointing to the initial description of Agnes as  over the top  Streater attempts to show that Agnes was not merely meant as a representative of everything Edna cannot be. In describing Agnes in the manner in which she does, Chopin makes her portrayal unreliable. Her actions and friendship with Edna show Agnes to be a much deeper character, who works within the confines of society to find her own personal identity. In this essay, the reader is allowed to see the varying levels of feminist sensibility in the characters, from the outright rebellion of Edna to Agness subtle use of the world around her to help find a relationship to herself, as well as the world around her.

The meeting of good and evil, faith and cynicism, is most effectively accomplished in the forests of Young Goodman Brown.  These forests, or wilderness, represent a divergence between the Puritan ideals of the time and the actual behavior of human beings within that Puritan caricature.  In order to support this thesis, that the wilderness functions as a place where hypocrisy and falsehoods are revealed, this essay will examine how Hawthorne used the wilderness to demonstrate the difference between false ideals and actual human behavior and how this wilderness technique might be compared to modern day cyberspace.

Textually, Hawthorne explicitly provides that the wilderness represents a type of confusion in which good and evil become less firm and in which doubts about the truth of people and things consistently arise.  As the story commences, for example, Brown is not yet in the wilderness and he states that there are feelings of guilt associated with having to go on this particular journey.  More specifically, he says that Poor little Faith thought he, for his heart smote him. What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod101082851(Hawthorne 61).  The errand leads to the wilderness, this is characterized from the very beginning as a dangerous or an unwanted journey, and the statement that Faith is being left behind implies that there is little or no faith in the wilderness ahead.  This loss of faith, as Brown proceeds in his journey, is confirmed later when Browns sense of reality is challenged and Brown finds himself unable to accurately explain the things he sees and hears in the wilderness.  When witnessing the walking staff change into a snake, for example, Brown notes that This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod101082852(Hawthorne 62).  Browns faith has been challenged by a seeming impossibility in the forest, and he clings to his faith while it is simultaneously diminished to a certain extant.  In the same, way, his conversations in the forest also function to challenge his beliefs about beloved and admired people.  The devil, challenging Browns positive opinion of Browns ancestors, states I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem and with respect to his father that it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philips war HYPERLINK httpwww.questia.comPM.qstaod101082853(Hawthorne 63).  The wilderness thus functions as the context within which all of Browns beliefs about who and what is good are challenged and ultimately proven to have been illusions.  The Puritan ideals are defeated by the hypocrisies and realities experienced by Brown in the forest.  The wilderness is perhaps the truth, whether truly experienced or dreamed, and it highlights the limits and the hypocries of human nature within the context of Puritan ideals.

One might very well superimpose Hawthornes notion of the wilderness onto the modern-day media and the people and the events which it covers and portrays.  There is a seemingly popular sense that the reality portrayed by the mainstream media is objective and that it is accurate.  People believe the media, much as Brown in the beginning seemed to believe in the virtues of his wife, Faith, and the Puritan ideals of his community.  In much the same way that the wilderness Brown encountered weakened and perhaps destroyed his faith, so too does the information provided in modern cyberspace weaken and perhaps destroy faith in the modern media and governing institutions.  We learn in cyberspace, for example, that wars are fought primarily for oil and money rather than for democratic ideals such as freedom and liberty.  We learn that wars are offensive rather than defensive.  Cyberspace argues, like the devil in Hawthorns wilderness, that Wall Street bankers may be manipulative thieves rather than admirable models of ethical commerce who have experienced temporary ethical lapses.  Cyberspace is in many ways a modern-day equivalent of Hawthornes wilderness in Young Goodman Brown.

In the final analysis, Hawthorne uses the wilderness as part of a personal journey from ignorance to enlightenment in which the Puritan ideals are portrayed as being illusory when compared against actual human nature.  This type of enlightenment and the attendant cynicism that it spawns in Brown might very well be applied with respect to modern cyberspace and how people journeying there for information have become more cynical and have lost faith in certain ideals and beliefs.  Hawthorns wilderness is therefore a universal representation of the human beings quest to distinguish truth from falsehood in a world which seems to prefer misleading and illusory caricatures of reality.