The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction

The purpose of this article is to analyze the modernist and feminist aspects of “New Woman” identity and thought entailed by the portrayal of one of Kate Chopinʼs female protagonists: Edna Pontellier. Chopinʼs The Awakening (1899) reflects the authoressʼ regional flavored writing style and her prefe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Maria-Viorica ARNĂUTU
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universitatea "Stefan cel Mare" Suceava 2015-07-01
Series:Annals of Philosophy, Social and Human Disciplines
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.apshus.usv.ro/arhiva/2015I/004.%20pp.%2055-68.pdf
_version_ 1797266208483966976
author Maria-Viorica ARNĂUTU
author_facet Maria-Viorica ARNĂUTU
author_sort Maria-Viorica ARNĂUTU
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this article is to analyze the modernist and feminist aspects of “New Woman” identity and thought entailed by the portrayal of one of Kate Chopinʼs female protagonists: Edna Pontellier. Chopinʼs The Awakening (1899) reflects the authoressʼ regional flavored writing style and her preference for local-color fiction. Kate Chopin was a modernist before her time, but, apart from being a proto-modernist, she is also appreciated for being a proto-feminist. The climax of her female character's feminist awakening and self-liberation is marked by the feast which she prepares in order to celebrate becoming separated from her husband. Within the article, the focus is on critical reception and placing the novel within literary context. Despite the fact that most of her contemporary reviewers accused Chopin of crimes against society, many did have some appreciation for the brilliant and flawless writing that was materialized in an unconventional story which seemed to overshadow the well-governed style of the authoress.
first_indexed 2024-04-25T00:57:02Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4efeca8d7a5e4899b0f854cc25a41b69
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2069-4008
2069-4016
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-25T00:57:02Z
publishDate 2015-07-01
publisher Universitatea "Stefan cel Mare" Suceava
record_format Article
series Annals of Philosophy, Social and Human Disciplines
spelling doaj.art-4efeca8d7a5e4899b0f854cc25a41b692024-03-11T09:53:54ZengUniversitatea "Stefan cel Mare" SuceavaAnnals of Philosophy, Social and Human Disciplines2069-40082069-40162015-07-01vol 15568The Awakening within “New Woman” FictionMaria-Viorica ARNĂUTU0PhD Student, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of IașiThe purpose of this article is to analyze the modernist and feminist aspects of “New Woman” identity and thought entailed by the portrayal of one of Kate Chopinʼs female protagonists: Edna Pontellier. Chopinʼs The Awakening (1899) reflects the authoressʼ regional flavored writing style and her preference for local-color fiction. Kate Chopin was a modernist before her time, but, apart from being a proto-modernist, she is also appreciated for being a proto-feminist. The climax of her female character's feminist awakening and self-liberation is marked by the feast which she prepares in order to celebrate becoming separated from her husband. Within the article, the focus is on critical reception and placing the novel within literary context. Despite the fact that most of her contemporary reviewers accused Chopin of crimes against society, many did have some appreciation for the brilliant and flawless writing that was materialized in an unconventional story which seemed to overshadow the well-governed style of the authoress.http://www.apshus.usv.ro/arhiva/2015I/004.%20pp.%2055-68.pdfmodernistfeministawakening
spellingShingle Maria-Viorica ARNĂUTU
The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
Annals of Philosophy, Social and Human Disciplines
modernist
feminist
awakening
title The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
title_full The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
title_fullStr The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
title_full_unstemmed The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
title_short The Awakening within “New Woman” Fiction
title_sort awakening within new woman fiction
topic modernist
feminist
awakening
url http://www.apshus.usv.ro/arhiva/2015I/004.%20pp.%2055-68.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT mariavioricaarnautu theawakeningwithinnewwomanfiction
AT mariavioricaarnautu awakeningwithinnewwomanfiction