Edna, the Anti-Mother-Woman in Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

Edna, the Anti-Mother-Woman in Chopins The AwakeningIn short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, kerfuffle about with extended, protecting wings, when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels. (29) She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own, and she entertained the condemnation that she had a right to them and that they concerned no one but herself. Edna had once told Madame Ratignolle that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, or for any one. Then had followed a rather heated argument the two women did not appear to understand each other or to be talking the same language.I would give up the unimportant I would give my money, I would give my life for my children but I wouldnt give myself. I cant make it more fetch its something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me. (69-70) In the first passage, Edna is clearly set apart from what appears to be the status quo of female behavior in her society. She is not a mother-woman. The term, mother-woman is a reductive one which implies a singular purpose or value. The mother-woman is a mother being one defines and regulates every looking of her life. They esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels. Chopins use of religious words and imagery is kindle it certainly alludes to Victorian ideals of womanhood in which the woman is a vessel of purity and piousness. Viewing women as angels or pure, infallible beings elevates them, but also robs them moderately of their humanity. In addition to this, it places restraining and unnecessary imperatives on their behavior, and encourages them to strive for the unattainable-a pursuit that will probably leave them feeling inadequate. The mother-women are described generally, however, in this passage, and seem completely one-dimensional. Also, they possess an almost absurd and quality, fluttering about after their children, perceiving imaginary dangers everywhere. Chopin deals with the mother-women more complexly later through the character of Madame Ratignolle.