The Awakening Review Response

ZHU Hui WANG Xue-yan

【Abstract】Deyo， a critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch， holds some interesting views concerning the novel The Awakening. Although interesting， Deyos reviews are only partly acceptable. This paper will give responses to Deyos reviews.

【Key words】The Awakening; response; flawed; tragedy; misleading; mentally-suffering

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】ZHU Hui， WANG Xue-yan， Beijing City University.

Emily Toth describes Kate Chopin as “the fifth most written-about author in the [American] literary canon （after Hemingway， Faulkner， Hawthorne， and Twain）” （30）. Chopins novel The Awakening received a storm of criticism when first published in 1899. Deyo， a critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch， holds some interesting views concerning the novel. The reviewer states that The Awakening is a “flawless art” （Deyo 164）， “It is sad and mad and bad， but it is all consummate art” （Deyo 165）. Although interesting， Deyos reviews are only partly acceptable. This paper agrees with Deyo that this novel is not for the young person. Unless with a proper leading by one whom can truly understand the information conveyed by it， young people could avoid being harmed. Meanwhile， this response will make a stand against Deyo， and holds a view that The Awakening is a flawed piece of art and a tragedy as well.

To Deyo， “The Awakening is not for the young person” （Deyo 164）. It is true because this novel includes some misleading concepts from the society at that time. If the youth could not fully understand the concepts， the novel would do harm to them.

One of the misleading concepts is that the unequal status of male and female in a family is not a good example for the young people today. This novel portrays the typical conservative families at that time—male working outside， dominating everything， and female staying at home taking care of the household and children. Females take on weaker roles in the families. To Leonce Pontellier， Ednas husband， it is the mothers role to take care of the children， and he thinks that “if it was not a mothers place to look after children， whose on earth was it？” （Chopin 49）. He pays much attention to his work and reputation instead of caring for his wife， which is a typical phenomenon for that time. Colonel， Ednas father， even tells Leonce that “the only way to manage a wife” is to “put your foot down good and hard” （Chopin 125）. It is concerning to hear a father teaching his son-in-law to use coercion on his daughter. The concept of male power is deeply ingrained in the novel.

Another point claimed by Deyo is that “it is not a tragedy” （164）. This is not true; it is in fact a tragedy. Either the mentally-suffering characters presented in the story or the tragic lives they live are examples. It is sad that Mrs. Pontellier is an inarticulate person， “She was not accustomed to an outward and spoken expression of affection， either in herself or in others” （Chopin 61）. However， her husband is not caring enough to encourage her to express herself. To Mrs. Pontellier， as Cynthia Griffin Wolff says in her paper， her passion “is never expressed， always controlled” （452）. To her， a married woman at that time， this is complete suffering. Unlike women today who can have their own careers， women at time devote themselves to families and even divorce is a shame against the social virtue. Like most of the women at that time， Mrs. Pontellier does not go to her friends to confide. Instead， she chooses to remain silent while suffering. Not that she is self-contained; on the contrary， she wants to be discovered. Mikaela McConnell， an expert in studying Kate Chopin and her novels， states that “permeating each human being is the desire to understand and the desire to be known” （42）. That is the reason why Edna likes to stay with Robert and Reisz; they can easily dissect her inner feelings and inspire her to free her mind. Moreover， she always feels lonely even if Mr. Pontellier is by her side. The only exit for her is to cry or swim. To others， Mr. Pontellier is such a charming person： “he was in an excellent humor， in his spirits， and very talkative” （Chopin 47）. However， he seldom presents his charm or expresses his caring to his wife. He thinks that his “kindness and a uniform devotion” “come to be tacit and self-understood” （Chopin 49）. The lack-of-communication leads Edna to a negative rebellion way. What if Mr. Pontellier expresses his caring to his wife？ That would tremendously change the story.

Furthermore， the tragedy is also reflected in the inconsistent interests shared by the couple. Mr. Pontellier is enthusiastic for his career： “He was eager to be gone， and he looked forward to have a lively week in Carondelet street” （Chopin 49）. Except for making money， he is fond of the club more than anything else. He hopes to share his experiences in the club but is very discouraged to find his wife “evinced so little interest in things which concerned him， and valued so little his conversation” （Chopin 48）. However， neither of them is solely to blame. Mr. Pontellier spends little time at home; he is away either to work or to the club. “It is a pity” that they spent little time together; otherwise， they could be “more united” （Chopin 121）. What is worse is that， Mr. Pontellier does not accommodate himself to his wife as well. He does not feel like either attending the soiree musicale or accompanying her to horse-racing. The differences and intransigence they have in daily life enlarged their incompatibility in their “accident” marriage， which “masquerade as the decrees of Fate” （Chopin 62）. This is a tragedy to both of them and their marriage as well.

Perhaps the most deplorable plot occurs when Mr. Pontellier goes to Doctor Mandelet for help： “I know that; I told you I couldnt explain. Her whole attitude—toward me and everybody and everything—has changed.” （Chopin 117）.? As husband， he cannot even tell why his wife changed her attitude toward everything these days. It is in fact simple to observe. From observation and the story Edna tells in the dinner， Doctor Mandelet even finds out the secret in Ednas inner heart. But because of lacking communication and time they spend together， the other one who shares the same bed with Mrs. Pontellier does not know the reason. Deyo sees the novel not a tragedy which is obviously not right. Based on the evidence provided in the novel， it is indeed tragic.

Another point Deyo hold is that The Awakening is a “flawless art”. This view is controversial. The emphasis of the novel lies in describing the womans sexual affairs rather than to depict the road to Ednas mental disintegration. The story quickly turned to the end without saying more about her struggles in her mind. Wolff even holds the view that “it is even a flawed novel because of the elusiveness of its focus” （Wolff 450）.

Furthermore， the novel fails in portraying a feminist hero. From the title of the book The Awakening we can assume that this book meant to be pro-feminism， to showcase a womans rebellion for her rights. In the novel， there is indeed proof of Ednas arduous struggle on the way to realize her “self”. However， Edna is not brave enough to challenge the society. To be a feminist hero， one should be strong in mind to fight against the society， just as Reizs tells Edna in the novel： “the bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings” （Chopin 138）. But when she commits suicide it is obvious that Edna is not mentally well-equipped with awakening. That is not at all the act of a real feminist hero. The novel will diminish womens feminist thoughts in the modern context. In this respect， The Awakening is a flawed art.

Because of the ambiguity Chopin leaves to readers， this novel is still argued about by thousands of critics today. Some critics may think of this novel as a realist work， and some others may see it as a naturalist story. Although a flawed art， Chopin successfully presents a tragic rebellious woman figure， and this is a great novel. This paper also suggests young people to read the novel with positive leadings so that they could grasp the essence of the great novel.

References：

[1]Chopin， Kate. The Awakening and Selected Stories[J]. Penguin Group， 1986. Print.

[2]Deyo， C.L. St. Louis Post-Dispatch， 20 May 1899. Reprinted in， The Awakening Margo Culley ed[M]. New York： W.W. Norton& Company， 1994：164-166. Print.

[3]McConnell Mikaela. A Lost Sense of Self by Ignoring Other in THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin[J]. The Explicator 72.1（2014）： 41-44. Web.

[4]Toth， Emily. “My Part in Reviewing Kate Chopin.” In book Awakening： The Story of the Kate Chopin Revival： Bernard Koloski[M]. Louisiana State University Press， 2009：15-31. Web.

[5]Wolff， Cynthis Griffin. Thanatos and Eros： Kate Chopins The Awakening[M]. American Quarterly， 1973，25，4：449-471. John Hopkins University Press. Web.