Hi Scholars,
This first post should be a reflection from your reading assignments to The Awakening. You may focus on any detail/s or literary element/s that appeal/s to you. Deep philosophical thoughts are great but not required!
I want to see YOUR thoughts and have your classmates see them too!
See you Monday!
Always,
Mrs. Idica
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17 comments:
Hahha, whoops! What I had first posted didn't really make sense so I deleted it xD.
On the first reading one thing that stood out in my mind was the fact that both Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier seem like they are just putting up with each other rather than taking part in a truly healthy marriage. And this is merely based upon the fact that Mr. Pontellier had gripes about Mrs. Pontellier's mothering skills and how Mrs. Pontellier had a bittersweet air about her when she had said that "she knew of none better" when it came to husbands.
Besides that I thought that Robert's behavior was peculiar, and that if he would spend as much time courting women that were actually available rather than swooning over those he cannot have then he would have the opportunity to settle down. Then again, maybe he doesn't want to.
Mrs. Pontellier mentioned that she did not always feel compelled to love her children; that sometimes she would just forget about them, for seemingly no reason at all. I hope that I am not that way in the future because I feel like children who have parents like that miss out on something special. Also, if a parent only loves their children sometimes, it is only inevitable that someday their children will forget to love their parents as well (or forget WHY they should love their parents).
Reading this book so far has been crazy, because I see so much of myself in Mrs. Pontellier! The fact that she goes about life how she is expected to, and pushing her questions and doubts to the side is something I do all the time. We just go through routine so that we don't make a fuss. I can aditionally relate to her when she feels like getting away from her family is a relief rather than a creation of longing. She feels totally dedicated to them one moment, and the next moment she would forget them. Sometimes I feel like I need my family and I can't function without them, but then another day I find myself not even giving them any thought. Lastly, it is stated that she is slowly coming out of herself and "loosening a little mantle of reserve" that she has pent up for so long. I often see myself doing things that have never been the norm in my house, and it feels like I am getting chances to open up and my family is finally allowing time to do its job.
I was thinking the same thing as Janelle when she wonders why Robert chooses to fancy married women as opposed to younger single women who can show him some affection back. Maybe his character symbolizes selflessness, and he doesn't want anything in return.
The thing I have come to enjoy from this book is the melodic flow of lines that Chopin was able to produce. The book kind of just flows and has done a rather good job keeping me engaged in the story. As I am sure many before me have remarked, I really enjoy Chopin's descriptions of everyone and everything around Mrs. Pontellier, especially the ocean. The cover of my book includes a quote from the story regarding the ocean and reading it made me look forward to reading the story.
I see the ocean as being a parallel for Mrs. Pontellier as the book is, according to the provided summary, an account of "an illicit liaison the reawakens her long dormant desires, enflames her heart and, eventually blinds her to all else." Basically, Mrs. Pontellier finds freedom from her normal life through love; the ocean is widely regarded as free and unrestricted, making it the perfect parallel to Mrs. Pontellier's experience. It is also very sensual and reckless, as one must be while engaging in an "illicit liaison."
Thus far, the development of the story has been at an adequate pace, but I really can't wait to get to the heavier content!
Since the 3 girls before me seem to enjoy the novel so far, I'll say that it's full of estrogen. Even though we're supposed to read slowly, I always find myself wanting to do some manly stuff like watching football for buying a tool from home depot. lol Just joking. I guess I haven't found anything that really took my attention yet. So far nothing extreme has happened. The speaker is focused on explaining how everything is set (from the scene to the character's past) instead letting the characters show the readers themselves. I thinking that I would eb more entertained if the characters were doing more than sitting around the beach.
Speaking of which, I feel that the sea will be the catalyst that Mrs. Pontellier will use as the stroy progresses. Knowing that she does not fit in with the rest of the characters, Mrs. Pontellier is wanting to break free. Just like the tall grass she remembers back in Kentucky, she compares the broad endless waves pushed by the breeze with the sea. I'm assuming that once Mrs. Pontellier does learn how to swim, she will learn to break free from society. She will completely break away from the mold made for her and be set to lead her lif ethat way she wants to.
Well, I'm quite disappointed to say that I feel no compassion towards Mrs. Pontellier and her failing marriage.
Mr. Pontellier is, as she already knows and is reaffirmed many times by other wives, the perfect husband. Gentile, caring, and treats her and the children great. Why is it that she feels repressed by him? What is it that he does that makes her feel that way? Is it because he sends her goodies? Is it because he treats her too well? At this point in the book, I feel that she is quite an ungrateful person, not just wife, and she doesn't deserve him.
I also have qualms about how she treats her children. Although it is alright to want to get a breather away from the children sometimes, it should never fringe upon neglect. I quite agree with Mr. Pontellier that she ought to be a better mother - and also (although he's probably biting his tongue on this one) be a better wife.
At this point in time, I think I see him as the breadwinner and the man of the house. Her job is a to be a wife, and because she is such (there MUST have been a choice involved), she should step up to her responsibilities.
What's she whining about? Does her husband hit her? Does he neglect her? Is she stuck doing chores all day?
No, she is swimming around with some guy years younger than her.
EDNA needs a reality check.
Well, as i said before i do feel sorry for Mr Pontellier, with his seemingly perfect husband skills put to waste on a woman who doesnt appreciate it. I mean, he sends her packages when hes away. Butdo not gret women, i do feel for the mrs as well. After close examination and thought, i realize that Mrs Pontellier is in quite a sad situation too. She is ahead of her time and desires too much freedom for a woman of that time period (not saying that thats cool). My point is that she wants to just dive into her art and not even care about children, but she is forced to becasue of a society that demands it. So the married couple in reality have problems both, so the question remains if they are even in love. I would say that Mr Pontellier is definately trying, but the mrs surely cannot, maybe not so much doesnt want to, but rather just cant accept it. It seems to me that this is not going to end happily as a marriage, but perhaps of finding ones self. Society will definately put a strangle on our hopes and dreams, but it has been proven that with integrity and persaverence of those dreams comes progress for them to become a reality. So i suppose we shall find out.
I'm interested to see where this novel's plot is going to go. With my current reading I would say that it is very predictable how things are going to turn out with the Potellier marriage and Robert's interference. I am a tad curious to see why such a major focus was placed on Ratignolle in one of the sections and how the sea is going to play a part in renewing Edna. Overall I'm not hooked into the book quite yet.
Everything can be dissected through psychological means for now. Leonce is a man with traditional nuclear family values; he believes it is a man's job to provide and protect, while a woman needs to care and nurture the family. Most males who believe in this type of family structure are alpha males, dominant in nature and not very humble. Following suit, Leonce believes himself to be all knowing and that causes Edna's inferiority complex. She cannot live up to Leonce's expectations, so despite being quite well off and having an overall upper class life, she finds herself miserable and depressed. That is simply because her personality is that of a dreamer, a child. She is looking for purpose in her life, that is why she dabbles in the arts. Art is an outlet of self expression and those that chose to explore in it are in fact looking for meaning in their lives.
Robert is a self satisfyer and of course a flirt. He needs to constantly be with women because he cannot find fulfillment in himself. So I am predicting that in a way similar to Sula and Nel, Edna and Robert need each other to be completed.
I'm not very attracted to stories like this. I already hate Robert, he's a dick. If I ever found out there was a guy like Robert hanging around my gf...
It's sad to see this married couple who are not in love. They kind of just live together and it's pretty pathetic. Mrs. Pontellier sounds like a bitch. Excuse my language but its true. She needs to learn how to appreciate what she has and she's being really childish. Even that scene where she learns to swim... I don't know I really dislike her, and I dislike girls like her who aren't faithful.
I also hate guys like robert who have no morals... seriously this book disgusts me, especially since it's written by a woman. Seriously... robert is such a dick, i hope Mr. Pontillier slaps him across the face with a fish.
I hope it gets better because I'm really dissapointed with the book currently. Estrogen filled? BLeh, I don't know.
A lot of people seem to be analyzing Mrs. Pontellier so I guess I'll put my two cents in as well.
I agree with Trinh that Mrs. Pontellier is quite ungrateful; her husband is wonderful and she just doesn't appreciate all of the things he does for her (and their kids). On the other hand, I feel just a tad sorry for her because she feels constricted and does not want to be set in her motherly role. On the other other hand, she was the one who felt she had to settle, that "the acme of bliss, which would have been a marriage with the tragedian, was not for her in this world" (32-33).
I feel sorry for her husband as she dragged him into her little charade and she will probably end up hurting him. He doesn't deserve the impending pain she will cause him, especially since she made the decision to be with him in the first place. In a sense, she used him, this man who loves her, because she felt she couldn't have anything better.
So, while I do understand Mrs. Pontellier's distance from her husband and desires for something more, I am compelled to feel sorry for Mr. Pontellier who really did nothing wrong (as far as I can tell).
"The beach, the breeze" - sean kingston, "Take you there" .....hahah i just thought that that was an appropriate line for the story, from a contemporary stand point. Plus, i really like that song now =] ...Anyway..after reading the first few chapters of the book i'm curious to see what role the ocean plays in the story.
I've come to realize that Mrs. Pontellier is the exact type of woman that i will never allow myself to become. She had much more than most woman did back then, more freedom, knowledge, and a mind set ahead of her time. But perhaps that is the exact reason why she isn't content with all that she has. She wants more, more than children and taking care of the home and husband. I for one want more than that as well. It seems that Mrs. Pontellier has fallen into a lifestyle that she is trying feverishly to get out of now, and i find that rather cowardly, because of the fact that she has so much in the current life she has. I see Mrs. Pontellier as ungrateful, and I'm wondering how this ungratefulness will come back to bite her in the you know what.
While i dislike Mrs. Pontellier, and am against the way she acts and handles certain things such as the children, i can understand however, why she is like that. She isn't content or happy because she knows that there is more out there than whats sitting at her feet. Almost all of my life i have felt that way. But whats different from her and I are that i realize just how much i already have, and i fully appreciate it, but at the same time i can work towards bigger and better things. As for Mrs. Pontellier, it seems that she takes many things for granted (a wonderful husband, a good life, friends).
Honestly, i can't say that i've enjoyed this book so far. It seems to be moving so slow, but then again it's only the beginning and things seem to be just getting set up for later.
Haha, I was just watching the news and the last bit Joe Moore talked about was a study that found that once married, women add 7 hours of house chores in their daily(?) activities. On the other hand, men actually minus an hour. If the couple has children more hours would be added for wives. I just thought you all should know.
The first thing I noticed in the second reading was Mrs. Ponteiier's growing need for independednce. I compared the scene in chapter 11 as the 1st battle/test in the novel. When Mr. Pontellier asks his wife to come inside she refuses. If she truly wants to break free from the rest of the characters she would start with her husband. I saw this scene as a battle for dominance between the couple because both wanted to show that they won't be told what to do by the other. WHen Mr. Pontellier decides to wait for his wife to finally get tired and go inside, hes telling her that she's not going to be gain dominace easily. I thought it was a slap in her face, when Mr. Pontellier told her that he will go in once hesdone smoking. Mr. Pontellier won the first battle but it definitly won't be the last.
Considering we based most of the discussion yesterday off Trinh's comment on Edna I'll make a response to her first comment.
I find myself completely on the opposite side of the spectrum from Trinh's analysis of Edna, perhaps it is because I can relate to her unhappiness in her complacent life. Sure she is well taken care of and lives the good life, and many of us would not understand why such a person would be unhappy, but it is the unthinking obedience that is killing her. Imagine, her life up to this point is filled with disappointment because of her decision not to act, therefore, she allows her actions to be controlled by her husband, who believes he knows what is right for her anyway. But to live by doing what others tell you cannot possibly yield a happy life as you are not the one in control, rather you live life like a robot that needs to be programmed of things to do.
I find myself in that situation now, where at one point I thought I was living such a great life; I was living it for other people. I did everything and anything it took to make them happy, ignoring my own needs. Now I find myself at a crossroads because I must figure out what I need to do to be happy or perhaps making other people happy was my happiness. But in any case, living life for others only causes unhappiness on the part of the one doing it.
And on a small side note to her mothering skills. Considering my own situation I don't quite mind whether or not she is attentive to her children. In fact I think it is beneficial that she is not there. It only forces them to rely on themselves and become stronger individuals.
The Awakening is not my favorite book and probably never will be. I do like the way Chopin keeps bringing in the ocean with vibrant descriptive language and some of her phrases here and there, but I just can't connect with the story. We are now halfway through the book and we have learned the background of anything and everything we would want to know and see that Robert really is just a womanizer.
I am hoping to see that there is more to Mrs. Pontellier than what we already know. I like to see that she is strong enough to make a stand at this point in her life and that she has always been a thinker. That earns her props. Though, what I don't relate to is her neglect for the two perfectly healthy children that she bore herself and, most importantly, her lack of respect, love, and appreciation towards her husband.
Edna may not love Leonce in a way that a lover should, but she should at least love him in a caring way because of all that he has done for her in life. She needs to respect him for marrying her and doing all he could for her and her children. Edna does not even seem to awknowledge the fact that there are others out there much less fortunate emotionally and physically. Instead of seeing this, she decides to cheat her husband for someone with an established unethical reputation. Even if it is not her heart, she owes Leonce something.
I want to like Edna and I want to like the storyline. I am waiting to hear how undesirable Leonce really is and that Robert was forced to leave when he truly began to fall for Edna. i am waiting to see Edna blossum and become something most readers want to achieve.
In response to Jaele and others who continued on the subject of Robert...
For some reason, I keep trying to justify Robert's actions. I know that he only courts married (or once married) woman, that he has just left Edna for Mexico, and he sneaks around the backs of husbands, though I guess you could say that I am a modern day romantic.
I may not believe in true love at first sight, but I do believe that there is someone for everyone and that some relationships are just not meant to be. Despite all favorable conditions, perhaps Edna and Leonce never had true love and both just followed their logic. Robert could have been an unethical person (as far as relationships) all his life, but there is always a chance to change. Though most definitely the main character for "the awakening" is Edna, maybe she will awaken Robert as well.
All in all, all of these hopes can just be a bunch of pish-posh, but all of this does confirm my thirst to hear more about Robert. I really hope that his role in the story is not finished.
Most everyone has decided to make a response to Edna's character, so I think I should probably offer my take as well. While I do see where Trinh is coming from (saying that Edna is much too unappreciative of her husband), I must also take into account the fact that this novel is taking place in a time period when women are supposed to marry around the time Edna did whether they want to or not. Mr. Pontellier was her opportunity and she decided to take it despite her lack of feelings for him. She has no way of knowing whether or not this is the way a marriage is supposed to be because issues like that usually aren't readily discussed by anyone in this time period.
That being the case, I can also relate to what Shannen posted, in that relations in general can be very confusing. Depending on the person we may want to be with someone all of the time, none of the time, of just some of the time and sometimes we can't even explain why. Maybe Edna's case is one of those instances where "too much of a good thing" becomes unbearable. Sometimes a little friction is what keeps a marriage interesting; but then again, I don't believe that a marriage can work without love and devotion coming from both parties and since it seems to be lacking from both the Pontelliers maybe their marriage is just doomed anyway. Either way it is both their faults, as the man is the one who proposed and the woman is the one who accepted.
I can't believe that Edna actually kissed someone who wasn't her husband! I knew that cheating on Mr. Pontellier emotionally with Robert was wrong as well, but to actually act upon her feelings is another matter! It is disappionting to see that in her search for herself and for independence, she leaned upon someone else and used him for support. The least she could do is be open with Mr. Pontellier and let HIM be the one to comfort her and aid her through her confusion. Not to say that I don't completely dislike her anymore, I just think she is making very immature and teenager-ish decisions!
On the same note, Madame Reisz should know better than to firstly point out, and then encourage Edna's relationship with Robert. In my opinion, she needed to keep the letter to herself, because obviously Robert knew that what he was feeling was wrong and had to be pushed aside. Being the older woman of the two, I had hoped that the Madame would give her some advice for her current state of MARRIAGE!
Ok, in response to something Sam said, I feel the same way now, that the story is dragging through because we are indeed more than halfway done, and all that has been clarified is that Edna wants to come out of her shell and she is going about it in an unfashionable way. I hope as well that Robert begins to play a bigger role soon, since he has been the causer of much of the strain in teh Pontellier's lives.
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