Wifehood, Motherhood And Selfhood

This thesis attempts to analyze wifehood, motherhood and selfhood in Kate Chopin's The Awakening by feminist criticism. The heroine, Edna Pontellier, when awakening to find that she has desires as a man has, refuses to be a selfless wife and mother, and is determined to obtain her selfhood.This thesis consists of five chapters. The introduction presents a survey of the criticism of The Awakening, historical and cultural background of the novel, with the focus on feminist criticism and Chopin's feminist thought. The second chapter deals with Chopin's questioning about the wifehood in the patriarchal society. The male controls over the female through her body and then defines her role. Edna asserts herself through the mastery of her own body. The third chapter elaborates Chopin's questioning about the institutionalized motherhood in the patriarchal society. Edna rejects the domestic empire of the mother and fulfills herself as existence through productive activity. The fourth chapter discusses the cost of self-assertion. Solitude and suicide are the consequences of Edna's self-assertion. The last chapter comments on the influence of Chopin and The Awakening, and points out that woman problems remain to be solved.