• Research Paper on:
    Power Struggles in The Awakening

    Number of Pages: 3

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    This 3 page paper provides a look at this Chopin story and views the protagonist Edna. Her lack of power, as well as her power in some places, is the focus of this essay. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

    Name of Research Paper File: RT13_SA614Awa.rtf

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    Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
    thus expressing her true sense of power. Edna is a woman who feels trapped. She is trapped by her husband and a culture that she sees as expecting too  much from her. This is quite a lonely feeling. She has few people to whom she can express her true self. At some points in the work, the author expresses  the concept of loneliness: " ...and she was quite certain she would grow lonely before long and go to join him in New York" (Chopin 77). In this case, the  author writes about loneliness, but by and large, the idea of loneliness is kept beneath the surface. It lingers in Ednas day. The loneliness and despair is part of the  sense of growing old in a patriarchal society. Edna feels powerless at times. Yet, the story may be deeper than what appears on the surface. Platizky remarks: "...there are clues  throughout Chopins novel that Edna may not only be awakening to her sexual identity in an oppressive patriarchal society, but may also be grappling, like La Folle in "Beyond the  Bayou," with a repressed post-traumatic memory" (99). Indeed, Edna is not happy for a myriad of reasons and perhaps in her attempt to feel "normal" she simply goes about her  day. There is an air of loneliness, despair and isolation, which would make any individual feel as if lacking power. Brightwell claims that Edna is really breaking convention in terms  of the existing power structure (37). At least, at one point she defies belonging to her husband and does attack the foundation of the patriarchal society (Brightwell 37). Brightwell also  argues that Ednas use of male language is further evidence that she is asserting her power (37). At the same time, there is a sense of powerlessness because she cannot 

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