Public Controversy
The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, was a book that was truly ahead
of its time. The author of the book was truly a genius in her right, but yet she was
seen as a scoundrel. At the time, it was 'a world that values only her performance
as a mother, whose highest expectations for women are self sacrifice and self-
effacement.' ( ? ) The people of that era were not ready to admit or accept the
simple but hidden feelings of intimacy or sexuality and the true nature of
womanhood. Kate Chopin's book portrayed a woman of that time in a quite
unorthodox way. In fact, [ When she wrote the book in 1899, she ] 'achieved
what was to prove her literary masterpiece and her ultimate break with popular
taste' ( Cully, Intro. )
That book was written in 1899. During this era women were seen as very
proper and sophisticated individuals who were considered caretakers of the
home. They wore an excessive amount of clothing and never exposed
themselves in public or otherwise. If a woman was caught exposing herself in
public, would be shunned and looked down upon. Loyalty and commitment to the
family was very important during this time. Regardless of their family problems,
they were expected to endure and stay faithful. [ In fact, ] ' the nineteenth
century's message of the supremacy of motherhood was so strong and so intense
that it was absorbed into the systems of it's women - even women like Edna [ ,a
character in Chopin's book, ] who were not maternally inclined.' ( ? ) You could
almost say that women were considered symbols of everything that is pure in the
society in which they lived. Anything short of that was considered...