Kate Chopin is Definitely Woke

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin is definitely off to a good start. I know it’s called The Awakening meaning “in the process of”, but based on her anything but subtle criticisms on the then-normal female role in domestic life, I can say with complete certainty that Kate Chopin is already fully awake and ready to speak her mind. It’s astonishing and also refreshing to me that in 1899, the year the book was published, Mrs Chopin had such ideas; such as when she speaks of “mother women”, and the perceived honor they had in believing themselves to be individual humans. This controversial, albeit contemporary idea, that women were more than child caretakers and the fairer sex when it comes to all things embroidery, reminded me quite immediately of Jane Eyre. Both novels were published at a similar time, and both novels explore the lives of women outside their established roles.

    Despite being only 30 something pages into The Awakening, the direction it is headed in relieves my spirit and lightens my mood, as seeing yet another female author question the roles of women and be so completely unafraid of the social consequences that may follow their questions is nothing less than inspirational. In comparison to Jane Eyre, Kate Chopin’s piece is much more straightforward, which I appreciate. The reader can go line by line and distinctly point out the sections in which she mentions women’s roles and her opinions on 19th century sexism, which is significantly different than the subtle analysis many must perform on Brönte’s piece. I am excited to be motivated once again by a second inspiring female author, and cannot wait to read further.

 

One thought on “Kate Chopin is Definitely Woke

  1. I always love seeing women from the past comment on society back then since it was way more taboo then compared to now. I can’t believe this book was written in 1899: that’s 21 years before women were allowed to vote! It’s refreshing to see that the author of The Awakening, Kate Chopin, wasn’t subtle in her criticisms of society because readers may have missed her message. I can’t imagine being so brave to write a book like that and not being afraid of the consequences! Even though women during Chopin’s time were very different, I’d love to read this book and see how things have changed for women.

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