Hannah’s answer to “Is The Awakening a Feminist text?” > Likes and Comments

Note how Edna's husband is perfectly willing to let her do what she likes, but when she starts going over the top and trying to move out of the house, etc. he gets upset.

It's also not entirely unfair to say that Edna treated him terribly and acted almost as if he was a toy.

I'm not sure it's a feminist book but perhaps its a critique of both sides?

I think a critique of both sides would make sense.

Feminist works don't necessarily have to end happily for women or with society changing for the better in order to be feminist. It just needs to expose the inequality between men and women and show the need for gender equality.

True, Nicole! But I'm not sure it explores inequality so much as defiance of social norms and/or free will.

(though that is arguably gender equality - does what I'm saying make any sense?)

Oh okay, I think I see what you're saying. To tell you the truth, since writing my comment I abandoned the book because I found it rather boring and infidelity stories (especially ones that seem sort of on a whim) tend to just annoy me and that's where it looked like it was going when I put it down so I cannot completely confidently speak to its ultimate representation of feminism or otherwise...

I guess I'm still willing to go along with it being a feminist text considering that, in the time it was written, any free will or defiance of social norms on the part of a woman was quite radical and I don't think those things (defiance of social norms and feminism) are at all mutually exclusive...

It's true a critique of both sides would have been a safer story to tell during the time the book was written while still bringing up the issues women faced by framing it from a woman's perspective. And just that choice to make it from a woman's perspective makes it seem possibly more feminist than just general commentary when the default perspective is (definitely in that time) male.

But it's a fair assessment that if the focus seemed less on her 'trappedness' as a woman than as just as any person in that time, it could seem less representative of feminism and I'll just have to trust you on that!

I don't blame you regarding infidelity stories. A lot of the time they're just kind of trashy.

Totally agree that they're not mutually exclusive, and I think that's part of what Chopin was trying to point out - that yes, defiance of social norms and rebellion and feminism aren't exclusive, but that one does not necessarily equal the other. Ex. you don't have to cheat on your husband and leave him to be a good feminist.

I'm not sure if the book was even a 'safer' story because I think it still got a lot of flak back in the day. The book itself was definitely not 100% on either side of the argument and I found that it was very real in a sense - it explained things but also pointed out irrationality of action when it occurred.

I've appreciated talking with you about the book! Always good to have solid commentary and thought running on issues like this.

Yes absolutely! I've enjoyed hearing what you have to say and you've made really great points. I'm probably going to try Chopin again..at some point. :)