Dvejopas pojūtis perskaičius. Tarsi gilus, pasikapstantis po to meto visuomenės suvaržymus, ribotumą, prabudimus ir norą skristi. Bet kartu ir tuščias kaip pagrindinės herojės gyvenimas.
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Mixed feelings after reading it. As if deep, digging into the constraints, limitations, awakenings, and desire to fly of the society of that time. But at the same time, empty like the life of the main character.

In little touches so subtle that they could go unnoticed, Kate Chopin gives clues that will explain the story of the characters, especially that of her heroine, Ada:
"Even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life—that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions."
What I've been for thirty-three years, is here summed up in two lines! Well, that doesn’t seem like much, but it's a tower that we build ourselves and in which we lock ourselves up, and which it is very difficult to demolish. Why? Perhaps because we get so used to being locked up in ourselves, that we don’t realize it anymore that we are.
Why do we lock inside ourselves? The reasons are varied and personal to everyone.
How do we free ourselves? Not everyone does it. But those who do so, it’s above all because they have the desire, from the desire comes the will, from the will the strength to do it.

Mrs. Edna Pontellier has everything to be happy, at least that's what makes her believe the society in which she grew up, and the one in which she lives. She has a husband whom everyone likes and who seems to spoil her (materially speaking), two boys in good health, a well-off life.
What else could she desire when many women would like to have what she has, when Mrs. Ratignolle, who seems to have the same life as she, seems to be the happiest of women? Isn’t she an example to follow?
Yes, Edna has a husband that everyone likes; but does he love her, this husband? He likes the woman he wants her to be: a socially active woman devoted to his own image, a wife who is attentive to his own well-being, that is to say, to listen to him when he wants to tell her about his day at 11 pm although she’s already sleeping; a mother hen who should make clothes for her "little ones" in anticipation of the next season and spend her day watching their games on the lawn.
So why does Madame Pontellier cry? Wouldn’t it be because she wonders if she, Edna, has a life?
However, her husband offers her jewellery and sweets and makes her understand that he thinks she’s beautiful. But wouldn’t it be to buy her servitude?

This is certainly what Mary Wollstonecraft thought when she wrote:
Ah! why do women, I write with affectionate solicitude, condescend to receive a degree of attention and respect from strangers, different from that reciprocation of civility which the dictates of humanity, and the politeness of civilization authorise between man and man? And why do they not discover, when "in the noon of beauty's power," that they are treated like queens only to be deluded by hollow respect, till they are led to resign, or not assume, their natural prerogatives? Confined then in cages, like the feathered race, they have nothing to do but to plume themselves, and stalk with mock-majesty from perch to perch. It is true, they are provided with food and raiment, for which they neither toil nor spin; but health, liberty, and virtue are given in exchange. But, where, amongst mankind has been found sufficient strength of mind to enable a being to resign these adventitious prerogatives; one who rising with the calm dignity of reason above opinion, dared to be proud of the privileges inherent in man? and it is vain to expect it whilst hereditary power chokes the affections, and nips reason in the bud.
The passions of men have thus placed women on thrones; and, till mankind become more reasonable, it is to be feared that women will avail themselves of the power which they attain with the least exertion, and which is the most indisputable. They will smile, yes, they will smile, though told that—
"In beauty's empire is no mean,
And woman either slave or queen,
Is quickly scorn'd when not ador'd."
But the adoration comes first, and the scorn is not anticipated.

But Edna Pontellier wants maybe more than being her father’s daughter, then her husband’s wife, then her children’s mother : she’d like to be a woman, she’d like to be Edna.

But, let's leave aside, for a moment, the heroine and let's talk about author Kate Chopin and her little cultural references:
"At an early hour in the evening the Farival twins were prevailed upon to play the piano. They were girls of fourteen, always clad in the Virgin's colors, blue and white, having been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin at their baptism."
With such kind of allusions, one realizes that Kate Chopin had read François-René de Chateaubriand. For it is he who tells, in his Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe, that, as a child, he was dressed exclusively in blue and white because he had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.
Similarly, when one of the characters of reads the last book by the brothers Goncourt, it is doubtful that Kate Chopin, when she had gone to Paris, had certainly bought one or two books by Goncourts, in vogue at that time.
Personally, I don’t like the writing of the brothers Goncourt, nor the brothers Goncourt themselves ... besides, their novels have not passed to posterity! Hey, what! Telling what we think, from time to time, is acceptable, otherwise, instead of being called polite, one is called hypocrite.

Kate Chopin doesn’t only have literary curiosity, she also has humour, like when the aforementioned Farival twins play the piano, the parrot starts bawling:
"They played a duet from “Zampa,” and at the earnest solicitation of every one present followed it with the overture to “The Poet and the Peasant.”
“Allez vous-en! Sapristi!” shrieked the parrot outside the door. He was the only being present who possessed sufficient candor to admit that he was not listening to these gracious performances for the first time that summer."

Without transition, here is a passage that could never have been written by a male writer, and yet there are many that I admire; I will explain myself after the quote:
"She heard him moving about the room; every sound indicating impatience and irritation. Another time she would have gone in at his request. She would, through habit, have yielded to his desire; not with any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes, but unthinkingly, as we walk, move, sit, stand, go through the daily treadmill of the life which has been portioned out to us."
That's what I talked about in my post blog To my Daughter. Edna Pontellier has always done what her husband wanted her to do, without question, by habit, it is a statement by Kate Chopin, it is a shade that a man rarely understand: the border between the obedience of the slave, and the will that we conceive little by little, day after day, to avoid big or small conflicts; but that brings with it a frustration of which we are not necessarily aware, but we drag this frustration sometimes a whole life and it prevents personal development, or it simply prevents us from being ourselves.

But back to The Awakening, the husband exhorts his wife, still in the garden, to come home, but:
"With a writhing motion she settled herself more securely in the hammock. She perceived that her will had blazed up, stubborn and resistant."

And here’s another excerpt that touched me like the first one:
"She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves."

When a woman starts asking herself questions, nothing can stop her, and Edna Pontellier won’t stop because "She began to look with her own eyes."
I have already said too much or not enough, but I still add that this novel touched me a lot, because I could say, reading this female author: I'm not the only one to experience certain things, others women also experience them, live them one way or another; and that's a good thing!
I just finished this novel by a woman who talks about women to women ... and men; he is magnificent!

The 21st century will be female!

#lerosclássicos2021

Quando a deixei hoje, ela pôs-me o braço à volta do ombro para sentir as omoplatas, dizendo que era para ver se tinha asas fortes. “O pássaro que vai pairar sobre a planície da tradição e preconceito tem de ter asas fortes. É um espectáculo triste ver os fracos feridos, exaustos, batendo as asas de volta para casa. Até onde voaria a Edna?”

Para cumprir o desafio deste mês de #lerosclássicos2021, na categorias de livros censurados ou banidos, e para fugir aos mais badalados, surgiu-me como opção “O Despertar” de Kate Chopin, publicado pela primeira vez em 1899. Curiosa por saber se teria sido pelo habitual puritanismo que havia sido proibido nos Estados Unidos, por ser uma história de adultério, fui brindada com o desfecho do livro. Obrigadinha, Google. E não gostei do final. Aliás, oponho-me veemente ao final, mas como a literatura não é ao gosto do cliente, começo pelo princípio...
Edna Pontellier é casada com um homem de negócios, mas não por amor, e tem dois filhos pequenos. Numas férias na praia, trava amizade com o filho da proprietária do hotel e começa a tornar-se mais temperamental e meditativa. Voltando para casa, não só não consegue esquecer a cumplicidade entre eles, como começa a analisar e compreender os seus verdadeiros sentimentos e a rebelar-se suave e progressivamente contra as convenções sociais.

- Mas ela não quer ir ao casamento. Diz que os casamentos são dos espectáculos mais lamentáveis da humanidade. O que é algo pouco simpático para uma mulher dizer ao marido – exclamou o Sr. Pontellier.

Como em tudo o que já li de Kate Chopin, gostei dos diálogos intensos...

- Deve pensar que esta não é uma característica comum numa mulher; mas habituei-me a dizer o que penso. Não me interessa, e pode pensar que não sou uma mulher convencional, se quiser.
- Não, apenas penso que é cruel, como lhe disse no outro dia. Talvez não seja cruel de propósito: mas parece querer forçar-me a fazer revelações inglórias; como se desejasse que eu tivesse uma ferida aberta, apenas pelo prazer de olhar para ela, sem intenção ou capacidade de a sarar.

...da forma vívida como é retratada a cultura crioula do Louisiana e, especialmente, da protagonista, cheia de personalidade e de dilemas, como é típico da mulher desta arrojada escritora...

Os seus instintos levaram-na a pôr de parte os bens do marido, ao deixar de ser a esposa submissa. Não sabia como seria quando ele regressasse. Teria de haver uma justificação, uma explicação. Sentia que, de alguma forma, as circunstâncias ajustar-se-iam; mas, independentemente do que acontecesse, estava decidida a não voltar a pertencer a ninguém a não ser a ela própria.

...mas prefiro os contos que li antes, onde a escrita é mais concisa, mais ritmada e, apesar da brevidade dos textos, os finais não parecem apressados como senti que aconteceu neste romance.

De acordo com todos os códigos que conheço, pertenço a uma terrível espécie perversa do sexo feminino. Mas, por alguma razão, não consigo convencer-me disso. Tenho de pensar sobre o assunto.

#2106-usa-geography-challenge: LOUISIANA

Sad to say, marital unhappiness, infidelity and divorce are no longer shocking. There are as many reasons as there are troubled marriages. Women who married young may find themselves stifled in a loveless marriage, one that both parties have outgrown. Perhaps they stay together merely for the sake of the children. A choice might have been made to become a wife and mother and leave behind the dream of an exciting life that might have been. But a backward glance reveals that road less traveled is still beckoning. Or perhaps it is the promise of true love, a soulmate this time around.

But in the late 1800s, it was very unusual for a young wife and mother to want to leave her successful husband and adoring children to find something more personally fulfilling--to toss aside the accepted social norms in the pursuit of love and passion, independence and freedom.

Young Madame Pontellier experiences a feeling of sensuousness for the first time in her life while she and her family are summering on the Grand Isle. Robert, the resort owner's son and the object of her affection, has been known to have summer dalliances and is warned away from pursuing Madame Pontellier so he leaves the island abruptly to pursue business opportunities in Mexico.

Upon the Pontellier family's return to New Orleans, she realizes "her husband seemed to her now like a person whom she had married without love as an excuse." He, on his part, is at a loss to understand the changes in her, especially when she begins to cut all her normal social ties. He is advised by his father-in-law to "put your foot down good and hard, the only way to manage a wife."

Does she have a courageous soul that dares to defy convention? "The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings."

For me, the best part of this classic short feminist novel, is the expression of her inner thoughts and emotions and her struggles to build a new life for herself. "She had resolved never again to belong to another than herself." But I would have wished for a better ending, something more uplifting and triumphant.

“It sometimes entered Mr. Pontillier’s mind to wonder if his wife were not growing a little unbalanced mentally. He could see plainly that she was not herself. That is, he could not see that she was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.”(p. 79)

“What have you been doing to her, Pontillier?”
“Doing! Parbleu!”
“Has she,” asked the Doctor, with a smile, “has she been associating of late with a circle of pseudo-intellectual women—super-spiritual superior beings? My wife has been telling me about them.”(p. 91)

“Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife.” (p. 99)

“Conditions would someway adjust themselves, she felt; but whatever came, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself.” (p. 110)

These quotes sum up for me the difficulty Edna faced as she became herself, or discovered herself. The book is her journey, inward and then outward as well, to finding who she is and how she wants to be. I love the image of ‘daily casting aside’ her old self like a ‘garment.’ Of course, the trouble was that her husband and the men around him all thought that she was losing her mind. The Doctor even accuses the husband of being too lenient. Blame is directed not only at the husband, but also at other women, unnamed ‘pseudo-intellectual’ women. These men cannot understand or explain Edna’s behavior or change in attitude. At this time, and even now, women struggle to gain independence from the role of wife and mother. Trying to figure out where the self is within the confines of those roles, and how to manage the three successfully is still difficult. The last quote is so strong, Edna finally recognizing that she owns herself, that she is not property—not just someone’s wife, mother or even lover or friend—she is her own person and she grows stronger, finding her resolve. This resolve is what leads her to her final decision, becoming absolutely her own person to the exclusion of any other role. The end is somewhat disturbing, though poetic. The struggle between Edna and her environment, her time and those around her—her inner struggles—all seem to lead her to that final point of no return.

Even though the entire plot of this novel can be summed up as, "woman sits around and does nothing while having feminine thoughts", there is a resounding beauty in its monotony. The Awakening is a quick and affecting novel (especially with n  thatn ending). While I do think that it may be slightly subject to over-hype, there is no contesting its importance as an early feminist work. And on that account, I would recommend it.

3.5★

I didn't expect to enjoy this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was completely hooked and impressed by how it turned out.

'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin explores a woman's struggle for independence in a restrictive society. The story follows Edna Pontellier, who tries to break free from the traditional roles of wife and mother imposed by 19th-century norms. Chopin addresses themes of identity, personal freedom, and societal expectations. The novel challenges traditional views of femininity and highlights the personal cost of pursuing one's desires against rigid social structures. It remains a powerful commentary on the limitations placed on women and their quest for individuality and self-expression.

This is the kind of book that requires patience, as it deals with complex topics like infidelity. The deeper you delve into it, the more you recognize its significance as a powerful statement.

"talvez seja melhor acordar, mesmo que seja para sofrer, em vez de viver de aparências toda a vida."

My real-world book group just read this at the end of January, and it is a book that is perfect for anyone who feels hemmed in and repressed because they will not give up being who they are/who they wish to be based on outside pressures to conform.

The original, intended title of this novel was A Solitary Soul, which once you've read the book, actually makes a lot of sense. Both titles work well, though, since main character, Edna Pontellier, is both "awakened" to her passions and to her own mind, and afterwards sets out to try live the life she wants, defying the social conventions of her class, of nature, gender, and of her time. It's a lovely book and the story itself is quite short -- this particular edition has a lot of commentary and critical contemporary reviews which bumps up the page count, but the story itself ran to only 109 pages. It's to her credit that the author was able to express so much in such a brief space and come up with a work that is so powerful that it still resonates more than one hundred years later.

Reading over several readers' comments on this book, a LOT of people were unhappy with Edna, and I'd be lying if I said I would have given her an award for mother of the year. On one hand, it's possible to see the book focusing on someone who refused to give up on freeing herself from outside constraints that bind her as an individual; on the other, some people have seen The Awakening as a cautionary tale about "the danger of elevating passion over love,"or a reminder of the consequences of people "especially women" stepping "outside those unforgiving boundaries."

The only possible negative (and not for me since I read quite widely in books of this period) is that the prose style can be a bit tedious, but once you've figured it out, the story just pops right out at you and you're hooked. I can very highly recommend this book -- considering how long ago it was written, it is still quite pertinent today.

http://www.readingavidly.com/2017/02/...

بنظرم باتوجه به مقدمه ی نویسنده وتوضیحاتش راجع شخصیت ادنا پونتلیه،بازم تو فکر من یکی(فقط راجع خودم حرف میزنم)سخته ادمی که از طبقه ی مرفه جامعه بوده وبا مرد هم طبقه ی خودش ازدواج کرده واز نظر مالی الان زندگی خوبی داره ودوتا بچه هم داره،در گذر زمان به این نتیجه برسه که میخواد رها باشه واسیر بچه وهمسر نباشه!

بنظرم اونچه باعث میشه تو کتاب های زندگی دوم وبیداری و وانیل وشکلات،خواسته ی زن مبنی بر رها شدن از زندگی خانوادگی باشه،اون حس دیده نشدنی هست که از سمت همسرش در طی سال های زندگی بش القا میشه!

مردها انگار واقعا بعد ازدواج،چشمشون عادت میکنه به دیدن زن زندگیشون ودیگه خلاقیتی برای بیان خاص بودن هاش ندارن!

This is a work about a rather unusual woman, Edna Montpellier who lives in New Orleans with her husband Léonce, a rather successful businessman, and their two children, Etienne and Raoul. Part of the book is also based on their vacation in Grand Isle on the Gulf of Mexico.

The scene is soon set as Edna is beginning to feel unsettled after six years of a rather bland marriage to an older man and feels that there is something lacking in her life. An incident then occurs that soon sets her on a course that cannot be changed. She doesn’t know what it is but she’s determined to find out.

Now this doesn’t sound a very interesting book you may ask, and perhaps somewhat pedestrian, but this is where you will be proved wrong. The reason being, it was published in 1899, a period when a woman was meant to believe and to maintain that her place was purely in the home, having children and taking care of her husband. As was the case with Edna but one day she went unexpectedly completely against the establishment when to her own amazement friendship, love and desire plunged into the arena. Her whole personality changed but I believe this really came about when she learned to swim for she discovered a strength within herself that she had never known existed. I’m not a feminist as such but I could indeed empathize with Edna when she casts off some of her shackles and leaps with élan into the unknown, without a thought for whatever the outcome.

I also began to sense the similarities of behavior with Emma Bovary.

Set for the majority of the time by the sea, water will turn out to be the catalyst in this remarkable work. Edna discovered water and then she…. But it’s up to you to read this little literary gem!

My 1.5-star review is here.

Still not posting any monetizabe data on Goodreads.