Kate Chopin’s The Awakening: A Postmodernist Study

Abstract

It is argued that Chopin’s The Awakening is a realistic novel, that it is a feminist novel, and that it is a naturalistic novel. This study is based on the assumption that Chopin’s novel is postmodern. The method used is analysis. This analysis focuses on Edna’s character as well as the other characters that are ordinary humans. It also deals with Edna’s life ,and shows that it is meaningless .Furthermore, this analysis demonstrates that the Pontlliers family is collapsing , that Chopin uses irony, that she makes use of other traditions ,such as realism, romanticism, and naturalism, that the narrative style of the novel is simple, and that the end of the novel is open to interpretations. Generally speaking ,this comprehensive analysis shows that Chopin’s novel is postmodern despite its date of publication. It has been demonstrated that Chopin’s novel is postmodern on account of its simple narrative style, its theme that centers on Edna’s independence which is an inner problem , and its characters that are life-like. This novel is also marked by irony, self-reflexivity, intertextuality, and being open-ended, which are all characteristics of postmodernism.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p276