Kate Chopin - The Awakening

            Marriage, now, is defined as the formal recognition of the union between a man and a woman (or, in some jurisdictions, two people of the same sex) as partners in a relationship. Yet in the 1800s marriage was just seen as an investment. The Awakening by Kate Chopin illustrates how marriage is used to define who and what a woman is but can also cause a woman to rebel from the social norm. Women could have no sense of self, nor did they have rights to their own assets. They were the property of man but Edna saw more to her life. She wanted to live for herself rather than for her husband and children.
             In The Awakening, Chopin mainly focuses on the character of Edna Pontellier. Edna is married with two children. In the 19th century women were expected to marry and have children. The idea was that upper and middle class women had to stay dependent on a man: first as a daughter and later as a wife. A woman's job, as a wife, is to care for the health and happiness of her family, as well as care for the home. Edna's husband, Léonce Pontellier, is required to provide for the home and family. In the novel. Léonce is a rich business man, who makes more than enough to support his family fulfilling his duty as a man and husband. He also showers his wife with gifts. Near the beginning of the story Mr. Pontellier goes out of town on business. When he leaves a "few days later a box arrived for Mrs. Pontellier from New Orleans. It was from her husband. It was filled with friandises, with luscious and toothsome bits- the finest fruits, pates, a rare bottle or two, delicious syrups, and bonbons in abundance " (Chopin 1258). During the time she received the box, Mrs. Pontellier was sitting with other ladies, whom of which she generously shared the contents of the box. The ladies described Mr. Pontellier as "the best husband in the world. Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better " (Chopin 1258).