The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Awakening by Kate Chopin, one of the famous Louisiana creole heritage writers, portrays the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman in an unhappy marriage involved in an affair with Robert Lebrun in the 19th century American south, where gender discrimination victimizes women in family and society. Just outside New Orleans, we find Lebrun cottages that offer a relaxing atmosphere to people wistful for fun and freshness. In this small community of Grand Isle are a chain of cottages run by Madam Lebrun. Edna Pontellier, wife to Leonce Pontellier and a mother of two boys Etiinne and Raul, spends their summer holiday time at one of the cottages. While on holiday here, she learned swimming, where they met with Madam Adele Ratignolle with whom they became friends. Also, she meets Robert Lebrun, the elder son of Madam Lebrum, who falls in love. Madam Ratignolles is the wife to Alphonse Ratignolle and a mother of five children. The story portrays Madam Ratignolle as the epitome of perfect womanhood.
The relationship between Edna Pontellier and Robert Lebrun intensifies and becomes embarrassing and confusing for Edna’s husband. Mr. Pontelliers observes his wife bathing with Robert at a far like one looks at his damaged personal properties. At one point, he finds them talking about everything. They speak of their youth, dreams, and their past and about relationships with family. Besides, they joke about Edna’s ring and about leaving Mr. Pontellior, which irritates him. Edna’s husband erupts in ager accusing her of being a reckless mother. He is disgusted with the kind of mother she has been all through.
Nonetheless, Edna is not the mother type; she is alone in her existence at Grand Isle. Her inner self is soon filled with the lonely feeling, thus becoming indescribable. She feels oppressed and allows the mosquito to bite her entire body as she cries hopelessly. Edna Pontellier is portrayed as the awakening protagonist who moves from the comfort zone of her convenient marriage and moves on to realize her soul’s deepest needs.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an” all-time best-selling book of The Feminist Press,” (Davis 142) is a semi-autobiographical short story portraying the life of Gilman after she suffered post-partum depression at the time when mental health stigma and entrenched patriarchy denied women economic independence and social equality. The narrator complains about her condition, but her husband, John, who is a physician, thinks it’s a slight hysterical tendency. The narrator also suspects there is something suspicious in the house, but the husband dismisses it as a silly fantasy. The narrator complains that her husband treats him like a child where she is denied to pursue any other work than domestic chores. Her husband’s restrictions make her miss the intellectual act of conversation and writing whose account is written in a diary which she hides from John.
Later, they move into a room with yellow wallpaper. In this room, the narrator grows suspicious of the wallpaper as her start to see some mysterious figure hiding between the patterns. When she tried to convince John that they should leave the house, he refuses as he thinks that Gilman is improving. However, Gilman’s fatigue and depression worsens as the yellow wallpaper’s fascination takes over her life. She grows paranoid about the real intention of her sister Janie and husband, John. She believes that a mysterious woman is hiding behind the pattern, and her real intention is to free her and keep the secret of her existence from Jennie and John. The narrator begins to keep secrets even from her diary. On the day of their departure, the narrator tears the part of the wallpaper on her reach. In the end, the narrator suffers from a mental breakdown, and now that she is mad, she is convinced he was the woman hiding behind the yellow wallpaper. When John breaks into the room and sees her, he faints at sight. The narrator suffers a mental breakdown in the hands of his patriarchy husband.