Awakening

In today's culture it is sometimes easy to forget the progress women have made in regards to determining their own future, personal freedom, and changing the definition of their societal roles. Women can run for president, take charge of multi-billion dollar corporations, decide to pursue (or not) motherhood; modern culture embraces feminism and a woman's right to choose. The freedom women have today is inherited through a long series of struggles, women slowly breaking down barriers. Kate Chopin is an early advocate for altering the role of women in society. The Awakening is an honest portrayal of an 18th century women dissatisfied with her life, and more urgently trapped by the constraints of society. Chopin demonstrates to her contemporaries that women are not defined by the societal expectations, some women can and do want more than motherhood and wifehood. This paper will argue that Chopin believed that women were...
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