Edna Pontellier: Too Weak to Be an Artist

Yevgeniy Pastukhov Semchenkov

ENG 201-0908

Pr. Chrysula Norway

5/5/2017

Edna Pontellier: Too Weak to be an Artist.

Art is one of the means that Kate Chopin uses in The Awakening to describe and represent her characters. Chopin scrutinizes the role of women in society and sets off Edna’s character as a transitional model of the woman. She is neither a “mother-woman” nor an independent person. Similar to Edna’s character as a whole, her artistic identity as a painter is vague. Edna learns to express herself through the painting process. Her paintings are reflecting her awakening rather than initiating and enhancing it. Edna, even though sagacious and strong enough to comprehend and analyze her discontent with her gender position and limitations connected to it, turns out to be not brave enough to free herself completely. Through Edna’s failure as an artist Chopin demonstrates that it takes both extraordinary strength and indifference to societal opinion to break stereotypes and limitations of societal norms and traditions.

Mademoiselle Reisz, who devotes her life to music and even puts her piano over her private life, distinguishes and intensifies Edna’s ability to go beyond the limits of gender established by society. For the very first time Mademoiselle Reisz’s music awakens Edna’s desire to release herself from the disunity she feels in her society. Mademoiselle's playing imbues overpowering emotion in Edna, as well as an extremely important image. In her imagination Edna sees “the figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore…he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him” (Chopin 25-26). This vision plays a role of reflection of Mrs. Pontellier’s inner feelings. She is that bird fleeing away from her husband’s dominance in her life. The image that Edna sees also suggests that Mademoiselle Reisz has a tremendous influence on the protagonist since she is capable of creation such emotions through simply playing one song. When Mademoiselle admits Edna’s emotions she tells her that she is the one and only “worth playing for. Those others? Bah!” (Chopin 26). She really appreciates Edna’s understanding the power of music. Edna’s image also means a beginning of her awakening which is caused by the musical metaphorical call for emancipation. Mademoiselle Reisz is a very strong and willful person, who is not afraid to go against the societal norms in order to keep herself devoted to her true passion - music. Later Mademoiselle challenges Edna to do the same, to free herself from the societal gender oppression and live her own life, led by her own desires. Reisz indirectly tells Edna about her possibilities to achieve the freedom. She says that in order to succeed Edna has to be like an artist because “to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul… the soul that dares and defies” (Chopin 61). Mademoiselle has that soul of an artist, she is the embodiment of the courage, and for Edna, it is crucial to have such a soul, not only in order to become a successful artist but for her liberation’s sake. To surpass her gender position assigned to her by society Edna must be as strong as an artist, she must be unafraid to do some things that are out-of-bounds.

Not only music is used by the devoted pianist to evoke Edna’s desires, she herself becomes a model of courageous and fearless woman. Mademoiselle Reisz is a non-ordinary person. She is satisfied with her life of an artist no matter what society thinks and says about her. Reisz represented as “the most disagreeable and unpopular woman who ever lived in Bienville Street”, Alicee also admits that she is “...partially demented” (Chopin 56, 79). Barely people understand that Mademoiselle has no concerns about what people think and say about her. This fact makes her even stronger and more threatening to the rules established by society. One can understand it from her expression: “If I were young and in love with a man…it seems to me he would have to be some grand esprit; a man with lofty aims and ability to reach them…I should never deem a man of ordinary caliber worthy of my devotion” (Chopin 77). She clearly states that she is independent enough to do not become an object of men’s possessiveness. Thus Mademoiselle is a perfect example for Edna in this way. She is completely capable of demonstrating to Edna that happiness is possible without the constant presence of men in women’s lives.

As oppose to Reisz’s absolute loyalty to music, Edna is failing as an artist through her inconstant devotion to painting and playing piano. Her sporadic commitment to her painting is shown in the following description: “Mrs. Pontellier had brought her sketching materials, which she sometimes dabbled with in an unprofessional way. She liked the dabbling. She felt in it satisfaction of a kind which no other employment afforded her” (Chopin 12). Edna’s acknowledgment of art demonstrates her subliminal understanding of its power to liberate her from the uncomfortable position of wife and mother. Nevertheless, she is not capable the prowess to truly devote herself to her work, she only “dabbles” instead. This is a harbinger of Edna’s inability to act toward the ideas that she feels have the power to end her social imprisonment. On the other occasion she demonstrates how light-headed is she about creating art, “Edna spent an hour or two in looking over some of her old sketches. She could see their shortcomings and defects, which were glaring in her eyes. She tried to work a little, but found she was not in the humor” (Chopin 52). The fact that Edna works only when she wants to, is indicative that she does not possess the courageous artist’s soul. The ultimate verification of her failure as an artist, one can recognize when Edna “seat[s] herself at the piano, and softly picked out with one hand the bars of a piece of music which lay open before her… “ill at ease at the piano stool” (Chopin 92). Edna plucks at the keys with one hand, which is entirely opposite to Mademoiselle Reisz, who lives for the music and invest herself into each musical piece that she performs. This emotional otherness draws the thick line between Pontellier and Reisz, the line which divides the failed and successful artist, the imprisoned and liberated woman. Edna does not have the strength to be conscious about her potential as an artist, nor stand up to the aftermath of disregarding societal norms.  Reisz devotes her life to discover her true potential, even though her reputation becomes a price for living her own life in accordance with her desires. Edna is “ill at ease” in her efforts to free herself through art, at the same time it is so natural for Reisz. Eventually, Edna’s practice with art and music demonstrates her as the failed artist, especially if to compare her with Mademoiselle Reisz.

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