Naturalism in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening: A Reconsideration

Abstract

This paper revolves around a significant subject matter that created controversial representations among critics and readers of the Victorian era because it was not in line with their conservative attitudes and aspirations. It is the subject matter of a young wife who has slapped the door behind social conventions and traditions now considered outdated, whose violation by Edna, the protagonist of the novel The Awakening (1899) was considered by others a social trauma and by the protagonist and the author, Kate Chopin, an awakening conducive to free life. Hence, a great deal of controversy has resulted in pros and cons, for some have been shocked by Edna’s immoral behavior exposed obviously and openly which was regarded as a kind of transgression of the Victorian mores—negative, offensive and shocking—and some have admired the novel for its stunning style and have, at the same time, excused Edna and considered her obliged to take the course she has chosen. The reconsideration of the topic of this study has been triggered by the fact that this study is based on the naturalistic approach of the novel that is designed by the French novelist and critic Émile Zola, the founder of Naturalism in literature and the author of the naturalistic novel Therese Raquin in which he elaborates on the influence of environment, social conditions, hereditary factors and sexual impulses on character and action. Interestingly enough, sexual impulses and practices are part and parcel of the human character. They are not commented upon when they are hidden, but they are scandalous when they become blatant. In a word, the main theme of The Awakening is related to the concept of disillusionment embedded in the theme of the awakening of the protagonist.