January Monthly Blog

The Awakening does make points about self-knowledge and self-deceit of women in earlier times. The novel proves that women were so used to submitting to husbands, that they did not even know what their true feelings were.
As Edna searches for herself, she finds that everything she thought she knew about herself turned out to be untrue. She knew that there was a true Edna there, but every individual thought she had was surpressed. It is even stated in the novel that "she had long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voice themsleves." Edna is so used to submitting to her husband that she unthinkingly pushes back any feelings or emotions of individuality. Edna even acknowledges in the novel that she will "try to determine what character of a woman" she is because she honestly does not know.
I think it is terrible that women, or any people, were surpressed so much in that time period, and at first I found it very surprising that most woman did not even want things to change. After class discussions and some thought I realized that women today cannot succesfully compare themselves to women in that time period; it is very hard to relate to and really understand. The social mindset was completely different, and the "rebellious" feelings that women had back then are what women now feel every day; being an individual woman now happens without thought. And even though I did not really like The Awakening, I feel like I got a lot out of the discussions about it, particularly more understanding about the social mindset.