Critical Essay Critique- The Awakening

In the article that I read the author, Sandra Gilbert, proposes that her intention is to elaborate on the ways in which The Awakening is a work of pure feminist fantasy that projects the idea of Edna as a reborn Aphrodite, in lieu of a contrary image of Jesus and patriarchy. The authors main vehicle for her debate are similarities between the mythology surrounding Aphrodite and the circumstances surrounding Edna Pontellier. Gilbert argues that the similarity in a most sense exists in descriptions of Edna. She is often described, mainly after her swim at the Isle, as emitting a sort of shine and exuberance outward through her physical appearance. Gilbert argues that this is a bit suggestive of imagery often used to detail deities of old, and Aphrodite in particular. What's more is that Gilbert asserts that the dinner party scene, which prevailing lines of criticism hold as being largely insignificant, is one of the, "longest sustained episodes in the novel," and additionally one of the most significant. She argues this because of the description of Edna at the head of the dinner table, her paired regal appearance, and the magical-looking drink of which everyone is partaking. In Gilbert's mind this asserts that Chopin has intended to sell an image of Edna that is both regal and divine, and allusive to the goddess of love. The emotion that the sea elicits from Edna is often cited often by Gilbert. Apparently in mythology the ocean has some central significance in the origins of Aphrodite, and likewise, Gilbert maintains, the ocean is pivotal in the rebirth of Edna. The author goes on to present how Edna feels utterly changed after her first ever swim, and what soon follows within the novel is the first instance of Edna directly defying Leonce, who Gilbert defines as a symbol of the prevailing patriarchal society in the world. In the same vein, and what I found very compelling is that when one considers the piano-playing of Mademoiselle Reisz, the singular phenomena that has any irrevocable significance to Edna outside of the sea, it is images of the ocean and its power that are evoked in Edna's mind. Thus, the significance of the sea cannot be overstated. On an ending note, and what i find to be one of Gilbert's better arguments, is the human impossibility of Edna's eventual aim. Near the novel's controversial conclusion, Edna asserts that she wishes to give freely of herself where and whenever she pleases. Of course if Edna were perhaps, I don't know, a prostitute, this aim wouldn't be at all impossible but given the actuality of the circumstance it is. In mythology Aphrodite solely operated upon this aim however, and Edna's desire to do so as well does give previously unfounded strength to the argument that Chopin wished to present Edna as a newborn Aphrodite.

In my opinion the article wasn't entirely coherent and ultimately the premise, was a bit too far fetched. At one point Gilbert makes an attempt to argue that Edna's dinner party is intended to mirror the last supper and to me that's a bit ridiculous. Of course I am consistently a skeptic, but the fact that Gilbert herself calls her essay a bit, "hyperbolic" didn't help sway me. Also as the essay progresses the author makes a jarring departure from impartiality, especially in the sense of an undercurrent of atheism and sympathy for the amoral actions of characters. A tone arises in which it becomes evident that the author is harbors some disagreement with the theology and dismisses as fiction based solely upon it's patriarchal roots. She sides with amorality, because she dismisses Robert's ultimate departure from Edna as the result of an imagined obligation to what is, "fictionally 'right'," a statement which I was quite taken aback by. What's more is that she condones Edna's final actions on the basis of it being the only manner in which Edna could, "assert her autonomy." In doing so she says that it is okay for a woman to selfishly commit suicide because of an incapability to cope with emotions, and in doing so, to leave children and a husband who ultimately wished her no harm. Of course, Gilbert finally asserts that Edna didn't even die, but rather was more likely reborn in the sense of becoming a new Aphrodite, and embracing a lucid divinity. This last argument I feel is the least compelling of Gilbert's,and additionally one that she rather stubbornly champions, trudging through the mires and pits of glaring unlikelihood. This being said I certainly disagree with Gilbert's ultimate point, although I do believe that Chopin did intend to construct parallels to Aphrodite but in a much less literal or pervasive sense than a full on apotheosis. Sandra Gilbert's essay does have undeniable value though, both as an exhaustive reflection of Chopin's ubiquitous employment of suggestive imagery, and an exercise in attempting to prove a particularly radical viewpoint.