House Angels Versus New Women

Kate Chopin is one of the most celebrated and remarkable writers in the world literature. Her works have attracted numerous readers and a great many scholars all over the world who have spent much academic energy on them from different perspectives. With the hope of enriching the research of the great litterateur and with the help of feminism, this thesis is aimed to explore Chopin's feminist awareness in The Awakening.This novel was written at the end of the nineteenth century which was a time of tension between the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. Due to the rapid economical and theological change in this transitional period of time, Chopin became a complex feminist writer. She never criticized the traditional culture in a public way, nor did she directly applaud the women's movement, while deep down she more or less resisted conventional doctrines. Her conflicting thought is well interwoven in the writing of The Awakening, a novel which displays two main kinds of women—the house angels and the New Women, as well as an indicative description of their conflict.This thesis mainly consists of five parts. Part One is the introduction, which summarizes the women's writing in the late 19th century as well as the influence of The Awakening. Chapter One not only surveys the images of women in history but also analyzes the historical background and respective features of the house angels and the New Women. With a detailed study of the unconscious state of existence of the housewives and the protesting women's struggle for self-realization, Chapter Two delves into Chopin's characterization of the house angels and the New Women. While the house angels are content with their self-sacrificing family life, the New Women are trying to seek a way out with a confused but continuous process of awakening. Chapter Three is devoted to exploring the artistic technique of symbolism applied in this book. With symbols ranging from static objects, such as continent, houses etc., to living creatures, such as human beings, birds, the contrasting and conflicting existences between the house angels and the New Women are further illustrated. Last but not least, the thesis comes to a conclusion.The study of the thesis demonstrates that Edna, the protagonist in The Awakening is not a determined fighter for women independence and freedom when confronted with social condemnation. This is more than a limitation of Chopin's thought; it is a limitation of the epoch. The ideal of the house angels was so deep planted in the patriarchal society in the 19th century that it remained an onerous task for the New Women to poke the bubble of the feminine myth and achieve final success.