Theme Of Juxtaposition In Kate Chopin's Madame Ratignolle

In the late 1800s, nearly all women were viewed as subservient, inferior, second class females that lived their lives in a patriarchal and chauvinist society. Women often had no voice, identity, or independence during that time period. Moreover, women dealt with the horrors of social norms and the gender opposition of societal norms. The primary focus and obligation for a woman to obtain during the 1800s was to serve her husband and to obey to anything he said. Since women were not getting the equality, freedom, or independence that they desired, Kate Chopin, an independent-minded female American novelist of the late 1800s expressed the horrors, oppressions, sadness, and oppositions that women of that time period went through.

Mr. Pontellier’s disapproval did little to dissuade her actions because “she had resolved never to take another step backwards” (Chopin 57). Edna is determined to take control of her life and spend her time how she wishes, instead of bending to the will of Léonce. Her husband became convinced that Edna was becoming mentally unstable because his wife was quickly turning into someone he did not recognize or want as a partner. After talking to Doctor Mandelet, he explains his distress by saying that “She’s got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women” (Chopin 65).

Edna hates being tied down to society’s standards; therefore, Chopin wants to represents how Edna transforms through the comparison of Edna’s

Her frequent vacations to the island, like her frequent dips into the ocean, begin to spark a personal change within the woman. A Creole man, Robert, shows Edna a new dimension of feelings she never knew she lived without, and she begins to look through life through a new lens. Having been awakened for the first time, she sees injustice and mistreatment where she saw none before. Chopin uses Edna’s new observations and reactions to the culture around her to illustrate the myriad ways women were marginalized. In an ironic twist, the white woman from Kentucky proves to be more liberated than her more traditional husband, who grew up

The author uses a comparison and contrast between Madame Ratignolle and Edna Pontellier to show how these two ladies are different from one another. Chopin emphasizes how feminine Madame Ratignolle is to demonstrate how Edna seems to be an outcast from the Creole society. Chopin chooses to incorporate the appearance of the two ladies to support the fact that Edna feels like she does not fit in, especially when Leonce refers to Madame Ratignolle in some parts of the novel. How Conventionality is Being Challenged “She was blindly following whatever impulse moved her, as if she had placed herself in alien hands for direction, and freed her soul of responsibility.”

Edna fully understands that society would brand her as a terrible woman, but she does not view herself as a bad person. There is an external and internal difference that Edna hopes to one day reconcile. Chopin, instead of creating tension within Edna, created tension within the society and Edna with her newfound independence does not mind how society classifies her. Decisively, it can be concluded that the tension between outward conformity and inward questioning builds the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period.

Kate Chopin develops Edna’s character so rigorously, she creates a whole new character by the end of the novel. Edna’s feat of overcoming her fears reveals the powerful message of being brave and finding

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Desiree is found by the Valmonde’s family, not knowing what her origin was, they took her in. Desiree grew into a gentle and loving young woman. The young owner of the neighboring plantation, Armand Aubigny, fell in love with her at first sight. Armand Aubigny and Desiree got married and had a child together.

Edna arrives to meet Madame Ratignolle sorting laundry clothes that Chopin calls “her occupation” (Chopin 55). After leaving the Ratignolle home, she is disenchanted with “The little glimpse of domestic harmony which had been offered her” (Chopin 56). Edna pities Madame Ratignolle because she feels that she will never to do all that she wants to do because

At the beginning of the novel, Edna had appeared to be recognizing the fact that her life revolves around her husband and her children, and that it is her main duty to care for them. It is mainly Mr. Pontellier, her husband, who tries to establish an image of her being a both a perfect partner and wife. He views her as an object that must be suitable for the eyes of society. According to him, his wife is a “valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 2). He is controlling over her appearance and actions.

When her husband walked through the front door she was so overcome with sadness that her heart couldn’t take it so she died. This shows just how bad that she was treated because she died when she found out her husband was alive. Through the use of plot twist Kate Chopin showed how women were treated unfairly throughout her

Chopin demonstrates not only how men treat women, but also how important it was to be white in this post-civil war era. When Armand was the head of his house, he would not let Desiree make any changes to his house. He made sure that she knew that he was the alpha male. This is the thing that Kate hated the most as a woman was having no say in any part of the world. Kate as many other woman, even though they were white, still had no say.

Kate Chopin introduces her main character as “Mrs. Mallard” to signify her being married. However, within her marriage, she loses herself. Being married, she took her husband’s last name and became a wife. In a way it changed her personality. She was no longer her own self, she was someone else’s “property”.

“Desiree’s Baby” is a story written by Kate Chopin. This short story is about a young girl named Desiree who was adopted by the Valmonde family. She later on falls in love and gets married to Armand Aubigny, the owner of the plantation; L’ Abri. Desiree’s ends up having her first child, but there is something different about this baby that makes Armand avoid his wife and child. It turns out that the baby is of mixed race and Armand blames Desiree.

Kate Chopin is the author of the most popular short story "The Story of an Hour". Chopin paints a bleak picture of marriage in this story. It is a short story focusing on a young married woman of the late nineteenth century as she reacts to the news that her husband has died in a train accident. The story was written in a time period when women did not really have right to express their feeling and desire. Women were supposed to stay home and take care of the family whereas the husbands went out to work.