Abstract:Kate Chopin is the most famous female writer in the 19th century. From the distinctive point of view, she depicts the women’s awakening of self-consciousness and their different attitudes towards life. Edna is the heroine of The Awakening which is Kate Chopin’s most famous novel. Discontented with the traditional female characters and mediocre family life, she tries to get rid of male dominance to pursue selfhood. When she cannot achieve the ideal because of the social pressure, Edna goes into the sea and gets the freedom at the cost of life. This paper attempts to interpret Edna’s awakening process so to reveal women’s affliction and struggle in the traditional patriarchal society and women’s road to liberation is beset with brambles.

Keywords:  Kate Chopin  Awakening  female consciousness

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Kate Chopin and Her Main Writings-1

1.2 Literature Review-2

1.3 Feminist Theory-2

1.4 The Composition of the Thesis-3

Chapter Two People Who Influence Edna’s Awakening-4

2.1 Adèle-4

2.2 Robert and Arobin-5

2.3 Reisz-6

Chapter Three The Process of Edna’s Awakening-8

3.1 The Awakening of Self-Consciousness-8

3.2 The Awakening of Sexuality-9

3.3 Edna’s Final Awakening-10

Chapter Four Edna’s Rebirth-12

4.1 Edna’s Self-Expression-12

4.2 Edna’s Suicide-13

Chapter Five Conclusion-14

References-15