Author(s)

Qing Cheng ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning, 530000, China

Corresponding Author

Qing Cheng

ABSTRACT

This thesis focuses on Kate Chopin's The Awakening and explores the intricate interaction between nature and Edna Pontellier's journey of self-awakening. This thesis adopts a naturalistic perspective, primarily employing textual analysis as its core research methodology to explore the role of nature in female awakening. Through in-depth examination, three dimensions emerge as particularly pivotal: the encounter and interplay between Edna and Mariequita; Edna's spiritual metamorphosis in Chênière Caminada; and the profound interaction between Edna and the ocean. These elements collectively reveal that nature assumes a guiding role in Edna's awakening. Acting as a transformative force, nature leads Edna to shed the shackles of urban civilization and its attendant social indoctrination, enabling her to gradually embrace her primal, instinctual self, her animalistic essence, and thus achieve genuine awakening. This awakening ultimately empowers her to break free from the constraints of the traditional feminine role bound to domestic chores and maternal duties.

KEYWORDS

Kate Chopin, The Awakening, American Naturalism, Nature, Female Awakening

CITE THIS PAPER

Qing Cheng, Nature as a Transformative Force: Mapping Edna Pontellier's Awakening—From Societal Conformity to Self-Recognition in Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Lecture Notes on Language and Literature (2025) Vol. 8: 14-18. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/langl.2025.080503.

REFERENCES

[1] Auden, W. H.,The Enchafèd Flood; or, the Romantic Iconography of the Sea, Vintage Books, 1950, pp. 1–35.
[2] Chopin, Kate. Chopin's The Awakening. Edited by Sheri Metzger, Hungry Minds, Inc., 2001.
[3] Jones, Suzanne W. "Two Settings: The Islands and the City." Approaches to Teaching Chopin's The Awakening, edited by Bernard Koloski, Modern Language Association of America, 1988, pp. 120–125.
[4] Mathews, Carolyn L. "Fashioning the Hybrid Woman in Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening.' " Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal, vol. 35, no. 3, 2002, pp. 127–149. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44029956. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
[5] Ringe, Donald A. "Romantic Imagery in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." American Literature, vol. 43, no. 4, 1972, pp. 580–588. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2924655. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Journal of Language Testing & Assessment
  
  
• Information and Knowledge Management
  
  
• Military and Armament Science
  
  
• Media and Communication Research
  
  
• Journal of Human Movement Science
  
  
• Art and Performance Letters
  
  
• Lecture Notes on History
  
  
• Philosophy Journal
  
  
• Science of Law Journal
  
  
• Journal of Political Science Research
  
  
• Journal of Sociology and Ethnology
  
  
• Advances in Broadcasting