Key Ideas Copy these ideas in BLUE down
Key Ideas Copy these ideas in BLUE down into your notes. ◦ A narrator’s or speaker’s perspective controls the details and emphases that affect how readers experience and interpret a text. ◦ Third person omniscient ◦ Setting and the details associated with it not only depict a time and place, but convey values associated with that setting. ◦ late 1800 s in Grand Isle ◦ New Orleans creole culture ◦ The pigeon house ◦ Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters. ◦ ◦ ◦ Edna Pontellier Mademoiselle Reisz Adèle Ratignolle Robert Lebrun Alcée Arobin Léonce Pontellier
Kate Chopin (1850 -1904)
Kate Chopin ◦ Born in St. Louis, MO in 1850 ◦ After her father’s death, raised by her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother (all widows) ◦ Though one of 5 children, Chopin was the only one to survive beyond 25 years of age ◦ Many family members died around Holy Days, instilling a strong sense of skepticism surrounding religion
Marriage ◦ Married Oscar Chopin at the age of 20 ◦ Both French Catholic background ◦ He adored her, admired independence and intelligence and “allowed” her unheard of freedom ◦ Gave birth to 5 boys and 2 girls before she was 28
More Tragedy ◦ Oscar was not an able businessman; returned to his old home in rural Louisiana (from New Orleans) and died of swamp fever ◦ Chopin moved her family to St. Louis to live with her mother ◦ Mother died the next year- this began her writing career
Inspiration for The Awakening and Reception ◦ Based on stories of people she’d known in New Orleans ◦ Content and message of The Awakening caused an uproar ◦ Parallels between Chopin and Edna because both defied societal rules
Climate of the Time ◦ The Awakening is representative of the time ◦ Chopin was ostracized ◦ Praised for her skill as a writer, but demonized for content ◦ “Not a healthy book. ” ◦ “Sex fiction. ” ◦ “Unhealthy introspection and morbid. ” ◦ The novel encapsulates the struggle of women during this time and speaks to the painful process
Narration ◦ A narrator’s or speaker’s perspective controls the details and emphases that affect how readers experience and interpret a text. ◦ Third person omniscient
LOUISIANA AT THE TH TURN OF THE 19 CENTURY
Louisiana ◦ In addition to the changes the country was facing, Louisiana had its own set of problems: ◦ Mix of three cultures: American, Southern, and Creole ◦ Aftermath of the Civil War still reverberating ◦ Edna’s father is a good example of this.
Creole A Creole is a person descended from the French or Spanish settlers of Louisiana and the Gulf States and preserving their characteristic speech and culture.
Creole ◦ Three groups of Creoles: 1. Whites who were Americans or of European origin were the highest class 2. Free Blacks, considered middle class 3. Slaves, household property and considered lowest class.
Creole Culture ◦ Catholic ◦ Creole women were very conservative ◦ Frank and open in discussing marriages and children b/c of understood moral nature and chastity ◦ Deep and personal commitment to fidelity ◦ Adele is a good example of this
Creole Culture Continued… ◦ Louisiana operated under a different legal system ◦ Feminist movement had little hope in the state ◦ A woman belonged to her husband ◦ Under Article 1124, married women were equated with babies and the mentally ill and were deemed incompetent to make a contract
Setting ◦ Setting and the details associated with it not only depict a time and place, but convey values associated with that setting. ◦ late 1800 s in Grand Isle ◦ New Orleans creole culture ◦ The pigeon house
THE ROLES OF CREOLE MEN AND WOMEN
Creole Men • Father was the dominant figure in the family • His word was law • Indulgent parent • Businessman who would often rule his estate like a king • The men wore pants of cotton-made cloth, sewed with alternating blue and white thread, shirts and jumpers; heavy shoes; and straw, split-cane, or reed hats. • Wealthy planters and townspeople dressed as if they lived in London or Paris. “The men wore tight fitting pants, waistcoats, high and pointed shoes, and high hats
Creole Men’s Entertainment • He was a dutiful husband accompanied his wife to balls, theatre, and social events. • He would go to the cafes to discuss business, play dominoes, and have a drink. • A gentlemen took fencing lessons, went horseback riding, dancing, or played cards
◦ “He felt in his vest pocket; there was a ten dollar bill there. He did not know; perhaps he would return for the early dinner and perhaps he would not. It all depended upon the company which was found over at Klein’s and the size of “the game”. He did not say this, but she understood it, and laughed, nodding good-bye to him” (Chopin 3).
Industrial Age and Lower Class Women’s Independence ◦ With the Machine Age, the crafts women had always produced in their homes became a mass-producible industry ◦ Conditions were hazardous, the pay was low, and women’s income was the property of their husbands, but first move toward female independence
Upper and Middle Class Women ◦ Expected to stay home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands’ wealth ◦ “angels of the house” ◦ Pregnant frequently ◦ Cared for their homes, their husbands, their children; played music, drew and sang ◦ Often brought a dowry or inherited wealth to the marriage
Suffrage ◦ Women began to rise up (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Coffin Mott) ◦ Declaration of Sentiments ◦ Labeled unfeminine, immoral ◦ 15 th Amendment (1870) gave right to vote regardless of color or creed
Women Adoration by Gertrud Kasebier 1898 At Dusk by Emma J Farnsworth
Women The Critic by Frances Benjamin Johnston 1900 The Embroidery Frame by Mathilde Weil 1900
◦ “He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother’s place to look after the children, whose on earth was it? ” (Chopin 5). ◦ “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman” (Chopin 8).
Duties of Creole Women ◦ Once married role became that of a wife, mother, and hostess ◦ Tend to the children (a servant or nanny may take help with most of these responsibilities) ◦ Keep up with the house keeping and correspondences ◦ Adele Ratignolle is “the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm” (Chopin 8).
Relationships ◦ “You are burnt beyond recognition, ” he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage (Chopin 2).
From Courting to Marriage • Girls needed a dowry and had to marry before they were twenty-five years old. They usually had a “coming out” during an evening at the Theatre d’Orleans which marked the beginning of their search for a husband. • The whole family attended the performance and sat in a box. Young men who were interested in the girl stopped by the box to pay their respects. • The first formal visit was brief, with the girl’ s mother and perhaps other relatives in attendance who would find out the young man’s intentions. • After four home visits the father asked the young man if he was serious about his daughter. If the young man wanted to marry the girl the two fathers negotiated the dowry. A notary came to write a list of the couple’s possessions and drew up the marriage contract. Once the contract was signed, the families announced the engagement. • The girl’s family gave a big dinner at her house where the young man gave her an engagement ring. As a fiancée the young man could visit the girl whenever he wanted and take her out, but they were always chaperoned.
Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters. ◦ Edna Pontellier ◦ Mademoiselle Reisz ◦ Adèle Ratignolle ◦ Robert Lebrun ◦ Alcée Arobin ◦ Léonce Pontellier
References ◦ Bauman, H. J. (n. d. ). French Creoles in Louisiana: An American Tale. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute http: //www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1992/2/92. 02. x. html#c ◦ Chopin, K. (1993). The Awakening. New York: Dover Publications. ◦ Ed. Site. Ment. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Searching for Women & Identity in Chopin's The Awakening: http: //edsitement. neh. gov/view_lesson_plan. asp? id=524 ◦ Kraus, J. (1996). Occupationals. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Stereoviews, CDVs, Daguerreotypes. . . , : http: //www. antiquephotographics. com/Format%20 Types/Tintypes/occupationalstt. htm ◦ Lamb, J. (n. d. ). New Orleans 19 th century historic vernacular architecture. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http: //jefflamb. wordpress. com/ ◦ Photography Exibits. (n. d. ). Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Clio Visualizing History: http: //www. cliohistory. org/exhibits/
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