Why was The Awakening so controversial? And did Edna really have a lesbian relationship?

Question

I'm writing a paper on Choplin's novel, and I'd really appreciate some answers. thanks

Answer 1

The Awakening was controversial because women of that time didn't _have_ awakenings. Edna discovers her sexuality in that book, and women weren't supposed to enjoy sex. They also weren't supposed to want anything beyond kids and a wealthy husband, which she had. By the standards of her time, Edna was broken because she wasn't content with her lot and she was aware of her sexual desires. That, of course, was not the point of Chopin's book, which made it scandalous.

In fact, I read something about Erica Jong a little while back. Her _Fear of Flying_ is very similar to _The Awakening_, but with more sex and a better ending for the heroine. Jong said that she was terrified to write her ending that way, because it had never been done before. She wanted to send her character to her death or back to her husband because she was afraid, but that wouldn't have been true to the story. That was in, what, the seventies? Amazing.