The Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay

The Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening In â€Å"The Metaphorical Lesbian: Edna Pontellier in The Awakening† Elizabeth LeBlanc asserts that the character Edna Pontellier is an example of what Bonnie Zimmerman calls the â€Å"metaphorical lesbian.† It’s important to distinguish between Zimmerman’s concept of the â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† and lesbianism. The â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† does not have to act on lesbian feelings or even become conscious of herself as a lesbian. Instead, the â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† creates a space for woman-identified relationships and experiences in a heterosexually hegemonic environment. In LeBlanc’s words, â€Å"I am suggesting†¦that the presence of lesbian motifs and manifestations in the text offers a†¦show more content†¦She looks at the ways that Edna associates with Adele Ratignolle and Madesmoiselle Reisz differently, but towards the same purpose. In this case, Mademoiselle Reisz represents the actual lesbian and one possible way of life for Edna while Adele represents what she is leaving behind. She examines how Adele Ratignolle is constructed as an ideal woman-mother, but that she becomes an individual subject when she relates to Edna through woman-identified contact. Edna finds no solace in the literal spaces in which her â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† identity can reside. Neither can other heterosexual options fulfill her desire as the â€Å"metaphorical lesbian.† The reason why Edna eventually rejects her fantasies with both Alcee Arobin and Robert Lebrun is that they offered only a re-establishment of her relationship wit h Leonce. They were different men, but presented the same scenario. LeBlanc argues, instead, that Edna chooses the sea as her metaphorical lesbian lover. Therefore, the ending is a triumph rather than a tragedy. Essential to LeBlanc’s analysis of how Edna becomes the â€Å"metaphorical lesbian† and climaxes in her metaphorical love at the end of the story is Edna’s gradual recognition of her changed self. One of the examples of Edna’s reconstruction is the emphasis on her physical body (an interesting analysisShow MoreRelated Edna as a Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay536 Words   |  3 PagesEdna as a Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Elizabeth LeBlanc places The Awakening in an interesting context in her essay â€Å"The Metaphorical Lesbian,† as gender criticism must, for Chopin wrote the novel at the end of the 19th century, when homosexuality as an identity emerged culturally, at least in terms of the gay male identity, as proffered by Oscar Wilde across the Atlantic. Lesbianism, too, started to make its debut on the cultural stage, particularly in literature. HoweverRead More A Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay536 Words   |  3 PagesA Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening The multiplicity of meanings and (re)interpretations informing critical studies of The Awakening reveal a novel ripe for deconstructionist critique. Just as Chopin evokes an image of the sea as symbolic of Edna’s shifting consciousness (â€Å"never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude,†138), likewise the deconstructionist reading of a text emphasizes fluidity over structure: â€Å"A text consistsRead MoreEssay on The Awakening1610 Words   |  7 Pages In their analytical papers on The Awakening by Kate Chopin, both Elaine Showalter and Elizabeth Le Blanc speak to the importance of homosocial relationship to Edna’s awakenings. They also share the viewpoint that Edna’s return to the sea in the final scene of the book represents Edna being one with her female lover and finding the fulfillment she has been seeking. We see evidence of this idea of the sea as a feminine from Showalter when she tells us that â€Å"As the female body is prone to wetness,