“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft. Throughout history many women was treated badly in every country, state, government, and communities. Women all over the world had limited rights and privileges that had to be followed. Base on what society was saying, “Being American” for women was to; be a at home mom, taking care the house, the kids, preparing the food, and catering to their husband. Many didn’t have the courage, and the voice to say how they really felt about this until the women Feminism movement was brought about in the late 1960’s-1970. These movements consist of issues concerning the women reproductive rights (abortions), domestic violence, maternity leave, and equal pay wages, women’s suffrage, and sexual harassment, and sexual harassment, sexual violence.
They fought to make sure that all political, social, and economic rights were equal towards all men. There have been books & stories that have been made that started many female movements occurring today. Two stood out to me that shown great examples on how females were portrayed and treated back in the American society of the 20th century. Not only being a female was treated wrong, but also being a black female was even worst. The two books are; The Awakening by: Kate Chopin’s & The House behind the Cedars by: Charles W. Chesnutt. These two books were band off all shelves for many years, causing the masses to turn their backs on the authors. There wasn’t any source before that talked about females getting they own independents and going against the standards of society.
We live in a society today that follow everything that the media portrays on how to live, how to dress, how to look, how to act, But in this case of Edna we are going to see the way she breaks out of what society wants from her. As women, a mother, and a wife, Edna had an Awakening. In the Awakening, the setting starts in the late 1800’s in grand isle, which is a summer holiday resort that very popular wealthy people go. Edna is the main character of this book which she was vacationing with her husband, Leonce and their two sons at the Cottages of Madame Lebrun, where they were staying at. Edna came across a young man name Robert Lebrun the son of Madame Lebrun.
He is known for being the attendant to married women just for the summer, help her out with everything & make sure she’s safe from harm. Edna and Robert spend their nights by the shore talking about things, they relationship in the beginning starts off very innocent. As the summer continued they started to grow closer, Robert being Robert his affections and attention opened up Edna a little. She started to feel more alive about herself and even started painting again like she did when she was very young. One night she decided to face her fears to swim out into the shore, there she had her awakening of her own independence and her own sexuality.
Sooner or later Edna and Robert had open up to each other on how they love each other. Every time she spends he time with her husband she feels very depress and sad, but when she’s alone or with Robert she feel very joyful and free. This shows that after her awakening she really started to feel more free about herself and by that she learned what she really want in her life. Robert and the night she swim out into the shore were her awakenings, she really loves Robert and Robert really loved her. The relationship between the two became very serious to the point that Robert left Grand Isle to go back home to avoid any problems from his forbidden love.
Once Edna went back home to her New Orleans as a changed woman, she began to pursue her painting career and started to ignore her social responsibilities which were being a mother to her two sons, and a wife to her husband. By seeing this major change within his own wife, Leonce went to go find answers on why his wife is acting different towards him and his children. He went to go see Dr. Mandelet which is the family physician was describing as a: very wise and enlighten man. Dr. Mandelet said to Leonce to let her Edna do her, because if he tries to stop her it’s just going to add more fuel to her to leave for good, just to cover the fact that he suspected Edna is seeing someone else so he just said that so that Leonce won’t know the truth. So Leonce let Edna home alone while he went on a business trip and while the kids were away. “She was free in her wildness. She was a wanderers, a drop of free water. She belonged to no man and to no city” – Roman Payne. During this time Edna decided to move into a home of her own and finally makes her independence from her former lifestyle as being a mother and wife to her two sons and husband. When she moved she met a town seducer which was a very popular man name Arobin. They became close, but not emotionally close only sexual. Edna at this point isn’t retain by any male figure but is still in love with Robert, but just uses Arobin to satisfy her sexual needs.
At this point Edna started a good relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz, She was the most influential person to Edna awakening. She’s an elderly woman that’s not married and has no kids. She’s very dedicated to her passion which is a pianist, music. Mademoiselle to Edna is view as an Independent and free women, by being around Mademoiselle and learning from her this really put the icing to the cake of Edna Independence.
She gave Edna great advice stating that “She must be brave if she wishes to be an artist, that artist must have a courageous and defiant soul.” – What Mademoiselle stated was very similar to what Ralph Emerson once said “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature and none but he knows what that is not which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.” – Emerson. It related to what Mademoiselle told Edna because Mademoiselle is basically telling her she has to be very passion of her own art work, and shouldn’t care what society says about it only her own opinion matters. Mademoiselle is the only person that really knows about Edna & Robert love for each other and also tells Edna to open up and express her feelings more. Mademoiselle encouraged Edna to be more freely with her emotions and encourage being more self-reliance about her work/self. The night she swim out into the sea this was her first moments of emotional, sexual, and intellectual awakening, now what Mademoiselle told her opened her up even more.
Soon or later Robert returns back to New Orleans and finally express his feelings to Edna. He tells her that he can’t be with her, because he would be committing adultery do to the fact that she’s still a married woman. “You have been a very, very foolish boy, wasting your time dreaming of impossible things when you speak of Mr. Pontellier setting me free! I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier’s possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose. If he were to say, ‘Here, Robert, take her and be happy; she is yours,’ I should laugh at you both” – Edna. Edna was telling Robert basically she is free from all of the possessions that the society tries to tie her down too, He still was in denial about making that decision with her. As you can see Edna was still trapped into society that she couldn’t escape. She moved out, got her own place, was sexual active with another man, pursed her art career, still society had a way to sneaks up on her. Edna left her home with Robert there and came back to Robert gone with a farewell note stating that he can’t be with her. At this point this was the last but devastating awakening Edna ever experience. Even when Edna had the power to leave the ties of the society, she was still stuck in it because Robert didn’t want to violate the rules of marriage. After this happen Edna sees herself alone in the world, and feels that she doesn’t belong here. So she went back to where she first got her first awakening which was at the Grand Isle shore to give herself to the sea because that’s where she feel that’s the only way she can escape society to gain her own freedom from everyone. Edna felt that she didn’t belong to this world and society, because even when she tries to escape the standards of society it still followed her. This is why Kate Chopin genius was taking from all libraries, because it shown a female knowing her own worth, and finding her own independence. At this time, a “female being independent” Wasn’t even a statement to begin with. “The Awakening” was made around a time when many females didn’t have any rights or privileges for themselves men was the dominant sex back then.
Chopin art work destroyed her career badly just like the character Edna in the book; the society turned their backs on her. I believe Emerson sparked a fire within many artists to push the self-reliance agenda forward throughout the world because; this was a great genius from Chopin. No female around that time discussed about a female leaving her husband, and kids to become independent in a book, but Kate Chopin did. I agree with the character also, because she wasn’t happy at all, with her husband, her children and just her life. If I was in her shoes I’ve would’ve done the same thing, because if I’m not happy and have to sacrifice myself to please others then I would never live up to my own potential. Edna which Chopin wrote about described how she awakened from her sleep and decided to not live up to society standards. This book destroyed her career bad, but If Chopin would’ve wrote and published this book in this era the reaction would’ve been totally different, because females in this era already is acting upon being independent, learning how to know they worth, and learning how to do many things that males are doing. The reaction would be different; her career wouldn’t have been stepped on as it was in the early 20th century.
You think just only being a female was tough back then? Nope. In the situation that occurred with Rena was more then just being a female, it was being a black female at that. Cause of “The House Behind The Cedars” Charles Chesnutt career was destroyed just like Chopin’s, because this was never seen or heard of before that there were a white female mixed with African American and a very popular white man falling in love with each other. As you can see we is talking about a time where Black African Americans didn’t have no rights, couldn’t read a book, couldn’t talk to any white fellows, or be seen with them in public. This time period was even worst on the African American females. This the book that destroyed Chesnutt and was band from shelves for many years. The story starts out when Warwick came to visit his mother and his sister Rena. Warwick is a successful lawyer and was married until his wife passed way leaving him with his son. Warwick asks Rena if she can come to live with him and help take care of his son. `
Once Rena moved in with her brother in Clarence, they attended a tournament where all black knights were in competition with each other. That’s when she met George Tryon, the winner of the tournament & a client of Warwick. He names Rena his Queen of Love and Beauty because she gave him good luck during the game. They began to become very close and Tryon would invite her to the games all the time. At this point, Warwick see that Tryon love for Rena is growing fast and is scared that Tryon would find out about their family secret which is that they are apart of a black heritage.
Warrick really don’t want Tryon to know about their secret because this would destroy his image as well. Warrick seeks to warn Tyron that they have a family secret, but Tyron said that he doesn’t really care about it, because he really loves Rena. This made Rena keep her secret to herself and away from Tryon. Rena really wanted to be with Tyron but knows that even if she do be with him and have a family together without him knowing the family secret, she cant escape it because her kids can come out black.
Rena went back to make sure that her mother is ok knowing that she’s sick and at the same time Tryon went back to Patesville also, because his mother want him to take care of some business with her cousin Dr. Green. At this point Warwick finds a note from Rena stating that she have to go back to Patesville, because of her mother. Sooner or later, Tyron spotted Rena with her mother at the drugstore with Dr. Green. Tyron finds out about their family secret and feels devastated that she was hiding this from him all along, so he writes Warwick a letter saying that he can not marry her no more, but would keep the family secret to his self. At the same time Rena was really depressed and sad about the situation knowing they can’t be together anymore.
Molly friends visit Rena and ask her do she want to go teach at a school for colored children with her cousin Jeff Wain. She agreed to go teach and they threw a party for her and Wain. In mean time Tryon went back to Patesville to take care some business, but also wants to see Rena despite the secret. Tryon went to go see Rena but accidently when Rena decided to dance with Wain, he see’s her happy this made him even more devastated. Rena went to go teach at the school, but does not like it do to the fact by how Wain was acting, and what she heard about his past, she didn’t feel safe staying alone with Wain. So she decided to stay with a student’s family.
Once Tyron found out that Rena was teaching at the school of colors, Tyron decided to make up bribes to the black student name Pluto to deliver a letter to Rena to meet up, but Rena denies it and tells him that there’s no way they can ever see each other again. So Tyron continues to try to meet up with her decided to catch her while she was walking with Pluto back home. Once Rena seen Tryon coming and then seen Wain coming towards her, she ran into the woods where she became very ill. Rena she was very ill and started to loose her mind. She had left her sick bed and ended up collapsing on the ground by a road side where Frank was camping at. He takes her home, but while he’s going home everybody see’s that he’s with white a women. While they were the talk of the town, Tryon hears of this and follows the trail to the house; Rena realizes that Frank was the one that loved the most out of everyone despite her flaw. Once Tryon came to see her that’s when she passed away.
Rena was trapped. Even though she was mixed and Tryon was fully white, she was in love and this book discusses on how love can over look things, but society would always have a say in it. Once Tryon found out that she wasn’t fully white, he didn’t want any parts of her anymore this devastated her completely, even before he found out he was really in love with her and ignored any other flaws. Warwick even warned him that they have a family secret and he over looked it. This shows how society can stop people from being with each other, because at that the time period that Chesnutt wrote this book being a color man was just disgusting to white people, they talked down on them with many mistreated acts. Rena was wrong for falling in love with a white man and Tyron was wrong for loving a black mixed woman in the society eyes. Society took over at the end and stopped them from marrying each other. Once she realized that her best friend was the one that loved her most out of everybody else, that’s when she dies.

Many people didn’t like Chesnutt after this book was made. Chopin & Chesnutt careers were both destroy just because of their own genius. Emerson was used in both novels by both artists very well. Chopin was a white lady that talked about independence from the society standards while Chesnutt was an African American man mixed with white, which talked about a mixed white women falling in love with a pure white man. It wasn’t the fact that these two artists’ nationality and sex were different from each other but it was just the fact that their genius wasn’t acceptable at that time? Emerson played a big part in their genius; self reliance was used throughout these two books. “Greatness is a property for which no man can receive credit too soon; it must be possessed long before it is acknowledged.” – Emerson, I believe both artists gave a little sparked to many revolutions, protests, and movement that’s happening today. Back in the early 20th century females didn’t have a voice to speak out without any punishments giving to them. They were violated against the natural rights under laws such as the Napoleon code. Under such law many had to ask for permission from there husband or father to leave their own homes/property. The kids, property, all documents were under the male name besides the female. We talking about a time that females didn’t have any freedom at all base on what the society was regulating against them.
In conclusion, Emerson was use throughout both books. Chopin and Chesnutt express they genius through their art. At that point of time female was treated badly. It didn’t matter of the race; all female’s was being mistreated wrong. I believe that both books helped start many movements for female rights today. Many couldn’t live their own lives, many couldn’t be with the one they really wanted to be with, and many couldn’t be their selves without the society input in it. I’m very happy the females are getting the rights they deserve today, because back in the 20th century they were treated very badly with many laws and regulations towards them.

REFERENCE

• Chesnutt, Charles, The House Behind the Cedars, South of America, Houghton & Miffin, 1900, 224 pages.
• Chopin, Kate, The Awakening, Louisiana & New Orleans, 1899, 128 pages.
• Emerson, Ralph, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics), 2000 Modern Library, Sept 2000, 880 pages.
• Porter, Anna, Created equal: Voices on Women’s Rights, Palgrave Macmillan, Sept 2009, 224 pages.
• Stott, John, Our Social and Sexual Revolution: Major Issues for a New Century, Baker books, Nov 1999, 256 pages.
• Whelan, Richard, Self-Reliance: The Wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson as Inspiration for Daily Living, Crown Publishing Group, 2012, 208 pages.