Chopin’s Writing of the body

谢璠

Introduction：In Virginia Woolfs non-fiction novel A Room of Her Own， she presents her main idea in the very beginning of the book： “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” （573）. In Kate Chopins The Awakening， she presents a middle-class woman who also claims to have a room of her own. But this “room” not only means the ordinary room， but more importantly it indicates womens self-ownership of her body.

The French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty points out in his major work Phenomenology of Perception： “the body， instead of being a mere object in the world， forms the foundation of all human experience” （qtd. in Saunders 116）. For Maurice， we are conscious of the world through our senses. It is the body which brings into being the relationship between the self and his or her surroundings. In The Awakening， body works as an essential element for Edna Pontelliers awakening.

In this essay， it will explore the heroine Edna Pontelliers gradual awakening to her ability to control the working of her body. Through the free control of her body， she becomes aware of her position in the universe as a human being， her status as an autonomous subject， her potential for sexual pleasure， and learns to claim her right to spiritual self-determination.

1 Senses as Interface to awakening

Near the end of the 19th century， new technologies emerged that were designed to chart， explore， and record sensory phenomena that it had never before been possible to perceive. Camera and chronophotographs in1882， photographic paper in 1888， microscope in 1894， all these technologies made human beings more aware of their “embodied state of being by revealing their physiological information （Saunders 118）.

Modern technology on the one hand reveals much more information concerning human visceral nature， while on the other hand excites peoples wonder in search for a sensual experience tingled with emotion， memory and imagination. In literature， writers also begin to pay more attention to human beings sensual experiences. Such literary focus at the turn of the new century is of great importance for the New Women movement， because it is through such experiences women began to know their physical beings and then build relationship between the self and the surroundings.

In The Awakening， Ednas sensual experience is depicted appealingly as a stimulus for her awakening. The awareness of her autonomous being is inseparable from her senses of touching and hearing. Her awakening begins from her contact with the sea， “whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty” （Chopin 17； ch. 5）. And here “a certain light was beginning to draw dimly within her”， Edna “was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being， and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” （17； ch. 6）”. The seductive voice of the sea， “never ceasing， whispering， clamoring， murmuring”， and the touch of the sea， “sensuous， enfolding the body in its soft， close embrace” （18； ch. 6）， both the voice and the touch work to stimulate her to become aware of her physical being.

Her sense of hearing continues to arouse her awareness. Later in Chapter 9， the disagreeable little woman Mademoiselle Reisz comes to play piano in Ednas favor. Through the sense of hearing， musical sound prompts an overwhelming experience of sensual epiphany in Edna. “The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down Mrs. Pontelliers spinal column. … Perhaps it was the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth” （34； ch. 9）. Her emotion is excited： “the very passion themselves were aroused within her soul， swaying it， lashing it， as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled， she was choking， and tears blinds her” （35； ch. 9）. Associated with the elemental force of the sea， Mademoiselle Reiszs piano performance renders Edna speechless while making her body come into its own， eliciting her strong and turbulent emotion.

Through the continuous contact with the sea， she begins to notice the power of her body. Ednas midnight swim helps to establish her sense of both physical and spiritual self-ownership. However， though “she wanted to swim far out， where no woman had swam before” （37； ch. 10）， her power is not strong enough. But her awakened body and soul will embark on the journey to claim her right for physical pleasure and spiritual self-determination. Until now， through the working of her sense of hearing and touching， Edna is awakening.

2 Assertion of sexual rights accompanied by quest for independence

At Chopins time， married women held no legal rights over their bodies. The official scientific view was that “an average woman （a decent woman） possesses no sexual feelings whatsoever” （Beer， Sourcebook 74）. In 1875， the leading British physician William Acton declared： “a modest woman seldom desires any sexual gratification for herself. She submits to her husbands embraces， but principally to gratify him； and， were it not for the desire of maternity， would far rather be relieved from his attention” （qtd. In Beer， Cambridge 90）. In The Awakening this medical stereotype is reflected in Madame Ratignolles physically fulfilled marriage.

However， with the rise of sexology in the 1890s， the old doctrine of the absence of womens sexual desire was being challenged. Elizabeth Blackwell （1821-1910）， the first woman to achieve prominence as a physician， in her 1894 book The Human Element in Sex， refuted the assertion that womens sexual desires were pathological and unnatural. Her essay took as its main premise that women are sexual beings （qtd. in Hayden 93-94）. There is no doubt that Chopin captured a moment of transition in the cultural and medical conception of female sexuality.

In The Awakening， women are deprived of passionate desires. Unlike males， who were permitted to possess their sexuality as a part of their self， females are only allowed to experience sexuality indirectly. Much of the novel， then， is concerned with Ednas quest for a viable mode of owing and expressing her sexuality. With her achievement in freeing her sexual passions， reader will also witness the increasing awareness of her independence in financial and spiritual field.

Edna begins her sexual journey by refusing being the passionless servant of Mr. Pontellier. Mr. Pontellier appears unaware that his wife might have any desires. He has overlooked the untamed primitive temperament that lurks in his wife. Instead he oppresses Edna in sexual relationship. When his wife displayed inattention to his desires， he makes her get up on the pretext that the child has a fever， “he reproached his wife with her inattention， her habitual neglect of the children” （7； ch. 3）. In this early stage， Ednas resistance is passive. However， in Chapter 11， after her physical and spiritual awakening aroused by music and swimming， she becomes outwardly defiant of Mr. Pontelliers demands.

A few days later she awakens more fully to her animal nature after fleeing from an oppressive church service to Madame Antoines seaside home. Awakened from a nap， “her eyes were bright and wide awake and her face glowed” （50； ch. 13）. It seems for the first time she has been very “hungry”. So she bit a piece of brown loaf， “tearing it with her strong， white teeth” （50； ch. 13）. In this stage， Ednas sexual desire already looms as a subtle flame not fully kindled.

Its very crucial for a reader to realize that Ednas constructing of an autonomous identity is closely connected with her fight in sexual filed. Following her resistance to Léonces sexual desire， she also struggles to establish her own independent being. She refuses to wear her usual reception gown and was in ordinary house dress， because the reception gown makes her an accessory of her husband. Her behavior shocks her husband， angers him. She had resolved never to take another step back， “when Mr. Pontellier became rude， Edna grew insolent” （76； ch. 19）.

So later when Robert talks of his dream that Edna becomes his wife and men setting their wives free， Edna feels ridiculous and says， “I am no longer one of Mr. Pontelliers 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” （146； ch. 36）. Her sense of self-ownership is established， physical and spiritual. However， Robert fails to understand her， his face grew white and he asked， “What do you mean？” The knock at the door ends their conflict temporarily. Madame Ratignolles message takes her away， brings her back to a more complex plight.

3 Resurrection as a Venus

Motherhood is a strategic device in the male-dominated society to ensure womens subjection to a lifetime of domestic confinement. Children thus become “the unfailing means of bringing women into line with tradition. Who could stand against the children？ An appeal to the maternal instinct will quench the hardiest spirit of revolt” （（Beer， Cambridge 97）. Women might have dreams and think of rebel， but their children， “little ambassadors of the established and expected” （Beer， Cambridge 97）， were enough to defeat the most hardened mother. The power of children is more powerful than regiments of armed soldiers.

It might be argued that Madame Ratignolles whispering plea “think of the children， Edna. Oh think of the children！ Remember them” （149； ch. 37）， shatters Ednas dream into pieces. She wants to be left alone， “Nobody has any rights except the children， perhaps and even then， it seems to me or it did seem” （150； ch. 38） She is in a state of bewilderment. The confusion of her mind is reflected in the incoherency of her speech. She wants nothing but her own way， but this is wanting a great deal， she has to “trample upon the lives， the hearts， the prejudices of others but no matter ”， still she shouldnt “trample upon the little lives” （151ch. 38）. She is unable to break away from the instinctive hold that her children have upon her， “the determination to think of them had driven her soul like a death wound” （152； ch. 38）. Through the act of bearing and giving birth to her children， they become a part of her body. The thought of Roberts love liberates her from the dead plight for a while. But he has left， left because he cant understand her. There was no one she wanted but Robert， but there will come the day that he， too， would melt out of her existence.

Her children constitute an insurmountable obstacle in her effort to live a free and independent existence， they “appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her； who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the souls slavery for the rest of her days， but she knew a way to elude them” （155； ch. 39）.

She walks towards the beach， “the voice of the sea is seductive， never ceasing， whispering， clamoring， murmuring， inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude” （155； ch. 39）. The image of “a bird with a broken wing”， “beating the air above， reeling fluttering， circling disabled down， down to the water” （156； ch. 39）， suggests her defeat in obtaining self-determination. But when she stripped herself of her clothes， “when she stood naked in the open air”， she felt like “some new born creature， opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known” （156； ch. 39）. The “foamy wavelets” curled up to her white feet （156； ch. 39）， like Aphrodite who arose from the white foam， her resurrection as a Venus invokes a Phoenix-like transformation. The image of her white body and the image of the sensuous sea connect Edna with the Goddess of love and sexuality. She becomes immortal in the eternal sea. She at last gets out from the bound. Her body is free， her soul is free， she is fully free. Nobody will possess her， and nobody can. She is herself. Her self-assertion is complete， body and soul.

4 Conclusion

First published in 1899， Kate Chopins The Awakening provoked significant controversy because of its engagement with the taboo issue of female sexuality and infidelity. Contemporary reviews unanimously condemned it as “morbid”， “unpleasant”， “unholy and unclean”， “repellent”， “unhealthy” and “disagreeable” （Beer， Sourcebook 56-59）. The novel soon went out of print and remained so for almost fifty years. The outrage reviews of Chopins contemporaries prove that the history of male writing is confounded with reason. It has been one with the phallocentric tradition. This tradition has locked womens body into the dark corner of the history. The Awakening， a book writing of the body， is also confined in the dark forbidden zone.

During the 1970s， Chopins questioning of the restriction confined in womens body in her writing struck a chord with the second wave feminist movement and generated critical debate. Her reputation has grown and is now regarded as a major writer in American literature. The Awakening is now hailed as a key early feminist text of American literature.

The power of the book is immense. Chopins writing of the body is “an act which not only ‘realize the decensored relationship of woman to her sexuality， to her womanly being， giving her access to her native strength； it will give her back her goods， her pleasures， her organs， her immense bodily territories which have been kept under seal” （Cicoux 880）. As Cixous points out in “The Laugh of The Madusa”： “If a woman wants to write herself， her body must be heard. Only then will the immense resources of the unconscious spring forth” （Cicoux 880）. Chopin， the courageous soul that dares and defies， unlocks the seal imposed on womens body. Like her heroine， she suffers because she breaks the bound， but her voice is heard， like the surge of the sea， clamoring， roaring， and lasting.

Works Cited：

[1]Beer， Janet， ed. The Cambridge Companion to Kate Chopin. New York： Cambridge UP， 2008. Print.

[2]Beer， Janet， and Elizabeth Nolan， ed. Kate Chopins The Awakening： A Sourcebook. New York： Routledge， 2004. Print.

[3]Chopin， Kate. The Awakening. 1899. New York： Bantam Dell， 2003. Print.

[4]Cixous， Hélène. “The Laugh of The Madusa”. Chicago？： The U of Chicago P， 1976. DOC88. Web. 14 Sept. 2009.

[5]Hayden， Wendy. Evolutionary Rhetoric： Sex， Science and Free Love in Nineteenth- Century Feminism. Illinois： Southern Illinois UP， 2013. Print.

[6]Saunders， Corinne， Ulrika Maude， and Jane Macnaughton， ed. The Body and The Arts. Hampshire： Palgrave Macmillan， 2009. Print.

[7]Woolf， Virginia. Great Works of Virginia Woolf. Ed. Delhi： Vishvabharti Publications， 2013. Print.