Fighting Against Oppression by Kelsey

Fighting Against Oppression by Kelsey - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

Edna Pontellier from Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening greatly influenced me as a woman who, despite living at a much later date, still suffers under oppression from gender norms and expectations.

Edna Pontellier is a woman living in New Orleans during the late 1800's. Edna suffers from the oppressive nature of marriage and the social ideal of women marrying solely to support their husbands and care for the children. She begins to rebel in her own ways as much as possible and is often hit by moments of misery. In the end, Edna realizes that women will suffer under oppression from society as long as they live, and ends up taking her own life via drowning-poignant in that Edna never stopped feeling like she was drowning in her loveless marriage and expected duties as a wife.

Edna influenced my life in that she made me have my own sort of awakening; that I will also likely never escape the pressures that society places on being a woman. Although our oppression take different forms due to our differing time periods, the feeling of suffocation is quite similar. The expectations that women face today deal in ideal physical appearance and the idea that women should be perfect in every aspect. Women are expected to be thin-but not too thin, have flawless skin-but not be “fake” with makeup, be fashionable-but not “shallow” and care about fashion. All the expectations placed upon women are contradictory and impossible to achieve.

Even today, in 2014, women are jokes and never quite taken seriously. The interests that women are expected to have are considered trite and shallow and in the media it's typical that women who are interested in typical masculine hobbies or are more intellectual are presented as undesirable or, again, the butt of a joke. The areas of business that are considered a “woman's territory” are still headed by men. For instance, most fashion companies have men for CEO’s-despite fashion being one area that is centered mostly around women.

Some of the issues faced by Edna still exist today as well. When an art position opened up at my school a women who regularly acts as a substitute teacher applied, being assured by staff that she was practically guaranteed the position. During the interview the two men conducting it stated that they were concerned because she was at the age where many women have families-and were worried that she would require days off and become a financial burden to the school. This is obvious discrimination-especially since she was passed over for the position for a man-and proves that the belief that every women is expected to have children is still very relevant. Additionally, despite laws acting against this, in many areas women still get paid less than men do for the same work because of the paid time women are expected to take off in order to have children, maternity leave. Edna was forced into a loveless marriage where her sole purpose was to support her husband and make him look good and also to have and raise the children-which she had no interest in doing. Even today women struggle under this expectation.

Edna's struggle made me aware of the troubles faced by women and the effect these pressures have on women and how they act-oftentimes being something subconscious and going unnoticed by most, especially men. For instance, women-having that expectation of being flawless-often apologize for things they shouldn't have to. When providing help or giving an opinion it is often paired with an apology or a caveat of personal preference or experience. This insecurity and worry over being wrong is a reaction stemming from societal pressure. It's a sign that female self-confidence is constantly taking hits.

Because of my own personal variety of awakening I have worked to become more confident and inspire my fellow women to also become more confident. I suggest during conversation that women become as unapologetic as men and constantly reassure my peers that they are wonderful in any form they choose to take. Edna saw the only available solution to her oppression was to take her life via drowning. This inspired me to ensure this never becomes another woman's solution. Instead I would like to inspire women to learn to swim instead of drown.

Edna showed me the problem, but also inspired me to find my own solution; identifying the problem and fighting back is the first step I believe needs to be taken. Most of the oppression women face daily goes unnoticed by all, but if people can begin to see that sexism still exists in every facet of society then we can begin to fix this and women can cease drowning. Ignoring the expectations society places upon women and being true to myself and how I want to be is how I've decided to fight back. Calling out sexism and oppression when I see it and informing anyone I can are the first steps I've taken in order to change the world so that no one ever feels as helpless as Edna.