摘要

艾德娜是19世纪美国女权主义作家肖邦的传世之作《觉醒》中的女主人公。她不甘扮演贤妻良母的角色，欲摆脱男权统治，寻求独立于自我。面对强大的阻力，在无法实现理想时，艾德娜义无反顾地走向大海，以生命为代价维护自由。
凯特肖邦的《觉醒》自1899年第一次出版以来，由于其大胆的性意识描写和反父权制的女性主义意识而在评论界倍受争议。本文首先对国内外相关文学评论进行了梳理，在此基础上提出了自己的观点。以艾德娜自我意识的发展和生存状态为考察对象，从女性主义视角解读这部作品，旨在挖掘导致主人公觉醒的因素，并对主人公的觉醒进行剖析，进而揭示主人公找回自己、忠实自我的价值和勇气。

关键词：《觉醒》， 艾德娜 ，女性主义， 自我意识

ABSTRACT

Edna is the heroine of The Awakening, the masterpieces written by 19th century American feminist writer Kate Chopin. She was unwilling to play the role of good wife and mother, and she wants to break away from male domination, to seek independent self. When she faces the strong resistances, and her dream can not be achieved, Edna walks towards the sea without hesitation, and maintains her freedom in the cost of life.
Since it published in 1899, The Awakening remains unread for sixty years for its feminist theme and descriptions of female sexual need. This paper analyzes Edna Pontellier’s quest for self, and aims to conduct a brief analysis of the factors which result in Edna’s awakenings and also to present Edna’s awakenings in an all-round perspective. And these things lead Edna both to self-actualization and urgency of remaining true to authentic individuality.

Key words: The Awakening, Edna, feminism, selfhood
 
1  Introduction
1.1 Kate Chopin and her novel The Awakening
Kate Chopin (born Katherine O'Flaherty February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels. She is now considered to have been a forerunner of feminist authors of the 20th century. From 1892 to 1895, she wrote short stories for both children and adults which were published in the magazines as Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, the Century, and Harper's Youth's Companion. Kate Chopin was regarded as a great local color writer for her two famous collections of short stories: “Bayou Folk”(1894) and “A Night in Acadie”(1897), which established her American reputation. Her important short stories included "Desiree's Baby," a tale of miscegenation in antebellum Louisiana (published in 1893);"The Story of an Hour" (1894), and "The Storm "(1898)."The Storm" is a sequel to "The 'Cadian Ball," which appeared in her first collection of short stories, “Bayou Folk”. Chopin also wrote two novels: At Fault (1890) and The Awakening (1899), which are set in New Orleans and Grand Isle, respectively. The people in her stories are usually inhabitants of Louisiana. Many of her works are set in Natchitoches in north central Louisiana.