The Awakening as an Allegory of Existentialism Essay

The Awakening as an Allegory of Existentialism Kate Chopins The Awakening as the title suggests is just that†¹the story of a young womans awakening to life. Even though it is a work of fiction, the character of Edna undergoes such a radical change one cannot ignore the psychological depth of the work. The story could almost be seen as a case study. In order to analyze the work psychologically, it is important to decide which psychological framework to use. I chose the critic Cynthia Wolff who uses a Freudian framework for analysis. Wolff feels that Ednas problems are a result of oral conflicts, while I see the work as more of an allegory of existentialism, and Ednas problems are a result of a lack of Being.†¦show more content†¦Most people pass through this stage without any conflict, and this allows them to move on to the formation of a more complex self. Wolff believes that Ednas central problem once the hidden self begins to exert its inexorable power, is that her libidinal appetite has been fixated at the oral level (Wolff 232), meaning that on some level she has begun to move beyond the oral stage. The first evidence we have of this is when she kisses Arobin. This is an act of fulfillment on the genital level. Edna has recognized her libidinal needs, but this does not seem to give her the satisfaction she craves. This longing is not a desire for a particular man, but the presence of the beloved (Wolff 233). She recognizes an emptiness within her and like anyone else has a strong need to fill it. Edna tries to satisfy this new sensation of emptiness, but she is not sure what it is that needs to be satisfied. There is a void that has begun to open up in her life, and she tries several ways of filling it. She attempts to go back to painting, she moves out of her house and even has an affair. Her painting is still an attempt at internalizing the world around her: Ednas painting might offer her an excellent and viable mode for coming to terms with the insistent demands of cosmic yearning. For one thing, it utilizes in an effective way her habit of