Awakening Vs. Greenleaf

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This development of the self only can be ended at death when the individual converges upon an Omega Point in which he has an elevated understanding of and meaning for life. The characters Edna from The Awakening and Mrs. May from ”Greenleaf” encounter a similar human development in which an individual is formed with an understanding of life. The means by which they achieve this differ greatly.
As the novel The Awakening opens, the reader sees Edna Pontellier as one who might seem to be a happy married woman living a secure, fulfilled life. It is quickly revealed, though, that she is deeply oppressed by a male dominated society, evident through her marriage to Leonce. Edna lives a controlled life in which there is no outlet for her to develop herself as the individual who she is. Her marriage to Leonce was more an act of rebellion from her parents than an act of love for Leonce. She cares for him and is fond of him, but had no real love for him. Edna’s inability to ...

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tries to control Mr. Greenleaf. Her placement of her property above human beings around her is evident through her ordering Mr. Greenleaf to shoot and kill the bull owned by his sons.
The carelessness of Mrs. May’s sons towards the welfare of the farm tears Mrs. May apart inside. She feels that she has slaved herself for the entirety of her life to provide for her sons and that they are being ungrateful by planning to life lives separate from the farm. Though she shows a form of love for her sons through her hard work, she is ultimately selfish in trying to enslave them to a life exactly the same as hers.
The way in which Mrs. May treats the Greenleafs shows a degree of elitism or ...

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