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Literature Videos 289 videos

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1984
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The Awakening 28744 Views


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Description:

Dig up your trench coat, grab your magnifying glass, and stick on that fake mustache (we know you have one): it's time to unleash your inner Sherlock Holmes and analyze the ending of The Awakening . Was it suicide? Or was it an accident?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:01

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin <Sho-pan>, a la Shmoop.

00:11

Everybody makes mistakes. And sometimes, they’re a good way to learn stuff, like not to put

00:19

the car into reverse when you’re on the freeway…

00:21

…and the importance of putting down your coffee cup before checking your watch.

00:23

Then there’s the self-sabotage. The haircut you gave yourself before school picture day.

00:27

Or the study session you blew off so you could unlock the next level of Call of Duty.

00:31

Sure, the outcome wasn’t great, but it was definitely a product of your decision.

00:32

Usually, we emerge from our misadventures unscathed, and ready to screw up another day.

00:33

Ain't life grand? In Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, feisty

00:36

heroine Edna is having a rough time adjusting to life as an independent woman.

00:42

She finally managed to ditch her husband and score a hottie bad boy. She’s even starting

00:48

to make a name for herself as a painter.

00:54

But then her "hear me roar" philosophy scares away the man she really wants…

00:59

…and she starts getting visits from the Guilt Fairy.

01:07

Edna's next move is to make a grand exit by drowning in the ocean.

01:11

Sure, she's a drama queen, but is this really the ending she intended? Was Edna's drowning

01:16

a suicide… or an accident? There are some pretty substantial arguments

01:21

for the "oopsie" theory.

01:21

Edna isn't exactly in a “safety first” mindset at this point. She's heartbroken and

01:22

freaking out about the future…not the best time for a little dip!

01:24

Sure, Edna’s a pretty moody gal, but she's got a lot to look forward to. She's finding

01:29

buyers for her paintings, and she has a pretty sweet bachelorette pad.

01:37

She's even making plans to bring home a couple rebound boyfriends. Why would Edna deliberately

01:43

end it all when she is finally achieving her goals?

01:47

Or, maybe Edna’s swan song is really an attempt to push the envelope.

01:53

Her friend Mademoiselle Reisz <Rice> tells her that, to succeed, she must become a "courageous

01:59

soul that dares and defies." In other words, art isn’t for wimps.

02:05

So how does Edna raise the shock factor after having two affairs and sort of leaving her

02:11

husband? Well, nothing says “I’m a risk-taker” quite like skinny-dipping in broad daylight.

02:17

The problem is, Edna is no Michael Phelps. She might be setting a personal record by

02:18

swimming farther than she has before…

02:18

…but by the end of the book, it’s “Ocean:1, Edna: 0.”

02:20

But what if Edna really did go on a suicide swim? She doesn’t have 99 problems, but

02:23

she’s got a few really big ones.

02:25

The early 1900s weren’t exactly about bra-burning and free love…

02:28

…and Edna’s behavior may have serious consequences.

02:33

If the news of her affairs ever went… viral, Edna’s husband could easily make sure she

02:38

never saw her children again.

02:40

There are also risks to her social life. Edna’s best friend, Adele, tells Edna to dump her

02:42

man-candy, or she’ll be flying solo for the next girl’s night out.

02:42

Even Edna’s crush is too chicken to handle a steamy affair... he'd rather make an honest

02:42

woman of her.

02:42

Edna has to choose between free life as an outcast and caged life as a man’s property,

02:49

and maybe that’s a decision she doesn’t want to make.

02:52

So what’s the verdict in this episode of CSI: New Orleans:

02:58

Accident…

02:59

…or suicide? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

03:08

 

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