Kate Chopin Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Catherine Morgan-Proux

Critical Essay by Catherine Morgan-Proux

SOURCE: Morgan-Proux, Catherine. “Athena of Goose? Kate Chopin's Ironical Treatment of Motherhood in ‘Athénaïse.’” Southern Studies 4, no. 4 (winter 1993): 625-40.

In the following essay, Morgan-Proux argues that Chopin's apparent glorification of childbirth and motherhood in the story “Athénaïse” is ironic.

When Edna Pontellier leaves the childbirth scene in the penultimate chapter of The Awakening, stunned by the “scene of torture” that she has just witnessed, Doctor Mandelet articulates her thoughts: “Youth is given up to illusions. It seems to be a provision of Nature; a decoy to secure mothers for the race.”(996)¹ He could not have described Athénaïse more accurately. My challenge in this paper is to demonstrate how, contrary to prevailing critical views, the apparent glorification of motherhood in the short story “Athénaïse” is pure irony. Edna's lucidity at the end of The Awakening is a striking contrast to what we see as Athénaïse's self-delusions, but the...
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