Evaluation of Kathleen Streater free essay sample

Kathleen M. Streater is author of the article â€Å"Adele Ratignolle: Kate Chopin’s Feminist at Home in The Awakening† which was published in the peer reviewed journal, The Midwest Quarterly. After doing an extensive search of Streater’s background, it does not appear she has written any other articles. Although not an expert on the subject of Chopin, Streater makes a unique and convincing argument in her article. She uses expert quotes to bolster her position that â€Å"to focus solely on Edna’s radical feminism is to limit Chopin’s exploration of feminism itself† (409). This argument is unique, as the author describes, because many critics dismiss Adele all together as a feminist. Chopin’s depiction of Adele as a â€Å"mother-woman† muddies the water because to â€Å"become a wife and mother is, on some level, to capitulate one’s self to patriarchal systems† (406). Streater makes her purpose clear, in that she seeks to persuade academia to take a critical look at Adele Ratignolle’s â€Å"quiet revolution† against the patriarchal constructs of the day (409). We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Kathleen Streater or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Streater strives to show that Chopin contrasts Edna’s radical feminism with a more livable form in Adele. Streater admits that Adele’s feminism is easily overlooked. However, the author asserts that because Adele â€Å"lives to tell the tale,† Chopin â€Å"offers an affirmation of feminist possibilities† through her (406). Streater begins to build her case for Adele as a feminist by showing that the over the top description of Adele as â€Å"mother-woman† should be viewed with skepticism. She notes that Ruth Sullivan and Stewart Smith see the narrator’s break in â€Å"grand assertions† about Adele as untrustworthy which therefore â€Å"suggests an ironic stance exists behind the narrator’s admiration† (407). She continues by stating that â€Å"This exaggerated description at once captures, and mocks, the idealized patriarchal role of mother-as-saint† (407). Streater attempts to show the reader that even though Adele is the embodiment of mother-woman, she uses it to her advantage. The author sites several examples of Adele’s function within and use of patriarchal society to her advantage to support her assertion that Adele, is in fact, â€Å"Kate Chopin’s feminist at home† (406). She gives examples of two episodes where Adele uses feelings of weakness as a means to an end. Streater duly notes that â€Å"these moments have the taint of feminine wiles about them† yet, dismisses them as such because of her past sexualized conversations with Robert which â€Å"suggests a hint of femme fatale† (408). The author attempts to win the reader over by giving evidence of Adele’s distortion of motherhood. She does this by showing that Adele continues to â€Å"exude her sexuality in her pregnant state,† which significantly goes against the patriarchal idea that â€Å"the institution of motherhood demands the suppression of a woman’s sexuality† (409). Streater points out that Adele’s actions throughout the book support the gender role she is assigned. Yet, she calls the reader to look beyond that to the â€Å"assertive, bold identity that can barely suppress a knowing wink to the conventional demands of her society† (410). Streater adeptly gets to the heart of the matter by tempting the reader to identify with Adele rather than Edna. Streater wants her audience to see that most of Chopin’s readers’ lives will â€Å"more closely resemble Adele’s domestic situation, not Edna’s path of rejection. . . † (411). Her attempt to personalize Adele’s struggle is largely successful because she causes Adele’s actions and attitude to seem â€Å"realistic, reassuring, and affirming,† which at once pulls at the readers’ reason and emotion (411). Streater seeks to establish the significance of Edna’s rejection of Adele as a feminist role model by alluding to the fact that at least some of Edna’s issues stem from the absence of her mother. Streater examines the idea that Edna is incapable of viewing female roles in society appropriately because her ideals are â€Å"at the mercy of ‘masculine storylines’† (412). Streater appeals to her readers to not only see the significance a mother’s influence can have, but also to not be blinded, like Edna, to Adele’s â€Å"authentic feminist potential† (412). Streater states that Chopin alludes to â€Å"Adele’s potential power as a woman and as a mother† (414). Yet, Edna is unable to â€Å"claim any feminine power under patriarchy,† and she ultimately rejects her own life as a woman (414). The comparison of Adele’s triumph in childbirth to Edna’s escape from life at the hands of the â€Å"maternal sea,† is a poignant conclusion to Streater’s argument. Overall, Streater succeeds in her attempt to cast Adele as a more livable alternative to Edna’s radical feminism. She does so not only through a thorough, logical examination of Chopin’s more subtle literary nuances, but also by appealing to the reader’s empathy and emotion. Her measured tone and persuasive style are not overbearing. Streater skillfully pulls Adele’s understated feminism to the surface, allowing Chopin’s work to speak for itself.