Awakening Vs. Greenleaf :: essays research papers

A strong critique by existentialist philosopher writers of modern society is the way in which human live un auditiond, purposeless lives with no true concept of what it is to be an unique someones. In Kate Chopins novel The waken and in Flannery OConnors short fiction Greenleaf the characters Edna and Mrs. May, respectively, begin almost as common, stock characters animateness unfulfilled lives. They lastly converge, however, upon an elevated biography and death filled with new meaning done their struggle with their role as individuals surrounded by other master(prenominal) beings. Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1948) believed that humankind follows a certain evolution of take heed and body. This process involves a beginning (komogenese), a development (biogenese), and then a peak (noogenese) in which humans reach an zed Point of higher(prenominal) being. Though his ideas were actually applied on a much broader home of humanity over a large timespan , the theory can be applied to the individuals process of human development. Single humans begin as common clones of one another. From this commonality many examine their lives and develop the things within them that make them uniquely them. This development of the self except 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 discord greatly. As the novel The Awakening opens, the reader sees Edna Pontellier as one who world power 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 d evelop 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 doting of him, but had no real love for him. Ednas inability to kindle the person inside her is also shown through her role as a mother-woman. She loves and cares for her children a great deal, but does not fit into the Creole mother-society in which other women baby and over protect their children.