Comparative Study: The Awakening and The Beloved

Type :

School essay

Pages :

3 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

08/03/2007

Category :

Philosophy & literature

Sub category :

Literature

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Summary :

Introduction
Mothers: Children as background vs. possessions
1. The attitudes of Edna and Sethe towards their children
2. What does the treatment of children say about the characters' gender identity?
Lovers: Wives vs. not wives
1. A series of romantic relationships with men
2. Sethe's failure at being able to marry her husband legally
3. Distinct differences in the ways the two authors portray their characters' sexual aspects
Workers: Artists vs. laborers
1. Adding a facet to their identities
2. Sethe: Work is necessary for survival
Conclusion

Abstract

This is a study of two books, The awakening by Kate Chopin and beloved by Toni Morrison. Both authors are women, and the main characters in their novels are also women. However, Chopin is writing from the nineteenth century about the nineteenth century, while Morrison is a modern author looking back at that century. This difference provides two unique views of gender roles in the nineteenth century. Morrison's novel adds the extra variable of race as well. What follows is a comparison of how the two novels portray their heroines as mothers, lovers, and workers.