The Southern Quarterly,
vol. XXXIII, 1 (Fall 1994), p. 27--31.
Anne Foata
Aphrodite Redux : Edna Pontellier's dilemma in Kate
Chopin's The Awakening
Abstract.
This short essay is inspired by Sandra Gilbert's 1983 Kenyon Review article
on Kate Chopin's novel. In her depiction of the character of Edna
Pontellier as Aphrodite, Gilbert failed to emphasize the dual nature of the
goddess of Love and of ``erotic'' desire. By awaking to the flesh, Edna does
indeed sacrifice to the demands of Aphrodite Pandemos, but her true yearning is
for Aphrodite Urania, the goddess of a higher form of Love that transcends
carnal lust and is akin to the all-inclusive Eros of Socrates' encomium in
Plato's Symposium. Edna's epiphany on Grand Isle is the
revelation of the Absolute which no mortal can face and which ordains the
novel's dénouement.
anne2.foata@wanadoo.fr
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