The Oppression of the Individual in Kate Chopin’s and Edith Wharton’s Late 19th Century America
The timing of the release of these historical novels and their settings become quite important when reflecting the minute characteristics of American society at the time. The Awakening was released in 1899, in which the same time was portrayed in the actual story; therefore, it can be relatively assured the setting is as accurate as possible. In contrast, Wharton’s The Age of Innocence was written almost 50 years after the time period in the piece: the novel’s plotline is based in the 1870s, while it was released on the eve of the roaring 1920s. Although this might bring some inconsistencies, it should not take from the overall effect of the novel, for Wharton was alive during the time in which Newland Archer lived. Furthermore, there stands another substantial difference in the settings – the specific location of the novel. Wharton’s world is based in New York City, though it does spread across the Eastern seaboard of the United States; however, The Awakening bases itself in America’s Deep South, mostly on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Although basing an American novel in the French Quarter seems controversial, Edna, Chopin’s protagonist, represents a true born-and-bred American hailing from the bluegrass state of Kentucky and thus, reflects all of America’s social tendencies.
More notable than the settings of these novels are the authors themselves, for their backgrounds certainly affect their writing when it comes to the social aspect of these novels. Wharton and Chopin lived completely different lives: the former under a stifling one, the latter in one surrounded by unique circumstances and situations. Born in 1862, Wharton matured in an opulent environment where rules and structure were vital to the function of society. Later in her life, she married Edward Wharton, with whom she had a shaky relationship and she...