Intelligent investigations
Katie leydon
Investigation #1- Marriage in the Victorian Era
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In the Victorian Era, it was almost a requirement to get married. Husbands were allowed to be in complete control of their wives. Marriage was viewed as a convenience and people didn’t necessarily marry for love. A woman was not allowed to make her own living, so she submitted all of her property to her husband upon marriage. At this point, it was legal to beat up your wife and so was marital rape. Women were expected to be completely “pure” upon entrance into marriage, while men were not subjected to these ideals.
In The Awakening, Edna's unhappy marriage with Léonce is one of the major things that drives along the plot, making an understanding of marriage in this time period essential to a critical reading of The Awakening. I choose this topic because it is both interesting to compare marriage then to how it stands today as an institution and because it is integral to a complete understanding of the book.
In The Awakening, Edna's unhappy marriage with Léonce is one of the major things that drives along the plot, making an understanding of marriage in this time period essential to a critical reading of The Awakening. I choose this topic because it is both interesting to compare marriage then to how it stands today as an institution and because it is integral to a complete understanding of the book.
investigation #2- Creole culture in the Victorian era
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Creole culture centered on the city of New Orleans in the Victorian Era and still does. They often spoke a dialect of French and imported many things from France, including wines and clothing. Well-off creoles often attended balls, which were held twice a week. Marriages were usually kept between Creole families and were arranged between the fathers of the two potential spouses. Marriage was expected to occur before the age of 25 and marriages were very particular affairs. Most creoles were catholic and celebrated catholic holidays, such as Good Friday and Mardi Gras.
The Awakening is set in part, in New Orleans, a city renowned for its rich roots in Creole culture. Creole culture is vividly present throughout the book, as its characters frequently blurt out French phrases and sing French songs. The Creole culture is very open, which makes many of the conversations that take place in The Awakening possible. I chose this investigation because it gives a better perspective on the culture that the book takes place in and enriches the discussion surrounding the book through understanding.
The Awakening is set in part, in New Orleans, a city renowned for its rich roots in Creole culture. Creole culture is vividly present throughout the book, as its characters frequently blurt out French phrases and sing French songs. The Creole culture is very open, which makes many of the conversations that take place in The Awakening possible. I chose this investigation because it gives a better perspective on the culture that the book takes place in and enriches the discussion surrounding the book through understanding.
Investigation #3- Women's education in the Victorian era
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Women were not allowed to go to college in the Victorian Era and it was considered to be bad for their health. Women’s education was generally focused on more “refined” subjects that did not let them talk about any controversial topics. Their education mostly focused on subjects like history and literature. Early women’s education was focused on women’s colleges. The first women’s college established that was initially established for women’s higher education in the United States was Mount Holyoke College. Even then, their education was focused on feminine topics and were subject to strict rules about behavior.
For the plot of The Awakening to take place, Edna had to have no other option other than marriage to continue on in respected society. This is important to the book because one of the things that traps her is a lack of options and, if she had access to a career, then her life would have been drastically different. I chose this investigation because many girls are in our class and it is interesting to see how far society has advanced since the time of The Awakening.
For the plot of The Awakening to take place, Edna had to have no other option other than marriage to continue on in respected society. This is important to the book because one of the things that traps her is a lack of options and, if she had access to a career, then her life would have been drastically different. I chose this investigation because many girls are in our class and it is interesting to see how far society has advanced since the time of The Awakening.
INVESTIGATION #4- Women's Rights in 1899
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The Awakening was published in 1899, when women’s rights were in an entirely different place than they are today. This was 21 years before women’s suffrage was put into the Constitution, although some states allowed this earlier. (Wyoming is the first state to do this in 1869). This is only 50 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, which is commonly referred to as the start of the women’s rights movement in the United States. The first time suffrage was put into Congress up for a vote was in 1878 and was written by Susan B. Anthony, but was not put into place by 1919. This is significantly before the modern feminist movements like NOW and the passage of Title IX. This means that women had very few rights at the time and were not insured to have the same opportunities as men under law.
The Awakening is set in a very sexist society where women have very few rights, so it is important to realize where exactly the laws stood at the time The Awakening was published. I chose this because women's rights by law are important because they reflect the public morality of the time and show where the country stood ideologically.
The Awakening is set in a very sexist society where women have very few rights, so it is important to realize where exactly the laws stood at the time The Awakening was published. I chose this because women's rights by law are important because they reflect the public morality of the time and show where the country stood ideologically.
investigation #5- suicide
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In The Awakening, Edna committed suicide because of the tremendous societal pressures she was suffering from. In 1900, the suicide rate was at about 12 people per 100,000. In 1899, Le Suicide was published, which proposed that societal pressures were major contributors to driving people to commit suicide. This was revolutionary in the study of psychology and helped people understand why people commit suicide. In the US, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. South Korea consistently ranks as the country with the most suicides, at 24.7 people per every 100,000 people. Most people that commit suicide are male, mostly because men are more likely to use extremely lethal methods of committing suicide than women. However, the warning signs of suicide are highly detectable and suicide can often be prevented. These include increasing use of alcohol or drugs, extreme mood swings, talking about feeling hopeless, looking for a way to kill oneself, erratic sleeping patterns, feelings of isolation, extreme anger, giving prized possessions away, a sudden loss of interest in things they used to like, and feeling trapped. There are many suicide prevention hotlines, including special suicide hotlines for at-risk youth, such as The Trevor Project.