Beginning of Essay
"You are the product of your environment." This statement is thought to be correct by a large number of people. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the heroine in each novel realizes the identity which society wishes t ....

Middle of Essay
.... a contract" (Wyatt 1). This law exhibits the attitude toward women in this time period. The code also goes on to state that women are the possessions of their husbands, and the male is in complete control over the family. Chopin hints at the idea of women as a possession in the first chapter. After coming in from the beach, Léonce Pontellier remarks to his wife, Edna, that she looks extremely sunburned in a way that "one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered from some damage" (Chopin 7). His comment has a perturbed feeling almost; he seems to be more concerned that his wife is imperfect, rather than for her discomfort fro ....