Universität Bayreuth, WS 2005/6
Writing Gender: American Woman Writers

Astrological Approaches towards Understanding
Kate Chopin and Edna Pontellier

von: Christine Mayers

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Traits of the archetype Aquarius 4

3. Kate Chopin and Edna Pontellier- two women with an Aquarius soul  5

3.1 Kate Chopin - provocative, inspiring and ahead of her time 6
3.2 Edna Pontellier – rebelling, in-between and ahead of her time 8

3.2.1 Edna’s awakening  9
3.2.2 Edna in-between  11
3.2.3 Edna – not a “mother-woman”  11
3.2.4 Edna’s suicide  12

3.3 Edna – bridging distances 13

4. Kate Chopin and Edna Pontellier – seen through the lens of the Aquarius archetype 13

5. Conclusion 14

Works Cited 15
Primary source 15
Secondary source 15

1. Introduction

Although coldness dominates the month of February, the light lasts longer and becomes brighter each day. One draws hope because soon, the clanking frost will be melting. In nature the first plants budge pertly and the urge for action and the will for renewal become noticeable. At this time of the year when the sun enters the sign of Aquarius, Kate Chopin saw the light of day. Forty-nine years later, in 1899, her novel The Awakening is published. The book, in which the protagonist Edna Pontellier rebels against the social conventions of the Victorian society whereby women were solely seen as property of their husbands and mothers of their children, causes outrage among the great majority of readers and critics in America.
By challenging gender roles, Kate Chopin had entered virgin soil on a matter that was simple not to be questioned in Victorian society with its fixed rules. Edna Pontellier becomes an outsider by struggling to achieve independence, freedom and individuality for herself and her life. Chopin herself, not only by writing a novel like The Awakening, stood in many ways apart from the crowd, too. Her habits, point of views and appearance were unique and often provocative. Rebellion, independence and the pursuit of individuality are not only the central themes in The Awakening and in Kate Chopin’s life but also the central motives assigned to the archetype of the Aquarius, the “water carrier.”
This term paper aims at providing an approach towards understanding Kate Chopin and Edna Pontellier by considering the influence of the sign of Aquarius and by examining to what extent its nature can be found in their lives as mothers, wives and human beings. Before taking a closer look at the person Kate Chopin and her life in Clouterville and St. Louis, the traits of the “water carrier” will be described. Being familiar with them is the condition for gaining an understanding of Chopin’s and Edna’s motivations not only from the conventional point of view, but also from an astrological one. After Chopin, the protagonist Edna Pontellier will be examined in various aspects. The impression might arise that Kate Chopin and the character of Edna she created share the same attitudes and philosophy of life. The last part of this paper will show in what respects this is true, but also covers in what way each of them presents their inner beliefs to the outer world.

2. Traits of the archetype Aquarius

According to Starsky and Cox¹, the Aquarius woman goes back to the classical archetype of the Goddess of Renewal who descends heaven in order to unite with the mortals. In the Holy Bible it is Salome. On a rainbow she performs the dance of the seven veils, an imitation of the Goddess’s descent over the rainbow. The rainbow represents a bridge between heaven and earth, serving to convey divine messages. Like a rainbow, the Aquarius woman tries to bridge distances, provides positive strength and is considered a source of inspiration. The Aquarius demands a significant amount of freedom and wide open spaces in order to develop full potential. Independence is the key word. It is what she² needs in order to give consideration to her ideals and to develop ideas and concepts which she adjusts her life to.
The planet Uranus, called after the God of the Universe, is the ruler of the Aquarius archetype. He signalizes the destruction of petty structures and the emergence of entire new waves of thoughts. Like Uranus, the Aquarius embodies sudden changes that cause her to be unpredictable in nature. Her mind never rests and is often hit by sudden flashes of ideas and insights which she pursuits with discipline and endurance until she has succeeded to provide humanity with them; because this is what she is mainly aiming at: serving humanity with scientific discoveries, inventions and wisdom to enrich society and moreover, to encourage society to constantly develop further.
Although her intentions are truly humane, her ideals, however, are often ahead of their time and collide with the reality of human nature which can neither be exclusively explained nor governed by ideals. As Liz Greene³ rightly states, there cannot be any progress without ideals, however, the anchoring of ideas needs time, flexibility and sensitiveness; abilities that seem difficult to accomplish for the Aquarius soul. Not seldom, it takes years or centuries until her ideas and inventions are acknowledged and accepted by society and it is then when one comes to appreciate the farsightedness of a non-conforming character.

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1 Cox, Quinn and Starsky, Stella: Sextrology. München: Goldmann, 2006. 577-578.

2 „she“ refers to the Aquarius woman

3 Greene, Liz: Sag mir dein Sternzeichen, und ich sage dir wer du bist. München: Knaur, 2000. 190.