The Courageous Soul that Dares and Defies Naturalism in The Awakening

The Courageous Soul that Dares and Defies Naturalism in The Awakening Critic Donald Pizer understands literary naturalism as the artistic result of unremitting hardship, both personal and social. Taken one step further, literary naturalism laments humankind’s lot through its focus on characters that attempt to break free from their suffering, only to suffer more in the attempt. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"The Courageous Soul that Dares and Defies†: Naturalism in The Awakening specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A naturalist author, in Pizer’s mind, â€Å"grounds his fiction in the social realities of his historical moment and he therefore cannot help being especially responsive to social reality when that reality impinges cruelly on the fates of most men†¦[T]he naturalistic ethos, which views man as circumscribed by conditions of life over which he has no control, appears to be confirmed during periods of social malaise and individual hardship† (Pizer 153). Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is one such work. Set in turn of the century New Orleans, The Awakening details the futile attempts of the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, to realize a modicum of personal freedom amid the socially constrictive Victorian era, wherein the roles allowed to females consisted exclusively of wifedom and motherhood. Where the novel differs from other naturalist novels of its time, however, is in its treatment of the artist. This essay will show that The Awakening is best understood less so as an example of naturalist fiction and more so as a manifesto that highlights the intense social sacrifices that the pursuit of art demands. Chopin’s nod to naturalism in The Awakening focuses wholly on the conundrum of freedom faced by women like Edna, who long for personal freedom, yet feel biologically bound to their children, and unable to leave them as a result. In Pizer’s words, â€Å"though Edna may reject†¦the socially-constru cted role of a mothers total absorption in her children, she has not escaped the biologically essentialist act of giving birth to children and thus finding within herself the protective emotions of a mother† (Pizer 6). We see this especially toward the end of the novel, once Edna has struck out alone. Though for all intents and purposes she has achieved her aim – she is free of her husband and painting regularly – she suffers agony at the loss of her children. â€Å"It was with a wrench and pang that Edna left her children. She carried away with her the sound of their voices and the touch of their cheeks. All along the journey homeward their presence lingered with her like the memory of a delicious song† (Chopin 248).Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Critic Peter Ramos understands The Awakening as a â€Å"subtle but compelling critique o f†¦naturalism† (Ramos 148). Through Edna, says Ramos, Chopin â€Å"implies that in order for women like Edna to survive, the philosophical boundaries and consequences associated with these literary genres can and must be overcome. By†¦presenting women who seem to have a modicum of agency and autonomy, as well as a protagonist who mistakenly comes to believe that she has no say over her own fate, it undermines naturalisms claims of determinism† (Ramos 148). However, the more distinct means by which Chopin deviates from naturalism occurs through the character of Mademoiselle Reisz, a woman who has transcended biological determinism through the commitment to her art. The independence and sacrifice that Reisz the artist embodies stands in stark relief to Edna, the mother posing as an artist. Chopin’s novel states in no uncertain terms that there are two reasons why Edna fails and ends her own life: she cannot be alone, and she cannot move beyond her iden tify as a mother, expect through death. We see this most poignantly illustrated immediately before Edna’s suicide, when she imagines â€Å"the children appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered her and sought to drag her into the soul’s slavery for the rest of her days. But she knew a way to elude them† (Chopin 300). Similarly, Edna’s inability to truly embrace her art and simultaneously, her aloneness, appears in the following passage: â€Å"Despondency had come upon her there in the wakeful night, and had never lifted. There was no one thing in the world she desired. There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of existence, leaving her alone† (Chopin 300). Edna’s final thoughts envision the derision that Mademoiselle Reisz would heap upon her suicide, were she a witness to it.  "How Mademoiselle Reisz would have laughed, perhaps sneered, if she knew! â€Å"And you call yourself an artist! What pretensions, Madame! The artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and defies† (Chopin 302). Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"The Courageous Soul that Dares and Defies†: Naturalism in The Awakening specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Chopin’s message appears to be that though women such as Edna may delude themselves into thinking it is the fault of biology that they cannot strike out on their own, the true fault lies in their inability to free themselves from their identity as â€Å"mother-woman† (Chopin 19). In Chopin’s mind, it is Edna’s inability to fully embrace her art that keeps her at the mercy of patriarchal social restraints. In a similar vein as other turn of the century naturalist novels, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening â€Å"illumi nates the socio-economic and cultural realities women like Edna faced, as well as the physical desires and social needs society denied them† (Ramos 148). However, the novel diverges from the form in the relationship that develops between Edna and Mademoiselle Reisz, and through Reisz, Chopin delivers her ultimate message: the artist must accept the social consequences of her calling. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Herbert S. Stone Company, 1899. Print. Pizer, Donald. American Naturalism in Its Perfected State. The Theory and Practice of American Literary Naturalism. Southern Illinois University Press, 1993. 153-166. Web. Pizer, Donald. A Note on Kate Chopins The Awakening as Naturalistic Fiction. The Southern Literary Journal 33.2 (2001): 5-13. Web. Ramos, Peter. Unbearable Realism: Freedom, Ethics and Identity in The Awakening. College Literature 37.4 (2010): 145-152. 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The Role of Bells Theorem in Quantum Physics

The Role of Bells Theorem in Quantum Physics Bells Theorem was devised by Irish physicist John Stewart Bell (1928-1990) as a means of testing whether or not particles connected through quantum entanglement communicate information faster than the speed of light. Specifically, the theorem says that no theory of local hidden variables can account for all of the predictions of quantum mechanics. Bell proves this theorem through the creation of Bell inequalities, which are shown by experiment to be violated in quantum physics systems, thus proving that some idea at the heart of local hidden variables theories has to be false. The property which usually takes the fall is locality - the idea that no physical effects move faster than the ​speed of light. Quantum Entanglement In a situation where you have two particles, A and B, which are connected through quantum entanglement, then the properties of A and B are correlated. For example, the spin of A may be 1/2 and the spin of B may be -1/2, or vice versa. Quantum physics tells us that until a measurement is made, these particles are in a superposition of possible states. The spin of A is both 1/2 and -1/2. (See our article on the Schroedingers Cat thought experiment for more on this idea. This particular example with particles A and B is a variant of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, often called the EPR Paradox.) However, once you measure the spin of A, you know for sure the value of Bs spin without ever having to measure it directly. (If A has spin 1/2, then Bs spin has to be -1/2. If A has spin -1/2, then Bs spin has to be 1/2. There are no other alternatives.) The riddle at the heart of Bells Theorem is how that information gets communicated from particle A to particle B. Bells Theorem at Work John Stewart Bell originally proposed the idea for Bells Theorem in his 1964 paper On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox. In his analysis, he derived formulas called the Bell inequalities, which are probabilistic statements about how often the spin of particle A and particle B should correlate with each other if normal probability (as opposed to quantum entanglement) were working. These Bell inequalities are violated by quantum physics experiments, which means that one of his basic assumptions had to be false, and there were only two assumptions that fit the bill - either physical reality or locality was failing. To understand what this means, go back to the experiment described above. You measure particle As spin. There are two situations that could be the result - either particle B immediately has the opposite spin, or particle B is still in a superposition of states. If particle B is affected immediately by the measurement of particle A, then this means that the assumption of locality is violated. In other words, somehow a message got from particle A to particle B instantaneously, even though they can be separated by a great distance. This would mean that quantum mechanics displays the property of non-locality. If this instantaneous message (i.e., non-locality) doesnt take place, then the only other option is that particle B is still in a superposition of states. The measurement of particle Bs spin should, therefore, be completely independent of the measurement of particle A, and the Bell inequalities represent the percent of the time when the spins of A and B should be correlated in this situation. Experiments have overwhelmingly shown that the Bell inequalities are violated. The most common interpretation of this result is that the message between A and B is instantaneous. (The alternative would be to invalidate the physical reality of Bs spin.) Therefore, quantum mechanics seems to display non-locality. Note: This non-locality in quantum mechanics only relates to the specific information that is entangled between the two particles - the spin in the above example. The measurement of A cannot be used to instantly transmit any sort of other information to B at great distances, and no one observing B will be able to tell independently whether or not A was measured. Under the vast majority of interpretations by respected physicists, this does not allow communication faster than the speed of light.