Themes and fate in The Awakening and Madame Bovary Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary are both tales of women outraged by their domestic situations; the stark differences between the two books can be found in the authors' unique tones. Both authors weave similar themes into their writings such as escape from the monotony of domestic life, dissatisfaction with marital expectations, and suicide. References to "destiny" abound in both works. In The Awakening, Chopin uses fate to represent the expectations of Edna Pontellier's aristocratic society. Flaubert uses "fate" to describe his characters' compulsive methods of dealing with their guilt and rejecting personal responsibility. Both authors, however, seem to believe that it is fate that oppresses these women; their creators see them subjectively, as if they were products of their respective environments. Chopin portrays Edna as an object, and she is only given the same respect as a possession. Edna's husband sees her and looks at "...his wife as one would look at a piece of personal value that has suffered some damage." (P 2: The Awakening) Chopin foils their marriage to that of the Ratignolles who "...understood each other perfectly". He makes the classic mistake of comparing the inside of one with the outside of the other when he thinks: "If ever the fusion of two human beings into one was accomplished in this sphere, it was surely in their union." (P 56: The Awakening) This sets the stage for her unhappiness, providing a point of contrast for her despondent marriage to Mr. Pontellier. She blames their marriage for their unhappiness stating that, "...a marriage is one of......middle of paper......eaten UP, 1969. 881-1000.Delbanco, Andrew." The Half-Life of Edna Pontellier." New essays on the woke. Ed. Wendy Martin. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988. 89-106. Gilmore, Michael T. "Revolt against nature: the problematic modernism of the woke." Martin 59 -84.Giorcelli, Cristina. “The Wisdom of Edna: A Transient and Numinous Fusion.” Martin, Wendy, ed. Cambridge UP, 1988. Papke, Mary E. Verging on the Abyss: The Social Fiction by Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton, CT: Greenwood, 1990.Seyersted, For Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography: Louisiana State UP, 1969.Showalter, Elaine: The Awakening as a Lonely Book.” Martin 33-55. Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. Boston: Twayne, 1985.