The Metaphorical Lesbian in Chopin’s The Awakening Essay -- Chopin Awa

The Metaphorical lesbian in Chopins The changeIn The Metaphorical Lesbian Edna Pontellier in The Awakening Elizabeth LeBlanc asserts that the character Edna Pontellier is an exercise of what Bonnie Zimmerman calls the metaphorical homosexual. Its important to distinguish between Zimmermans concept of the metaphorical lesbian and lesbianism. The metaphorical lesbian does not keep to act on lesbian feelings or even become conscious(p) of herself as a lesbian. Instead, the metaphorical lesbian creates a space for woman-identified relationships and experiences in a heterosexually hegemonic environment.In LeBlancs words, I am suggestingthat the presence of lesbian motifs and manifestations in the text offers a little-explored position from which to examine the strategies and tactics by which Edna attempts to establish a subjective identity. (237) LeBlancs support for this analysis comes from a variety of sources including Adrienne Richs article Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Experience, Teresa de Lauretiss, Monique Wittigs and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks wor...