Option 2

- “Walk Around the Lake” by Lost in the Trees: The music goes between intense dramatic melodies to calm tones and it reminds me of the constant ebb and flow of Edna’s life.  The following lines from the song remind me of the peace Edna finds from both painting and of the water, “I paint a lake/Sometimes all it takes is a walk around the lake to ease your mind.” This song belongs in to the scene in chapter 10 when Edna lies in the hammock till the wee hours of the morning after a late night swim, “Edna began to feel like one who awakens gradually out of a dream, a delicious, grotesque, impossible dream, to feel again the realities pressing into her soul” (Chopin 31). Although her “walk around the lake” or late night swim did not ease her mind necessarily, it brought her some clarity.
http://www.lyricsmania.com/walk_around_the_lake_lyrics_lost_in_the_trees.html

- “Breathe of Life” by Florence and the Machine: This song reminds me so much of Enda’s last encounter with Robert, full of passion, uncertainty, hope, and the absolute need to feel life flowing through her veins again. The lyrics remind me of her struggle of fighting the constrains of her marriage to be with Robert as a free woman in chapter 36.  I suggest reading these lyrics because not just one line or stanza relates to the story, but almost the whole song, http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/florencethemachine/breathoflife.html. An excerpt of Robert’s dialogue in this chapter fits well with these lyrics: “Because you were not free; you were Leonce Pontelliar’s wife. I couldn’t help loving you if you were ten times his wife” (Chopin 102).

- “Only if for a Night” by Florence and the Machine: This song reminds me of the almost fairytale retreat Robert and Edna had at Cheniere. On page 36 of chapter 8, Edna was falling asleep, Robert’s voice one of the last things she heard as she drifted off into a deep sleep. When she awoke “her eyes were bright and wide awake and her face glowed” (Chopin 36), which connected to the almost surreal theme of the song. The lyrics “and the only solution was to stand and fight/And my body was bruised and I was set alight/But you came over me like some holy rite/And although I was burning, you're the only light/Only if for a night” remind me Edna fighting the societal norms and constrains of her marriage by escaping to this island with Robert, their desire for each other becoming more evident as the distance between them and Grand Isle increased—even if only for an evening.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/florencethemachine/onlyifforanight.html

- “What the Water Gave Me” by Florence and the Machine: This song to me should be playing during the final chapter (chapter 39) when Edna goes to the Gulf and ends up committing suicide. Her watery death connected to lyrics to the song, in my opinion: “So lay me down/Let the only sound/Be the overflow/Pockets full of stones,” “Cause she’s a cruel mistress/And a bargain must be made/But oh, my love, don’t forget me/When I let the water take me.” Previously in the novel, Edna described the water as seductive and maybe the “bargain” was her life for true freedom or a last defiance? The motivation and planning (or impulsiveness) of her suicide is not entirely clear to me. One of her last thoughts was of Robert (Chopin 109) and her infatuation/love of Robert combined her with need for attention connects to the lines “oh, my love, don’t forget me/when I let the water take me.”

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/florencethemachine/whatthewatergaveme.html

- “Never Let Me Go” by Florence and the Machine: This is another song that would fit really well to Edna’s last swim in the Gulf and suicide in chapter 39. The lyrics fit so perfectly with her peaceful mindset as she slipped away to death and our discussion in class of how Chopin was raised Catholic, so the suicide of a character in her book is shocking: “And it's peaceful in the deep/Cathedral where you cannot breathe/No need to pray, no need to speak/Now I am under all/ And it's breaking over me/A thousand miles down to the sea bed/Found the place to rest my head.” Also, that reminds me how Edna always wanted to swim far out and she was not praying or speaking in her last moments, just in deep thought. Also the lyrics “And the arms of the ocean are carrying me/And all this devotion was rushing out of me/In the crushes of heaven for a sinner like me/But the arms of the ocean delivered me” call forth Edna’s struggle with her mistakes but need for new adventures and internal quarrels with her own morals. Lastly, I think it’s important to pay close attention to these lyrics because I feel like it’s almost an explanation from Edna herself of her suicide, “Though the pressure's hard to take/It's the only way I can escape/It seems a heavy choice to make/And now I am under all/And it's over/And I'm going under/But I'm not giving up/I'm just giving in.” One of her last thoughts was “… it was too late; the shore was far behind her, and her strength was gone,” (Chopin 109). The pressures of society were too much but maybe was wasn’t giving up, but caving into her reality of never being able to live the life she desired and making one last defiant act?

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/florencethemachine/neverletmego.html

 

- “Bedroom Hymns” and “Cosmic Love” by Florence and the Machine would also make great selections! This particular artist just has dramatic melodies, a haunting voice, and intense, layered lyrics that remind me so much of Edna’s life and character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0EVEXX9kpk

Question 2

1)   I’m Every Woman – Whitney Houston

“Anything you want done baby I’ll do it naturally”

This line represents the expectation of women to do exactly as they are told and as their husbands ask. Adele Ratignolle is the best character example for this lyric. She is the prime example of an ideal southern housewife willing to do anything and everything her husband desires

2)   Unwritten – Natasha Bettingfields

The moral of the song unwritten is to let go of everything and live the life you want to live the way you want to live it. Your life is unwritten and you get to write it out the way you see fit. This is exactly what Edna Pontellier struggles with. Her life is basically written out the way everyone else wants it to be and she has no say on how she wants it to be written. She tries to set off on her own and figure out her own life but she unfortunately fails. On a different note, there are two lines in this song that parallel Edna’s rebellion throughout the novel:

“I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way”

Just like in the lyric, Edna has been conditioned to act and behave a certain way but she has found that she cannot sentence herself to that so she breaks the traditions and does things against the social norm.

3)   A New Day has Come – Celine Dion

“When it was dark now there’s light, where there was pain now there’s joy, were there was weakness I found my strength”

This song to me corresponds to the theme in The Awakening of sleep and wakefulness. “When it was dark now there’s light” is like when Edna finally found herself artistically and recreated herself. “Where there was pain now there’s joy” she is trying to let go of the pain from her past life and find joy in the new from becoming her own woman. “Where there was weakness I found my strength” Edna felt weak and powerless before she “found herself” and with that she has gained a new strength that she hopes will help her.

4)   This Time – Pia Toscano

The chorus of this song describes exactly how Edna feels as she tries to find herself and who she is other than what society has molded her and other women to be:

“This time I’m gonna do it my way, this time I’m finding out the hard way, this time I’m gonna go back to the girl I was on the night you found me. No more holding back the real me, just wait, in a minute you’ll see, this time, just in time, it’s my time getting back to the real me”

5)   Defying Gravity – Idina Menzel

The title itself tells of obvious defiance and defying the normal way of life which is what Edna’s whole goal is as shown in the lyrics:

“Something has changed within me, something is not the same. I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game”

“I’m through accepting limits ‘cause someone else says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but till I try, I’ll never know!”

Another part of The Awakening that is represented in the song Defying Gravity, is when Edna gives up on love and has an affair because of her confusion on her feelings for Robert. This is shown in two lines of the song:

“Too long I’ve been afraid of losing love I guess I’ve lost. Well if that’s love it comes at much too high a cost!”

The song is a dialogue between the Witch of the West, Elphaba, and her sister the Witch of the East, Galinda. Elphaba, like Edna, is wanting to rebel and defy the social norms that were put into place for her and other women while Galinda, like Adele, wants to stay with the way things are and is contempt with the rules that have been put into place for her.

Kelly Turnipseed Option 2

In Another’s Eyes by Garth Brooks
and Trisha Yearwood reminds me of the relationship between Edna Pontellier and
Robert Lebrun, that continues to progress throughout the novel. This song has
lyrics that say, “I’m afraid that I can’t see this picture perfect portrait
that they paint of me.” Constantly we see Edna being not the perfect
stereotypical “mother-woman” that her husband and society expects her to be. Edna
is in a rut, and she tells Robert, “It was you who awoke me last summer out of
a life-long, stupid dream.” (Chopin, pg. 103) This song reminds me of this
scene, where they profess their love for one another, because the song is about
wanting to be with someone else.

The Pontellier family isn’t exactly
your cookie-cutter, happy family. Mr. Pontellier makes it a priority to not let
everyone else see this, and wants people to think they are the perfect
high-class family. This is why I believe “Family Portrait” by Pink is a perfect
song for summing up the Pontellier family. Edna says she would “give up the
essential,” but would not give herself for her children. (Chopin, pg. 46)

“Welcome To My Life” by Simple Plan
represents Edna being hurt and misunderstood by everyone all the time. The
lyrics talk about being “stuck inside a world you hate” and “you might think I’m
happy” fit Edna perfectly. This also makes me think of the metaphorical bird
with a broken wing, representing Edna, because she is just trapped in a world
she can’t fly away from.

            “Fade to Black” by Metallica could be the theme song for the final scene of the novel,
when Edna commits suicide. The lyrics say “drifting farther every day,” similar
to how Edna drifts farther and farther out into the water, and how she moves
farther away from her family and friends every day. The song also says, “no one
but me can save myself.” Similarly, Edna’s thoughts are that Leonce and the children
“need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul.” (Chopin,
pg. 109) Edna does not want anyone thinking they can control her.

              “Miss. Independent” by Kelly Clarkson basically
sums up Edna’s personality in the song. She has an “out of my way” and unafraid
personality, just like it says in the song. The “Miss. Never let a man help her
off her throne” line in the song reminds me of when Edna sold her paintings and
bought a small house, so she wouldn’t still be using her husband’s money. This
just shows her independence, and how she doesn’t want to lean on a man for
help, even though it is how society was at the time.