FREE ESSAY ON KATE CHOPIN ATHENAISE

KATE CHOPIN ATHENAISE

In the story Athenaise, Chopin portrayal of the character Cazeau is almost a direct
reflection of the character Karol Karol from the film White. Both men love their
respective wives deeply, but they also realize that their wives do not feel the same.
These men have to struggle with the inner turmoil of letting go of the women they love.
In the film White, the director portrayed the change in Karol Karol through the use of
flashbacks. Kieslowski uses flashbacks to show us Karol's past. This is done many times
throughout the film; the audience saw Karol Karol reflect back to his wedding day as he
walked up the steps of the court house on his way to his divorce hearing. This flashback
was interrupted when a bird relieved himself on Karol Karol; the author used the bird as
a subtle kickback to reality. Kieslowski uses this method many more times in the duration
of the film, and as a result he shows the importance of Karol Karol letting go of his
wife.
Chopin also used flashbacks to show us the change in Cazeau. The character Cazeau is in
love with Athenaise, but she like Karol's wife Dominique does not feel the same about
Cazeau. Athenaise ran away to her parents house, and Cazeau followed her determined to
take her home with him. The flashback occurred on their trip home. Cazeau and Athenaise
passed an oak tree on their journey, and this tree triggered the flashback. Cazeau upon
seeing this tree recalled a memory of when he and his father were returning a runaway
slave to their home. This memory caused Cazeau to feel as if he were treating Athenaise
as a slave. The author used the flashback of Cazeau's youth to make the character realize
the importance of freeing his wife.
Both, Chopin and Kieslowski used flashback as a tool to bring about a change in both
Karol Karol and Cazeau. In both stories the husbands loved their wives, but upon
remembering a event of their past the husbands both felt that for all to be happy it
would be best for them to let go of their love. There is a strong similarity between the
way both characters went through their change, and also in the change that occurred.