Edna Pontellier's Interpretation Of The Awakening

Edna reassesses her spirit more and more as the novel proceeds, with her finally reaching the maxim when committing suicide. At the beginning of the novel she is completely

The final reason for Edna’s escape from her troublesome life is the failure of her relationship with Robert. Edna was able to find some form of escape through her desire and hope of being with Robert, but when those plans fell through Edna feels as if she has nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for in life. Robert realizes that he and Edna will never be able to have a true

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, two people who have the ultimate influence on Edna are Mademoiselle Reisz, and Robert Lebrun.

Deeper into Edna’s alternate personality, she begins to realize how much positive has come from the new Edna. When the Doctor and Edna finally get to meet, the Doctor talks with Edna in hopes of changing her back to the stereotypical wife Mr. Pontellier wants her to be. In the conversation between the two, Edna says, "The years that are gone seem like dreams--if one might go on sleeping and dreaming--but to wake up and find--oh! well! Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life" (Choppin 38). Edna is praising herself for being one of the few women who have been able to be a realist, and for not letting illusions pull her into a fantasy life. She believes it is better for one to live aware and conscious to the world around one’s self. This being a new way of looking at life at the time, especially for a woman. While there are many positive changes that are present in Edna’s life due to her recent awakening, there are some negatives as well. There are days where Edna feels as if she understands the world and everything within it. But then there are days where Edna feels utterly alone. Edna’s thoughts are expressed, in which she says, “There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why—when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead...She could not work on such a day, nor weave fancies to stir her pulses and warm her blood” (Choppin 19). Edna expresses that she feels what appears to be a depressed mood at time, due to the life she has become awakened to. It is a confusing sadness that she does not know how to explain, completely countering the days of pure happiness that she often feels. Thus showing the change in Edna’s psychological views are apparent, and bring both happy, understandable thoughts, as well as

Whether coerced or through self realizations, there were many awakenings in the book. The first was that Edna was not the traditional mother like Adèle, the second was that she enjoyed doing things for herself instead of for her children and husband. This second awakening is shown when Edna takes time to talk

Edna’s awakening was the beginning to her suicide. As Edna realized her capacity to be honest with herself, the old Edna began to die. Edna slowly started to realize she did not want to be like other women, whom “idolized their children, worshiped their

Though it was uncommon during the 1800’s, some women didn’t want to assume the traditional role of a typical Victorian lady. Such is the case in Kate Chopin 's The Awakening; she introduces us to Edna Pontellier a mother and wife during the said era. Throughout the story, we follow Edna 's journey of self-discovery and self-expression through emotions, art, and sex thanks to the help of people she meets along the way. Chopin decides to end the book with Edna’s suicide in an attempt to convey a sense of liberation from her repressed life, but was the reasoning behind her suicide what everyone else thinks? Consequently, this said journey took me along for the ride, and I had no complaints. As Edna figured out who she was, I felt as if I was

    "How do you honor the deepest truth you know?" --Ram Das        In order to honor one's deepest truth, one must first discover what that truth is and then apply that truth to everyday life.  The life of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening signifies the search, discovery, and application of an individual's deepest truth.  Edna, a wealthy New Orleans housewife, at first attempts to find the deepest truth about herself by conforming to society's norms.  She marries a well-respected man, Leonce, and bears him children.  However, Edna discovers that she wants more out of life; something about her marriage is not allowing her to achieve fulfillment.  Through her relationships,

She is moved by music. During that summer Edna sketches to find an artistic side to herself. She needs an outlet to express who she is. Edna feels that art is important and adds meaning to her life. After the summer is over and they are back to the city and Edna is a changed woman. She makes many steps towards independence. She stops holding "Tuesday socials", she sends her children to live in the country with their grandparents, she refuses to travel abroad with her husband, she moves out of the Lebrun house on Esplanade Street, and to earn money, she starts selling her sketches and betting the horses. She also starts a relationship with another man Alcee Arobin. He meant nothing to her emotionally but she used him for sexual pleasure. Edna evolved above her peers she did not believe that sexuality and motherhood had to be linked. The last step of her "awakening" is the realization that she can not fulfill her life in a society that will not allow her to be a person and a mother. Edna commits suicide in the ocean at Grand Isle.

The remaining question for the reader is: Does Edna's suicide show that she succeeded or failed in her struggle for independence?

Edna Pontellier is a woman of great needs. Although she has a husband who cares for her and two children, she is very unhappy. She plays her roles as a mother and wife often, but still keeps doing things unmarried, barren women should do: enjoy the company of other men, ignore her children's cries, dress unladylike for the times. The story is set in the late 1800's, when women were to be in the kitchen preparing a meal for their family, giving birth to more children to help with daily chores, or sitting quietly at home, teaching the children while the husband was at work. Edna Pontellier was a woman not of her time. At only 28, she would have rather been out gallivanting with different men, traveling with them, and painting

Alexander Partridge English IV Ms. Schroeder 3 January 2017 In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, undergoes enormous mental and emotional change. From the beginning of the novel to the end, Edna is in the constant state of a shifting psyche. In the novel Edna experiences three things that impact her mental state: her feeling of solidarity, her longing for independence, and her spiritual awakening.

When Edna discovers that individualism is a personal choice, she realizes that she can choose Robert as her love without feeling guilty about it. When she reveals this to herself, she starts to have an uplifting moment of her self-esteem and self-confidence. Therefore, her decisions are based on more of her emotions and not so much about fitting in or making the people around her happy. She realizes that her happiness matters and she doesn’t need to sacrifice it to please others, which to her is an unworthy reason to make herself miserable. When she chooses Robert, she rises above the standards society puts on her.

Due to the restrictions put on Edna not only by her husband’s dedication to appearance, but by the society that encourages women to be viewed almost as property in a marriage instead of an equal participant in the relationship, Edna grows increasingly dissatisfied with her lifestyle, and feels as if she has been living two separate lives. The reader can sense this duality within Edna, even before she meets Robert leading the reader to believe that while the affair was the lynchpin for her awakening, there was always some dissatisfaction with her role in society. Chopin illustrates this when she describes Edna’s duality, stating: “Even as a child, she had lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended

Edna committed suicide because there was no other way out. She did not fit into society. Her thoughts and emotions were not the same as the thoughts and emotions of the other women of this time. Edna committed suicide so that she could be reborn in