Essay On Edna Pontellier's Suicide In The Awakening

In the opening scene Chopin introduces “a green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door” and speaks a “language which nobody understood…” (1). This caged bird is used as a symbol for Edna. The parrot speaks in a foreign language, revealing how Edna feels misunderstood by society due to the differing expectations of Edna’s role. Her friends and family expect Edna to be the perfect mother, devoting all of her time to her children. They are not able to comprehend Edna’s rejection towards her role as a mother, her husband even calling upon the doctor. Yet while the parrot is kept captive by the cage, Edna is bound by her children. The parrot “suggests her feeling of being trapped by traditions” (Schraufnagel 1). The tradition that all women during this time period were to become mothers is what has enslaved Edna. In contrast, Edna’s husband has “the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining” (Chopin 1). In this case, the birds represent Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier’s two children. Mr. Pontellier often leaves his children behind as he goes on business trips or to the club, yet expects Edna to take care of the children at all times. Because of biology, Edna is not afforded the luxury of freedom that her husband has. Mr. Pontellier is a fine husband and he treats Edna well. Yet because of the freedom he has that Edna does not possess, he

In The Awakening, Kate Chopin ends the novel in a vastly different way than most authors would have at that time with her main character, Edna Pontellier, committing suicide by drowning herself. If one were to isolate this ending without any context whatsoever, it would feel tragic and depressing; however, the events leading up to her death actually explains to the readers her spiritual reassessment and moral reconciliation, both of which being themes significant to the book as a whole.

In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin portrays an image where someone shifts from one phase to another one. We find the protagonist go through a shift from patriarchy to feminist resistance. As this story continues to unfold, Edna goes through feminist resistance where she doesn’t want to still rely on her husband anymore and want to live by her own rules. Edna Pontellier’s “awakening” takes place in Grand Isle and New Orleans during the late 1800s. It is an important factor of the book because during this time period women were fighting for their rights. Usually before this time, women would only stay home and follow the orders of their husbands. Women during this time period needed to stay home and care for the house and the children. They always had to live for their children almost are like a slave to their husband. Women would be often seen as a property and not an actual human being. In this novel, we find restrains at the beginning and later see the shift to wanting freedom of expression.

In The Awakening, Kate Chopin creates a protagonist that clearly demonstrates a feminist. The protagonist, Edna Pontellier seeks more from life than what she is living and starts to refuse the standards of the society she lives in. Edna has many moments of awakening resulting in creating a new person for herself. She starts to see the life of freedom and individuality she wants to live. The Awakening encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain freedom and choose individuality over conformity. Chopin creates a feminist story that shows a transformation from an obedient “mother-woman” to a woman who is willing to sacrifice her old life to become independent and make an identity for herself.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin ends with the death of the main character, Edna Pontellier. Stripping off her clothes, she swims out to sea until her arms can no longer support her, and she drowns. It was not necessarily a suicide, neither was it necessarily the best option for escaping her problems.

Edna Pontellier was a very respectable woman from the 1800's that was unsatisfied with her situation in life. Mrs. Pontellier was a mother of two sons and had a husband whom she adored at the beginning of their marriage, but overtime they have became distant and her sexual desires were no longer being fulfilled. She soon broke the role society had casted upon her and became rebellious by leaving her womanly duties behind. Kate Chopin reveals Edna Pontellier's character through the her actions, through dialogue, and by telling the reader the thoughts and feelings that are circulation through Mrs. Pontellier.

During the late nineteenth century, the time of protagonist Edna Pontellier, a woman's place in society was confined to worshipping her children and submitting to her husband. Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, encompasses the frustrations and the triumphs in a woman's life as she attempts to cope with these strict cultural demands. Defying the stereotype of a "mother-woman," Edna battles the pressures of 1899 that command her to be a subdued and devoted housewife. Although Edna's ultimate suicide is a waste of her struggles against an oppressive society, The Awakening supports and encourages feminism as a way for women to obtain sexual freedom, financial independence, and individual identity.

Edna gains metaphorical wings in the form of self-actualization and newfound freedom. However, she strays too close to the harmful and unobtainable thing that is a relationship outside of marriage with someone she actually loves, Robert. In doing so, she brings about her own downfall.

The Awakening written by Kate Chopin in 1899, is one of the first Feminist works in American literature. The novel recounts the story of a woman called Edna Pontellier and her strife to find the meaning of life, true happiness, and independence. This leads her to take many decisions women of her time found repulsive and forbidden. The setting of the novel plays a crucial role in the development of the story, since it takes place at the end of the 19th century, a critical time for women, since they were seen as inferior to men and had little to no rights. Thomas Carlyle in "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History" says "the different sphere constitutes the grand origin of such distinction; that the Hero can be Poet, Prophet, King,

The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers.

    Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, presents the struggle of an American woman at the turn of the century to find her own identity.  At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, seems to define her identity in terms of being a wife, a mother and a member of her community.  As the story progresses, Edna seeks to define herself as an individual.  The turning point in her struggle can be seen clearly in a scene in which Edna realizes for the first time that she can swim.  Having struggled to learn to swim for months, she realizes in this scene that it is easy and natural.  This discovery is symbolic of Edna’s break from viewing herself in terms of what society expects her to be,

Restrictions imposed by society foster the circumstances that hinder people from their full potential. Edna Pontellier lives among a high society of Creoles with her husband Leonce, on Grand Isle in the Gulf of Mexico. Her interactions with key characters on the island stimulate an awakening in which she opens her eyes to a new lifestyle. She steps outside of the typical expectations by defying her marriage and falling in love with Robert Lebrun. This relationship sparks Edna’s interest in becoming an independent woman and guides her awakening. When Edna realizes what her life has become, the awakening comes to a halt. Full awareness of her situation induces Edna’s final decision of suicide. The sense of confinement in society’s implications

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

The setting of the resort at Grand Isle and the coastal city of New Orleans emphasizes the importance of water to Edna’s desire for freedom. Chopin alludes to the “chaotic” and “exceedingly disturbing” nature of the

Women roles have drastically changed since the late 18th and early 19th century. During this time, women did not have the freedom to voice their opinions and be themselves. Today women don’t even have to worry about the rules and limitations like the women had to in this era. Edna in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin and Nora in “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen were analogous protagonists. The trials they faced were also very similar. Edna and Nora were both faced with the fact that they face a repressive husband whom they both find and exit strategy for. For Nora this involved abandoning her family and running away, while Edna takes the option that Nora could not do-committing suicide. These distinct texts both show how women were forced to