Individualism In Edna Pontellier's The Awakening

The story the awakening was an opportunity for the author to openly disagree with what a majority of women during her time blindly accepted. But as we read the story we can see trough several different scenarios, Edna revealed just how hard it was for a lady to try to do her own thing without being judge or hold down. Even though the book did not turn out the way some readers expected it showed us that after being "awakened" Edna would never accept her role more than and insignificant unhappy woman. The story teaches us great valuable lessons and make us think about the choices we make in the daily bases twice before committing them.

No one in life has gotten to where they are without some sort of sacrifice. It is just common human nature that we must give up one thing, in order to acquire another or appreciate something else. Edna Pontellier from The Awakening is no different as her sacrifice ends up opening her eyes and changes her very nature and values.

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.

But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul" (504).  Although Edna did perform her duties as a wife for some time, she is not the typical housewife.  She does not worship her husband or idolize her children, which makes both Edna and Leonce begin to sense that Edna is different from the other mother-women (Lin 1).  Edna never realized the reasons she neglected her duties as a wife until she fell in love with Robert and acknowledged that her desires and needs exist outside of her marriage.  Thus, after her experiences with Robert, Edna is ready to neglect her husband even more, because she now realizes that her husband is holding her back from her needs.  When Leonce tries to make Edna act like the other women that obey their husbands, his attempts to control Edna further instigate Edna's desire for independence from him.  For example, the scene when Edna is lying in the hammock, Leonce says: "I can't permit you to stay out there all night.  You must come in the house instantly," Edna replies: "I mean to stay out here.  I don't wish to go in, and I don't intend to.  Don't speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you" (492).  Edna is carefree and spirited, and she refuses to conform to her husband because she does not want to lose herself.  Becoming the perfect, obedient wife would mean losing her individuality, and Edna realizes she can gain no fulfillment

In the novel The Awakening, which took place in New Orleans, the renowned author, Kate Chopin wrote about Edna Pontellier, a rebellious young woman that discovered her own identity, which led her to break the restraints of society placed on women in the late 1800's and live in solitude. Edna experienced a series of awakenings throughout the novel that caused her to seek emotional and sexual satisfaction, which eventually led to her suicide. Throughout the novel, there are several pieces of evidence to support the idea that Edna's suicide was not intentional, but rather an accident.

“Whatever we may do or attempt, despite the embrace and transports of love, the hunger of lips, we are always alone” (Chopin 581.7). In Kate Chopin’s story The Awakening, not only is this the quote that Edna Pontellier identifies with when Mrs. Ratignolle plays piano for her, but it is also the perfect description of the struggle in which Mrs. Pontellier faces. Though, The Awakening was considered sexually charged and risqué for its time, when one analyzes this quote and the original title of Kate Chopin’s story, A Solitary Soul, they come to the realization that there is more to this story than just sex (562). The Awakening is a story about Edna Pontellier’s struggle to find acceptance and fulfillment in a society confined by gender

Many authors of a multitude of diverse novels employ the conflict on a character creating a new identity for a variety of reasons such as choice or necessity to enhance the plot, develop the themes of the work, develop the characters, and multiple other crucial elements to a novel. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character Enda Pontellier displays a dual identity of an independent woman and an acceptable housewife trained by society which creates inner conflict and develops the theme that inner happiness and peace needs to come from yourself and not society. Edna Pontellier defines herself as a complex character with complex emotions that many people of her time could not understand. Edna lives in a society that has strict rules on

Edna’s suicide was victory of self-expression. Edna undergoes a gradual awakening process in which portrays not to only her newly established independence from the constraints of her husband, but also her ability to go against the social norms of society in order to individually express herself. Her suicide encompases the question and critique of living life through the perspective of society such as being responsible for taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and entertaining any guests that the husband may have over anytime. In the first couple of capters, the novel is quick to emphasize the gerneralized roles kthat are placed onto females, making it apparent that fe,ales are expected to successfully fulfil these roles. For example, Leonce enters home after being out and stated one of the kids had a fever. Edna was certain the child had no fever but Leonce belittles her capability as a mother for indifference with him. “If it was not a mother’s place to look after the children, whose on earth was it?” (27capac).

She married Leonce not because she loved him but because she could not refuse his admiration and persistence. This marriage thrusts Edna into a foreign culture. She questions her role as a mother because she is different from the typical Creole "mother-woman." Edna defies the central perception that women are mothers first

In the early 20th century many female authors began to publish novels illustrating that women were no longer just the “angel of the house.” Until this time, women were believed to embody piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity; ultimately being an asexual “angel of the house.” Edith Wharton and Kate Chopin were two of many female authors who showed the world that women had desires and had dreams outside of the home. Chopin’s 1899 novel, The Awakening, follows Edna Pontellier, as she struggles with her ideas on motherhood and femininity. While in Wharton’s 1912 novel, The Reef, Anna Leath, a widower, conducts a romance with a former lover.

As the novel begins we are shown Edna’s life before her escape from society’s standards. At the beginning we are shown that Edna is valued by society because of her physical appearance and is portrayed as a housewife married to a wealthy husband. On only the seventh page of the novel we are shown the lack of individuality women had during this time period. We are first introduced to Edna and Edna’s husband, Leonce. Leonce creates the income for the family as well as viewing his wife more of a possession rather than a partner. Leonce notices Edna is sunburned when she has come back from swimming and views her as “a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage” (7).

“Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” (547). She looked at and heard things as if for the first time. “The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor down Mrs. Pontellier’s spinal column” (556). She decided that she would move out of her house with her husband and children and would move into a small apartment by herself. This is something that women of her day simple did not do. Edna was different.

In the novel The Awakening, we see the issue of woman trying to survive in a judgmental society. Most woman are expected to live up to certain expectations that are very unfair and unjust. Not only do woman have to live with the idea that they must be wives, mothers, and care for those around them, they also are expected to live what one can say, a perfect life. Most are placed with the expectations that a woman cannot make a mistake and has to be the best out of all. In the novel, we see that image and expectations in the character Edna Pontellier. She not only was forced to be what a woman should be, but she was forced to live up to certain expectations that she chose to go against. Edna Pontellier's experience in the novel is still relevant to today's audience because women are still challenged and expected to act a certain way in today's society.

Leonce Pontellier, the husband of Edna, is the story 's antagonist. He is materialistic, due to him being a wealthy businessman, and also forty years old. His high status came at a cost; he is very concerned with appearance and how others view him."The way to become rich is to make money, my dear Edna, not to save it," he said. He regretted that she did not feel inclined to go with him and select new fixtures. He kissed her goodbye, and told her she was not looking well and must take care of herself. She was unusually pale and very quiet” (18). He also treats Edna as mere property "You are burnt beyond recognition," he added, looking at his wife as one

She was pressured to marry Leonce by her father and older sister. Along with marriage came the pressure to have children. She is forced into these roles but never actually succumbs to them. Edna not only has Madame Ratignolle's friendship and her marriage to wake her up to her dreams and emotions, her affairs wake up to her desires. The way the different male characters treat her reminds her that she will never happily fit into the role of a wife and mother, therefore awakening her.