Major Works Data Sheet: the Awakening by Kate Chopin

this time period as Edna’s had a lot of pressure within her because of this. As she’s starting to

She leaves the care of her children to her grandmother, abandoning them and her husband when she leaves to live in the pigeon-house. To her, leaving her old home with Léonce is very important to her freedom. Almost everything in their house belonged to him, so even if he were to leave, she would still feel surrounded by his possessions. She never fully becomes free of him until she physically leaves the house. That way, Edna has no ties whatsoever to that man. Furthermore, Edna indulges in more humanistic things such as art and music. She listens to Mademoiselle Reisz’s playing of the piano and feels the music resonate throughout her body and soul, and uses it as a form of escapism from the world. Based on these instances, Edna acts almost like a very young child, completely disregarding consequences and thinking only about what they want to do experience most at that moment. However, to the reader this does not necessarily appear “bad”, but rather it is seen from the perspective of a person who has been controlled by others their entire life and wishes to break free from their grasp. In a way, she is enacting a childlike and subconscious form of revenge by disobeying all known social constructs of how a woman should talk, walk, act, and interact with others.

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

“There was not one but ready to follow when he lead the way.” Even though Robert is not around most of the time, he influences Edna more than he realizes. “Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her place her position in the world as a human being.” He essentially makes Edna second guess her marriage and the possibility of leaving her children behind. Robert brings Edna out of her shell and makes her more comfortable around others particularly standing up to her husband. “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.” Robert shows Edna that he is connected to her and she falls for him almost instantly because that is what she has been missing while being married to Leonce. “We shall love each other… Nothing else in the world is of any consequence.” Despite the fact they have never been involved in any physical way, Robert knows that he feels more for Edna than any other women he has encountered. So he decides to run away from the truth and goes to Mexico to keep from having to show Edna his true love for her. Ultimately, Robert influenced Edna severely because she was second guessing her marriage, falling in love with him and even became friends with Mademoiselle Reisz through him. And she sadly even committed suicide in the end because she couldn’t deal with the hurt of being without

The setting Edna is in directly affects her temperament and awakening: Grand Isle provides her with a sense of freedom; New Orleans, restriction; the “pigeon house”, relief from social constraints. While at Grand Isle, Edna feels more freedom than she does at her conventional home in New Orleans. Instead of “Mrs. Pontellier… remaining in

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

Through the story Edna becomes more and more uneasy about not being able to do and have what she really wants. This can be shown from the beginning when she lets her children play by themselves and doesn’t miss her husband when he is away from home. Edna tried to be a good mother by becoming friends with an old fashioned woman, Madame Adèle Ratignolle, who devoted her life to her husband and children. However, when Edna was not around Madame Adèle Ratignolle, she forgot how to be like Adèle Ratignolle and instead busied herself with what was considered to be her “childish ways”. She would try to make herself as happy as possible; she was not her happiest with her husband and kids. When Edna discovered her passion for art, she embraced it and neglected her family even more so than before.

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

When Edna returns home later that day, she finds out that Robert is leaving for Mexico. She is rather upset with this news and afterwards leaves to go home. "She went directly to her room. The little cottage was close and stuffy after leaving the outer air. But she did not mind; there appeared to be a hundred different things demanding her attention indoors." (42) She tries to ignore that his leaving and not telling her affects her so much. Yet she declines an invitation from Madame Lebrun to go and sit with them until Robert leaves. When Edna sees him leave it tears her up inside that her companion, the one person that she felt understood her, is leaving: "Edna bit her handkerchief convulsively, striving to hold back and to hide, even from herself as she would have hidden from another, the emotion which was troubling - tearing- her. Her eyes were brimming with tears." (44) Edna's life is not complete when Robert leaves:

The Awakening begins in the vacation spot of Grand Isle. At first we believe that Grand Isle is a utopia, wealthy families relaxing at oceanside, but it is here where Edna first begins to realize her unhappiness. The first sign of dissatisfaction is when Edna allows herself to feel that her marriage is unsatisfying, yet she must agree with the other women that Leonce Pontellier is the perfect husband. Edna asks herself that if she has a good husband

Robert leaves Edna behind because Edna does not give a clear answer to his marriage

The ideals Edna had were very progressive for her time. Just as expected she met a lot of push back from most since people do not like the idea of change But one of the biggest leaps she took was moving out of her own home. An understandable gesture for a woman coming into her own, for with a change of heart of change of setting is also needed. She tells

She raises her children with a distance between them. This void shows Edna’s lack of open wings, which is considered the norm of the 19th century expectations of women. Her newfound acceptance of neglecting her maternal responsibly ignited a much larger awakening within her. A sense of individuality and the “…realiz[ation of] her position in the universe as a human being, and ... her relations as an individual to the world within and about her” grew stronger (Chopin 15). She dislikes her role being entirely centered on domestic responsibilities so she begins to stretch the bindings of society.

Edna realizes that the patriarchal society is quick to condemn particularly a freedom-seeking woman who neglects her children since she is “intended by nature” to take care of them (Dyer 126). She is "uneven and impulsive" in her affections for her children. When they leave to visit their grandmother, she is relieved because she is not suited to the responsibilities of motherhood. Edna’s mind was at rest concerning the present material needs of her children:

rather than relying on their husband. Edna demonstrated this by her reliance on her husband early