The Awakening of Edna Pontellier

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

The story, The Awakening, is about Edna Pontellier’s internal conflict between her desire for independence and her need to remain a high-class member of society. When away on summer vacation Edna has the realization that she has control of her own life and begins to focus on her self and not what others think. During her awakening, Edna is faced with much resilience from her husband and friends and instead of becoming someone she is not, Edna Pontellier ends her own life as she sees it is her only option. The author, Kate Chopin, uses many characters to exemplify the conflicting ideals emerging in Edna; particularly Madame Ratignolle acts as a foil to Edna’s newfound persona, instead symbolizing the conservation of a traditional

Kate Chopin’s aspiration to deliver The Awakening was to convey to the early 20th century public her position of women’s roles, rights, and independence in a time of strict gender roles. Chopin conveys to readers the oppression of women during her time. Edna Pontellier is Chopin’s protagonist in the novel, and she finds herself unhappy and contempt of her role as a republican mother, which characterizes the idea of women’s work, and Edna identifies indirectly with the women at the Seneca Falls convention. Throughout the book Edna’s husband, Leónce Pontellier, continually scolds her for not being an attentive and loving mother and Edna compares herself with Madame Ratignolle, who is the epitome of motherhood

Although Robert left to get away from Edna, he might have actually made things worse. He promised to write to her, but never did. By Robert not writing to her, it left Edna in agony. She longed for him even more when she did not hear from him. Not knowing that Edna would eventually read the letters, he wrote to Mademoiselle Reisz unintentionally professing his love for Mrs. Pontellier. After reading the letters, Edna realized that the feelings were mutual. Edna came to the conclusion that she wanted to get away from her house, husband, and anything that reminded her of the such so she decided to move into a small apartment around the corner.

In the iconic debated novel “The Awakening”, Kate Chopin’s novel takes place in the Victorian Era, which is in the 19th- century, similarly the novel was published in 1899. Edna is depicted as a woman longing for more, a woman who was looking for more than just a life of complacency and living in the eyes of society. The story uses Edna to exemplify the expectations of women during this era. For example, a woman’s expression of independence was considered immoral. Edna was expected to conform to the expectations of society but the story reveals Edna’s desires which longed for independence in a state of societal dominance. Throughout The Awakening, Chopin’s most significant symbol,

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening a wife and a mother of two, Edna Pontellier, discovers her desires as a woman to live life to the fullest extent and to find her true self. Eventually, her discovery leads to friction between friends, family, and the dominant values of society. Through Chopin's use of Author’s craft and literary elements, the readers have a clear comprehension as to what the author is conveying.

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.

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

highly inappropriate for an affluent woman of the time. In the novel, Edna has an awakening

After she returns home, Edna looks to find herself as an independent individual, other than just a wife and mother and this causes her to begin to abandon her roles as a mother and as a wife. After she begins to abandon the “normal” practices of a wife and mother, her friend, Adele Ratignolle, informs her that she should not begin to stray and that her actions are not acceptable in society. Feeling trapped by societal norms and slowly fading away, Edna leaves her family altogether to indulge more in her painting hobby, and social

Edna’s journey as she discovers her identity in the story travels through three different places that as a result lead to her suicide. Right before Edna starts to realize who she is; she gets trapped by her desires to discover who she is and the role of a woman in this society. She begins to learn who she is becoming in her first place in her journey; the blend of beautiful music by Mademoiselle Reisz and a swim late at night that awakens her to a new form of reality.

Everyone involved in their society has influences and expectations from the people around them. Without those influences or expectations, people would live their lives undamaged by society or social expectations and pressures. Societal pressures force a person to make choices. External forces like a society may misguide a person in making said choice, but it is those choices that determine a person's identity. Without pressures from the outside world, people are a blank canvas, with no horrible or beautiful artwork to display.

Of the two interpretations presented, the latter is more compelling. The first argument – that Edna's death failed to represent a true awakening and was instead counterproductive to her progress made through the book – is a valid point, but it misses the point of the story and misinterprets the books ending. Edna's journey was about her own liberation and development; not whether she succeeded in disestablishing or defying social convention. The book centers around her maturation from the position of a demure housewife to an independent woman who thought and acted for herself. The ending cements her awakening, rather than rendering it a failure, as her suicide was not caused by Robert leaving her; rather, it was her final move towards independence,

By having these experiences with Robert she is trying to go beyond herself. A quote that indicates her start for self actualization is, "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... How many souls perish in its tumult!" (17). Here the narrator foreshadows the turmoil that will result from Edna’s search of self actualization. It seems to suggest that from the moment her awakening begins, Edna is marked for death. Aside from her automatic damnation it is also impossible for Edna to reach her self actualization because of her conflicting selves or "two Edna's". “Even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life—that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions" (18). This quote supports that there are "Two Ednas", an Inner and Outer. The Outer Edna conforms to societal expectations while the Inner Edna questions her

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the constant boundaries and restrictions placed on Edna Pontellier by society will lead to her struggle for freedom and her ultimate suicide. Her husband Leonce Pontellier, the current women of society, and the Grand Isle make it evident that Edna is trapped in a patriarchal society. Despite these people, Edna has a need to be free and she is able to escape from the society that she despises. The sea, Robert Lebrun, and Mademoiselle Reisz serve as Edna’s outlets from conformity. “Edna's journey for personal independence involves finding the words to express herself. She commits suicide rather than sacrificing her independent,