The Central Themes Of Edna, By Edna's Awakening

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 book The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier is reflected as an adult who is once again seeing the world anew - much as a young child would as he just began to understand what was going on around him. The symbolism found through children in the book reflects the way that Edna was seeing and interacting with the world. Edna is required to be acting like an adult however through the culture of the time she has never been given the responsibility for and control of herself. As Edna is coming of age in this story and beginning to contemplate the world for the first time, her boys become a reflection of Edna’s emotions and actions at the time.

The ending of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is both controversial and thought provoking. Many see Edna Pontellier’s suicide as the final stage of her “awakening”, and the only way that she will ever be able to truly be free. Edna’s suicide, however, is nothing more than her final attempt to escape from her life. Edna Pontellier’s life has become too much for her to handle, and by committing suicide she is simply escaping the oppression she feels from her marriage, the suppression she feels from her children, and the failure of her relationship with Robert.

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.

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

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).

Social expectations have haunted people across the timeline, however, have changed as life has progressed. Today, women specifically may be labeled by their body size or the way they speak, being cast out of society and even being subjected to physical and/or emotional abuse. On the contrary, in the nineteenth century women faced harsh discrimination by white men that objectified them and forced them to submit to their husbands and tend to their every need. Today, women would never face to live in such an animalistic way, however many found themselves fulfilling the role without protest and enjoying the simplicity of such a life back in the 1800s. Edna Pontellier, however, refused to be one of these obedient women, deciding to instead

Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening expresses the difficulty of finding a woman’s place in society. Edna learns of new ideas such as freedom and independence while vacationing in Grand Isle. Faced with a choice to conform to society’s expectations or to obey personal desires for independence, Edna Pontellier realizes that either option will result in dissatisfaction. Thus, Edna’s awakening in Grand Isle leads to her suicide.

What is the difference between infatuation and love? This has been a topic of conversation for years, and yet we still have never figured out the exact answer to the question. By Webster’s Online Dictionary the definition of love is “affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests”(Webster’s). This is precisely how Edna Pontellier believes she feels about Robert Lebrun in “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin. Although on the contrary the definition of infatuation is “to cause to be foolish : deprive of sound judgment”(Webster’s), and this is more so the truth for Edna. Her need for freedom is so strong that she finds herself turning to other men just to satisfy that need. Her actions are completely opposing to her thought

These first thirteen chapters chronicle the daily life of Edna Pontellier, The Awakening’s protagonist. The novel opens on Mr. Pontellier; he is smoking a cigar and reading the newspaper while idly observing the life and activity around him. The novel turns its attention to his wife, Edna Pontellier. She is described as “rather handsome than beautiful” and has a face with a “certain frankness of expression,” an intriguing description if there ever was one. She is accompanied by Robert Lebrun, the son of Madame Lebrun, the owner of “the house” at which the Creole aristocracy stayed on the Grand Isle. They are rather close companions; Robert has chosen to follow her around for the summer, as is later revealed to be his custom. It’s revealed that Edna is an American woman from “the old Kentucky bluegrass country.” As the day progresses, Chopin details the tiny minutiae of married life that have disappointed both Leonce and Edna; Leonce feels hurt by her dismissiveness- “He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation…”- while Edna resents his overbearing conventionality- “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish.” The Pontelliers reconcile before Leonce leaves for New Orleans

Chapter 1 is more of an introduction to some important characters. We learn that Mr. Pontellier isn’t around often, and isn’t much of a family man. We meet Edna and Robert, who have a seemingly romantic connection. This chapter will likely affect the story as the relationship between Edna and Robert continues to build and cause turmoil. In Chapter 2 we learn that Edna and Robert are both aesthetically pleasing, and that Robert is not wealthy because he rolls his own cigarettes. Robert reveals he will be traveling to Mexico at the end of the summer. This chapter affects the story because Robert’s trip to Mexico will deeply affect Edna and their relationship. In Chapter 3 we learn that Mr. Pontellier and Edna’s relationship isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Mr. Pontellier leaves for the week even during their summer vacation to work, so he is rarely around. This chapter will affect the story because the problems in their marriage will contribute to Edna’s development as an individual. Chapter 4 reveals more about Edna to the reader. We learn she is not a “mother-woman”, meaning she doesn’t put her kids or spouse before herself. We also learn she is the lone non-Creole around, and is not comfortable talking about sex, unlike the Creoles. This will play into the story as a whole because Edna’s feelings of distance from the Creole community will play into her growth as a character. Chapter 5 reveals more about Robert, and how every summer he devotes his feelings to a woman,

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.

She does not want to keep herself hidden from the outside world, unable to transcend the social barriers. However, Adéle Ratignolle represents the typical mother woman in the novel, who has accepted and embodied this socially constructed role. She does her duties without questioning her existence and she lets herself be locked in a "cage". Edna realizes that she does not want a life deprived of independence and freedom. She does not want to be locked up in a cage and that her wings are not clipped yet and she still has got a chance to break through to barriers.

Originally to be published under the name A Solitary Soul, it is rumored that Kate Chopin’s publishers changed the title, some claim that in 1899 a St. Louis newspaper review suggested that the publisher changed it to make Edna less sympathetic, but there is no concrete proof of this speculation. (CITE) Either way, the title, The Awakening is such a vital point of the novel that it is nearly impossible to picture this iconic story without it. The title asks the biggest question of all: Did Edna ever achieve her “awakening”? Or did she die a victim to her own narrative? As spoken of earlier in the paper, this is a novel of transition. This story illustrates not only Edna's life changing, but takes place in a time that the entire world around her was changing too. The key word here is changing, for that is what an awakening is; an awakening is a process of waking up, or becoming aware of something. The awakening subject, in this case, Edna Pontellier, is in the process of becoming awake. In this state, they are caught between two worlds, not fully a part of either, but he or she is certainly heading in one direction over the other. If one looks at it, in this instance, Edna was only ever in the act of awakening to the world around her, but still ended up a tragic ending in her own

    The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is full of ideas and understanding about human nature. In Chopin's time, writing a story with such great attention to sensual details in both men and women caused skepticism among readers and critics. However, many critics have different views with deeper thought given to The Awakening. Symbolism, the interpretation of Edna's suicide, and awakenings play important roles in the analysis of all critics.