Freedom In Edna Pontellier's The Awakening

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

She is moved by music. During that summer Edna sketches to find an artistic side to herself. She needs an outlet to express who she is. Edna feels that art is important and adds meaning to her life. After the summer is over and they are back to the city and Edna is a changed woman. She makes many steps towards independence. She stops holding "Tuesday socials", she sends her children to live in the country with their grandparents, she refuses to travel abroad with her husband, she moves out of the Lebrun house on Esplanade Street, and to earn money, she starts selling her sketches and betting the horses. She also starts a relationship with another man Alcee Arobin. He meant nothing to her emotionally but she used him for sexual pleasure. Edna evolved above her peers she did not believe that sexuality and motherhood had to be linked. The last step of her "awakening" is the realization that she can not fulfill her life in a society that will not allow her to be a person and a mother. Edna commits suicide in the ocean at Grand Isle.

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

Edna’s discoveries throughout the novel are things she wants from life, not things she wants in death. She cannot love when she’s dead. Though looking for a partner was no easy task, she was making forward progress when she was alive. Despite becoming aware of life’s multidimensionality, she maintains views of romance that are flat. She believes she cannot live alone like Mademoiselle Reisz, but views this as the only alternative to a picturesque romance. Though none of the other characters can own her while she is dead, she cannot really own herself while she’s dead either. The only thing she can control is her death, but that ignores the many things she can still control in her life that are far better alternatives for Edna than

Edna Pontellier could not fit into the dull life she was originally provided with for, when given the responsibility of children, she found that “their absence was a sort of relief [...] It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her” (25). A strong-willed woman, Edna wants to live her life in independence—away from her family. Societal expectations caused her to believe that being a “mother-woman” or “happy homemaker” was the only thing that women could do, as well as the only thing that would make women happy.

By committing suicide she is finally freeing herself from the social constraints placed on her as a women. Society is so hard on Edna that it drives her to take her own life. She feels that there is no escaping the conforming lifestyle and she cannot live like that. Edna is unable to deal with the many awakenings she experiences because she knows she cannot live within society with the person she has made herself to be. Adele’s childbirth is the first event that contributes to Edna’s suicide.

While others may believe Edna's death was an act of bravery in reality it was an act of cowardness. In the book the ¨The Awakening¨ by Kate Chopin Edna struggles with her freedom and being able to be with her love of her life. At the end of the book Edna felt like her life wasn't good enough because, she was not with the guy she loved and ended her life just like that. Although Edna shows independence and freedom as a women ,in reality it shows an act of weakness and not being able to face the real world she was living in.

Edna still had a few options left, but they were still less practical than suicide. Edna could have remained living in a loveless marriage with Leonce Pontellier while she kept her secret

In her article Kathleen M. Streater wrote “Edna chooses suicide rather than a life confined by societal expectations, and her shocking resolution provokes passionate reactions in readers, as extreme acts will do” (Adele Ratignolle: Kate Chopin's Feminist at home in The Awakening). Although I do not agree that committing suicide is a way to escape from the problems of life, I believe Edna had no other choice but that. In that period of time social standing and reputation was everything to a family especially the young children growing up. Edna did not want her children to go through the rumors of adultery or put them in the middle of a divorce that could ruin their entire childhood. She made her suicide look like and accident allowing her to go in peace with her boys and husbands reputation still intact. Edna may not have been the ‘mother-woman’ but in the very end she put her children’s desires and life before hers. I believe at that point her freedom was fully given to her. She had the choice to how she wanted to die and what she wanted others to think and feel about her and was also able to keep her children’s reputation in

Though some may see the actions taken by Edna as justified, I feel that she was in no way justified in her actions. In the realm of the social situation in the story, she acted selfishly and disregarded her duties as a mother and a wife. She threw away a perfectly fine life for no reasons beyond her own selfishness, and abandoned her family. However, in terms of the romantic tones of the story, she freed herself from her perceived bondage and lived the life she wanted to live.

Kate Chopin demonstrates Edna as being willing to give her life for her children but unwilling to give herself up for them (64). In other words, Edna would give everything for her children, except for the vital aspects of herself. This would be her freedom and individuality. So, even though the suicide was not in the best interest of her children, Edna still follows through in order to achieve the essentials leaving behind the impression of being unattached from society and the societal structures set up within the

In “Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and the Exploration of Feminine Desire and Expression” Iraj Montashery argues that Edna is the “ultimate feminist.” While some of her actions are feminist, Edna’s childishness and submissiveness of the changes within her suggest that her actions are stemmed more from a need to embrace a repressed part of herself rather than any feminist motives. Edna’s rebelliousness is born of a childishness throughout the novel. Monstashery begins by stating that Edna’s breakoff from motherhood suggests a different kind of femininity than the culturally acceptable one.

Here we see that Edna has always been “different” and that she perceived early the difference between “the outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.”

Like Nora, Edna wants to be independent. She prefers to stay home by herself instead of traveling with Leonce Pontellier to Europe. Furthermore, Edna sends her children to stay with their grandmother so they don't interfere with her pursuit of independence. In the end, she leaves her family completely by committing suicide.

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, there are three major female characters that help depict Victorian society from different perspectives. To be a good person in Edna’s society meant being a "mother-woman" who completely surrenders her sense of self in favor of her husband and children. In the beginning of the novel Edna is comfortable with her life and does not recognize her true desires. It is not until she is at Grand Isle and grows passion for Robert, where she finally begins her awakening and yearns freedom. Edna Pontellier is both a mother and wife, but she does not see those roles as a blessing, but rather a burden. Attempting to rid herself of all responsibilities imposed on her by society she neglects family responsibilities and social obligations. Instead she focuses on her artistic expression and surrounds herself with like minded friends such as Mademoiselle Reisz. As the novel progresses Edna completely changes her perspective on life and heads on her journey to freedom in a seemingly child like manner. This being so, she disregards the needs of anyone but herself and never looks ahead to the consequences of her actions. Her search for freedom and personal happiness often cause her to make selfish decisions. Edna continuously seeks to be liberated from the social convictions of Victorian society throughout her awakening. In the end, Edna is unable to find a fulfilling sense of freedom in her world because of her attachment to her sons’ reputations. Therefore,