To make the conscious decision to never be married again, even to the man she loves, is a huge step for Edna. She has finally decided what she wants and is willing to act upon those impulses. Edna has become aware of herself emotionally and physically, realizing she has been looking to the wrong sources her influential, high society husband for fulfillment. Though her actions are not totally agreeable, they are somewhat noble.
Edna totally shuns the commitment she has towards her children for her own selfish reasons. At the same time she is strong enough to declare what she wants and act upon her declaration as almost everyone around her tells her that her actions are totally wrong. In the beginning of the novel Edna is, as Walker suggests, acting without thinking. The tragedy that befalls Edna is that she has had this awakening, and because of it she desires to reach new heights and do things that no woman has done before.
Chopin critiques the society Edna lives in, but also critiques moving away from society. Chopin was being courted by a man, yet she made the decision to remain single and move back in with her mother Toth The main difference between Edna and Chopin is found in their upbringing.
Edna returns to society awakened and thoroughly changed. When Chopin is presented with pleasure she is able to enjoy it while also remaining emotionally distanced, most likely because she was raised by strong, independent women. She does enjoy these pleasures, but she never lets them rule her life as Edna does. A soft, firm, magnetic sympathetic hand clasp is one. A walk through the quiet streets at midnight is another.
And then, there are so many ways of saying good night! Chopin enjoyed the company of men, yet unlike Edna let them come and go without becoming overly attached to any of them.
Pontellier she is leaving him. But the society that Edna belongs to is based on a very strict set of rules known as the Napoleonic code.
Women had little rights and were considered property of their husbands. Women had no rights, and were legally bound to do whatever their husbands decided was best. Women of any age whatsoever. The main difference between Edna and Chopin is found in their upbringing.
Edna returns to society awakened and thoroughly changed. When Chopin is presented with pleasure she is able to enjoy it while also remaining emotionally distanced, most likely because she was raised by strong, independent women. She does enjoy these pleasures, but she never lets them rule her life as Edna does.
A soft, firm, magnetic sympathetic hand clasp is one. A walk through the quiet streets at midnight is another. And then, there are so many ways of saying good night! Chopin enjoyed the company of men, yet unlike Edna let them come and go without becoming overly attached to any of them. I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier's possessions to dispose or not. I give myself where I choose. If he were to say, "Here, Robert, take her and be happy; she is yours," I should laugh at both of you.
Awakening , p Robert finally refuses to wait for Edna and stay together with her, leaving a note that says 'I love you.
Good-bye - because I love you'. The reader can see his dependency on social conventions; he loves Edna and therefore he has to leave her. He knows the consequences their relationship would have and prefers to go the safe way.
Edna's learning to swim is an important sign of her first awakening, that is an awakening from a sleeping to a dreaming phase. Though she has the ability to swim, she is still full of fears. First 'she did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water' and 'grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before' Awakening , But as soon as she is in relatively far distance from the shore, she gets a feeling of panic:.
Once she turned and looked toward the shore, toward the people she had left there. She had not gone any great distance - that is, what would have been a great distance for an experienced swimmer. But to her unaccustomed vision the stretch of water behind her assumed the aspect of a barrier which her unaided strength would never be able to overcome. A quick vision of death smote her soul, and for a second of time appalled and enfeebled her senses.
Here Edna fears the unknown, and she is eager to return to the "safe shore", which at the same time is the world of restrictions and social conventions. She is not fully awakened yet. She experiences freedom and independence but she is not yet ready for it.
Edna's complete awakening goes hand in hand with her suicide, yet she has experienced a gradual awakening throughout the novel. Her dreaming phase, which is the longest of the three phases, often intermingles with the awakening phase. The reader might think several times throughout the story that Edna has awakened, only to find out that she is not yet free. Edna herself does not even know whether she is free or not when she talks to Doctor Mandelet, saying:. Perhaps - no, I'm not going.
I'm not going to be forced into things. I don't want to go abroad. I want to be let alone. Nobody has any right - except children, perhaps - and even then, it seems to me - or it did seem Edna might be independent from her husband and social conventions, but she still cannot escape from her role as a mother. She feels that she cannot gain freedom, independence and individuality because she is a mother. Edna has once said to Mme. Ratignolle 'that she would give up the unessential, but she would never sacrifice herself for the children' Awakening , She realizes that this is not possible in this society, and in order not to sacrifice herself, she has to commit suicide, and thus awaken.
Edna's awakening, which finally results in her suicide, is again reflected by various events and characters. Their relationship means a sexual awakening for Edna, as the reader can see when Edna and Arobin kiss for the first time - 'It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire' Awakening , She plays with him and is in control of him. They do what she pleases to do and they only meet when she wants to meet.
Mademoiselle Reisz is not married and has no children, lives by herself and devotes her life to music. Whereas Mme. Ratignolle 'was keeping up her music on account of the children [ She refuses to be in company of others and makes little exceptions.
The description, or rather the position of Mademoiselle Reisz shows 'the old patriarchal prejudice that rejects women without men as anomalies' Giorcelli, Yet, Mademoiselle Reisz is the only one who understands Edna's conflict, even before Edna does. She realizes that Edna is a bird in a cage who needs to escape, and even 'felt [Edna's] shoulder blades, to see if [her] wings were strong' Awakening , Even though Mademoiselle Reisz has achieved independence and individuality in this society, Edna cannot take a similar position in society, as she is married and has children.
Edna only realizes that she is not content with her role as a wife and mother when it is too late. Mademoiselle Reisz has made her decision to be alone but independent earlier - she chose not to marry but has to live with her role as an "outsider", be it negative or positive. The third, and most important symbol for Edna's awakening is her swimming and, finally, her drowning.
She now is able to swim without fear and she can experience complete freedom, because she is not drawn back to the secure but restrictive life. When Edna removes all her clothes and swims far out, she 'did not look back now, but went on and on, thinking of the blue-grass meadow that she had traversed when she was a little child, believing that it had no beginning and no end' Awakening , The same childhood memory comes to her mind which she has described earlier, when she has stepped from her sleeping into the dreaming phase.
This memory symbolizes complete freedom: the meadow has no limits for Edna, just as the ocean has no restrictions. Although she expected her dreams of romance to disappear along with her youth, her fantasies and yearnings only remain latent, re-emerging on Grand Isle in the form of her passion for Robert Lebrun.
The people Edna meets and the experiences she has on Grand Isle awaken desires and urges for music, sexual satisfaction, art, and freedom that she can no longer bear to keep hidden.
Like a child, Edna begins to see the world around her with a fresh perspective, forgetting the behavior expected of her and ignoring the effects of her unconventional actions.
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