Edna develops an independence to the point that this final tug of society makes the two completely incompatible; Robert is gone when she returns, and Edna drowns herself, ignoring Adele's dying admonition to "Think of the children!'" (289). One woman dies in grace, the other in despair.
The two ways in which the women relate to their families are hugely important in defining the two characters and thus illustrating the theme of the novel. Madame Ratignolle is a born mother and wife; she dotes on her children and worships her husband, but does not seem at all vapid. Rather, she does these things because she truly enjoys them and finds them rewarding. The difference in the Pontellier household is made palpable when Adele suggests that Leonce and Edna might be more "united" if he stayed home more in the evenings, to which Edna reacts blankly, saying "We wouldn't have anything to say to each other" (179). This makes it clear that it is not a difference of situation that defines these two women as so diametrically opposed to each other, but rather a difference of temperament. Adele Ratignolle enjoys -- that is, is individually suited to -- the traditional role of wife and mother. Edna Pontellier is decidedly not suited to this lifestyle, but it is still demanded of her. Adele's inability to comprehend this is reflective of society's rejection of Edna's individual desires and attitudes.
This...
Awakening In today's culture it is sometimes easy to forget the progress women have made in regards to determining their own future, personal freedom, and changing the definition of their societal roles. Women can run for president, take charge of multi-billion dollar corporations, decide to pursue (or not) motherhood; modern culture embraces feminism and a woman's right to choose. The freedom women have today is inherited through a long series of
Awakening mother-women ( Adele Ratignolle) mother-Women ( Edna Back to Sleep: Edna's Fate Kate Chopin's The Awakening functions as a turn of the century tragedy regarding the domesticated lot of women in American society. Its protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is forced to forsake all of the wonder, delight, and sensations of life -- those that are intrinsically hers, anyway -- for an unyielding society in which her only virtue is that of
Here, we see that Edna realizes what is happening to her and why. She sees Robert as a catalyst for her awakening but not the answer to her yearnings for a more fulfilled life. It is also important to note how Edna refers to her life being a stupid dream. This remark illustrates the intensity of what she is going through - in essence; it pinpoints the reason behind
By realizing that she cannot share herself with anyone, Edna has to come to terms with her inability to maintain any true relationships; in this sense, she is destined to stand alone in the world (Ringe 586), a position which is suggested by the metaphor of the water. The final episode of the novel is represented by Edna's solitary swim into the emptiness of the Gulf. The metaphor of the
" shall come back as soon as I can; I shall find you here." One more time, she gives into her biological role. During Adele's labor pains, Edna recalls her own childbirth, an event that offered very different kinds of memories of an awakening than she has now. "Edna began to feel uneasy. She was seized with a vague dread. Her own like experiences seemed far away, unreal, and only half
Kate Chopin (1850-1904) was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1850. She didn't begin her writing career until after 1882, the year in which her husband, Oscar Chopin died (Toth). She spent several years publishing short stories, based on the Creole and Cajun cultures of Louisiana, where she and Oscar had lived. Her first novel, At Fault, was published in 1890. It was her second novel The Awakening
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