Art & Identity in New Orleans

While I was reading The Awakening, it became apparent to me that the moon holds great significance to our main protagonist, Edna. The symbolism of its appearance in the book is profound and plays a huge role in defining Edna’s character. It speaks to her ever-evolving personality and showcases how influential we are over our own lives. Yet the moon is not solely defined by Edna, but is also used to express a sense of feminism. The moon holds great significance with women as a whole, and how authoritative it is in terms of mythic power. It creates a connection between both Edna and the goddess Selene, and furthermore conveying the associated implications of that parallel. Like Edna and her new sense of meaning, the goddess is strong and commanding — as she is the goddess of the hunt. Simultaneously, with it being depicted several times throughout the novel, moonlight comes to signify Edna’s internal struggles and strifes. When she has moments of breakthrough, it is during the night. For example, on the night Edna learns to swim, the “white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep.” Another particular struggle being highlighted through her diluted concept of both romantic and sexual longing. As shown by the end of chapter 10, her strong, sexual feelings “the first-felt throbbing of desire,” are insinuated with the delicate and soft descriptions of “strips of moonlight.”

One thing I found immediately interesting at the start of The Awakening was that Kate Chopin began the novel through the point of view of Mr. Pontellier, Edna’s husband, rather than beginning with Edna herself. Firstly, Chopin sets the tone of the novel with her humorous style of writing as well as the multi-cultural setting, but Mr. Pontellier’s character and limitations is also quickly explained in a few lines. The scene begins with his neighbor’s parrot making a racket and subsequently destroying the peace of his morning. However, he can’t do anything about this, as page 1 says, “The parrot and the mockingbird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining.”

Already, the rules of this world are being established. By setting up the scene in this manner, I think Chopin is pointing a massive finger at how little control Mr. Pontellier actually has in the novel. This certainly becomes an issue in regard to Edna, whom he believes he controls yet actually has no sway over. Even on page 3, the reader can understand how he thinks of Edna from the line, “looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage.” While I personally hate this line on so many levels, it perfectly explains Mr. Pontellier’s feelings towards his wife from the beginning. I also believe that by setting up Edna and Mr. Pontellier’s relationship this way, she is actually crafting a tragedy out of Mr. Pontellier’s character.

I don’t doubt that Mr. Pontellier loves Edna. On page 7, Mr. Pontellier is very disappointed that Edna is too tired to speak to him on his return from the hotel, thinking, “it [was] 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.” This is certainly something I’d call a very self-centered sort of love, but I still think of it as love nonetheless.

And even later in the novel, when Mr. Pontellier is talking to the Doctor, I think he is actually very concerned about Edna. He clearly cannot understand what has caused her to change so much and really does want to know what is the best thing to do for her (and perhaps because her new character has more inconveniences for him). After this, Mr. Pontellier leaves for a business trip and is away for the rest of the novel, during which Edna’s situation spirals out of what she can handle. Because of how the story ends, the reader is forced to infer how the aftermath of Edna’s suicide must play out. While I do think Edna’s situation was horrible and reflective of the pains most women had to go through in order to conform to society, I can’t help but also think of how this would affect Mr. Pontellier.

I do think the end of the story was a bit of a surprising twist, and perhaps was influenced by the expectations upon Chopin at the time, but I also believe Mr. Pontellier can be seen as both the villain and the victim in the end. He cannot connect with his wife on a level that satisfies them both, partly due to his own selfish nature and in part because Edna does not feel like she can communicate with him, but I think the relationship’s tragic end is also a representation of a tragic love story between two people who “should” be in love, yet can’t understand how to do so in a way that suits them both. This is also part of Edna’s awakening, as she begins to think about what she truly wants in the way of love in desire, something that she ultimately seems to concede that she can’t have.

Chopin also seems to be playing with thematic elements of hopeful dreaming and the archetypal story that a woman should fall totally in love with a man, know exactly how that feels and what it means, and suddenly understand everything about herself and the world. On page 26, after Edna falls in love with the tragedian, she “was overtaken by what she supposed to be the climax of her fate.” I think this nuance in the novel is a criticism on society’s romantic notion of how “love will solve everything” and that to be in a loving relationship is an immediate solution to everything. Edna herself confesses that she can find no fault with Mr. Pontellier’s devotion as her husband, yet the reader can understand that she’s missing something that he cannot give her; the most tragic thing about it being that he seems to want to.

There’s also a frustrating angle in the novel in which Edna seems to see the world through this romantic notion, yet other characters in the world can see beyond the “rose-tinted glasses” and understand, in some cynical sense, that love and marriage do not necessarily coincide- like in chapter twelve, where Robert and Mariequita comment that the lovers must not be married. Even during her suicide, one of Edna’s last thoughts is that by talking to the Doctor, she might have been able to see things differently, but ultimately she gives up on any hope and allows herself to drown, which I think is an act of giving up on the notion of a tangible love entirely.

The Awakening, a novel by Kate Chopin, depicts the role of women in New Orleans society in the late 1890s by following Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who no longer wants to live in the constraints that society has given her. From the beginning to the end of the novel Chopin uses an interesting symbol of a bird to represent Edna in her fight to find herself and her freedom.

The symbol of a bird first appears in the opening scene of the novel when Edna’s caged parrot repeatedly shouts the words, “Go Away, for God’s sake” in Spanish, French, and a language that nobody understands. Just like the bird in the cage, Edna feels trapped, looked upon as a spectacle as women of the time often were. When women spoke out or wanted to pursue an interest other than being a wife and mother, they were often misunderstood as if they were speaking a different language in a society that didn’t want to understand how some women felt about their roles.

Later in this scene, we soon find out that this parrot is not completely misunderstood as a mockingbird outside the window seems to understand the words that this caged parrot sang and would “whistle his fluty notes out upon the breeze with maddening persistence” (Chopin 1). The mockingbird in this scene seems to have a parallel to Madame Reisz, whose piano playing was responsible for awakening Edna’s soul, sparking her yearning for independence and freedom. Throughout the novel, we see that Reisz is the only woman who understands Edna as she lives the life of freedom and independence that Edna wants. This free mockingbird who maddeningly sings her songs represents Madame Reisz, who is free from the bonds of a traditional women’s role and who is skilled in her craft of playing the piano.

This symbol of the bird doesn’t only appear in the opening scene. When Edna visits Madame Reisz right before Edna decides to move out on her own, Reisz feels between Edna’s shoulder blades to see if her wings are strong enough. “The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice,” she tells Edna, “must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.” From experience, Reisz knows the strength and independence it takes to stray away from traditional women’s roles to follow a calling and become oneself. Reisz is unsure if Edna has it in her to be the woman that this bird represents.

Although Edna had made a strong attempt at freedom, she wasn’t strong enough to keep up her independence and soon succumbed to the idea that she would be alone forever as nobody would understand or accept her view. In the closing scene where Edna dies by suicide, she catches sight of a bird: “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” The bird represents what Edna feels is her failed attempt at freedom and also parallels the “sad spectacle” of the birds that try but don’t succeed in soaring above tradition and prejudice and end up falling to the ground as Madame Reisz had depicted before Edna set out for her independence. Just like the bird, Edna falls into the ocean and silences her flight in freedom.

The Awakening follows the story of Edna Pontellier and her ever-changing journey.  At first glance, this book comes across as a love story – which it most definitely is – but it also comes across as a journey of self-identity.  Throughout the entire story, Edna is struggling and trying to figure out where she fits in the world, her society, and the lives of the people — including the men — around her.

Edna turned to new ways of expressing her identity, mainly in the form of painting in the later part of the novel, though she also changed in the way she communicated.  There were several times where she seemed repulsed by the idea of reaching out to the people she previously met through her Tuesday open houses.  When it came to celebrating her moving into her own house, the guest list was limited to twelve (though only ten came), indicating that she severely reduced the size of her social circle.  By the end, she didn’t seem to want to talk to many people at all, and especially not about how she was feeling internally.

The reason for her journey for self-identity can be traced back to the three, notable men who appear in the book.  The first, of course, is her husband, Mr. Pontellier.  His feelings around his wife brought up some interesting points on the lifestyle at that time, as well.  He was very concerned how he — and, by extension, his family — were perceived by the public.  He was taken aback when Edna stopped her Tuesday meetings.  He was angry when he received the letter of her moving out and seemingly abandoning their household, the chores, and their children.  However, in regard to Edna moving out, he became less concerned with what was changing in her life and more worried about updating and modifying the architecture in their home, navigating orders and schedules while he was away on a business trip.

Then there was Robert – who moved to Mexico and back because of his love for Edna – and Arobin – who appeared during the period of time Robert was in Mexico – both mostly fleeting feelings of love and adoration in their short times.  These three combinations only served to bring more conflicting feelings and thoughts for Edna.  At the end of the story, Edna returns to her home, expecting Robert to still be there, only to find a note of goodbye.  In her feelings of grief and betrayal, she swims out into the ocean and allows herself to sink.

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, readers are introduced to the harsh, melancholic reality of Mrs. Pontellier’s life in her marriage. Each interaction between them in the first few chapters demonstrates the way that Mr. Pontellier merely views his wife, Edna, as an accessory to his own life rather than a distinct person with her own desires and ambitions. Chopin sets up the dynamic right off the bat. In the first dialogue between the couple, Mr. Pontellier’s concern for his wife is described as being as one would have for a piece of valuable property. Chopin’s choice to present Mr. Pontellier’s thoughts on his wife so explicitly at the very beginning of the novel sets up the story arc with certainty that their relationship is stifling to Edna.

The tension between the couple is further illustrated by the quarrel that the pair has when Mr. Pontellier returns home to see one of his sons is sleeping restlessly. He assumes that the child has a fever. When Edna does not believe him and chooses to remain in bed, he is extremely disappointed with her reaction and speaks to her harshly. While her husband goes right to sleep, Edna is so upset by his harsh words that she stays up crying and sitting on the porch. She describes the depression that takes hold of her as a “vague anguish”. The way her husband treats her is a personal flaw, but he is also a product of societal gender norms. Throughout the novel, his concerns with her are relating to the way that her behavior reflects on him. He lacks the kindness and concern of a lover and imposes on her the standards of a wife of the era.

The pressure of gendered roles and expectations does not come solely from her husband. Edna feels pressured to fit into the molds of two distinct expressions of womanhood. She could choose to maintain her status as a housewife and mother, or follow a more unconventional path through pursuing her desires to a personal awakening. Throughout the novel, Edna begins to follow a path of passionate expression as she acts on her sexual desires. This is the path that she follows to her awakening.

The Awakening is set during Victorian-era New Orleans and in Grand Isle, where the Pontellier family stays for the summer. Going into this book I had no idea what it would be about, so I was pleasantly surprised and shocked to see it was about a woman having an affair. I was excited by this because I haven’t heard of such stories being written during those times. Chopin did a great job at creating the setting and atmosphere that captures the reader’s attention; she is especially good with using subtle imagery to foreshadow the end of the story. Edna’s awakening was well-paced and actually pretty empowering to see. 

During the beginning of the book we read about the Mrs. and Mr.Pontellier’s complaints about each other and how they are both indifferent to each other. The part that struck me is when Mr.Pontellier came home late from the club and woke up Edna from a deep sleep to tell her that their son may have a fever and she should tend to him, and when she was reluctant to do so he doubted her mothering and her role as a wife. Throughout the whole story, Leonce did not show that he actually cared about Edna. As she continued to evolve and resist him more fully, his main focus was how that would make him look and his reputation. Even when she moved out, he did not care that she was but instead cared more that people would think they were suffering financially. So Leonce was kind of a crappy husband, but I don’t think he deserved to be cheated on.

Edna’s evolution was so interesting to see simply because something as small as crush is what set it into motion. Edna describes how in her youth she had passionate crushes throughout her life that often did not work out, so when Leonce proposed she thought it helped ground her wild emotions; she liked the “lack of passion and excitement in the marriage.”  This was one of the many things that made her conceal her real self. The huge moment of her breaking free was when she swam in the ocean for the first time. This scene uses the sea to represent Edna’s feelings of freedom. She used to be afraid of swimming and her own feelings of her life, but after the swim she realizes she doesn’t have to feel restricted to anything or anyone. But at the end, it is this very freedom that takes her life.

 The Awakening is written by Kate Chopin; it tells the story of a female protagonist trying to find an independent identity outside of societal norms and failing to do so. Throughout the book, we see her in the eyes of everyone but herself. In the first introduction to her character, she is not introduced by her name but by her husband, Pontellier, as if she were just an extension of him. Not only that, but she is also viewed as a prized possession by her husband.  As he talks to her and Robert, he scolds Edna: “You are burnt beyond recognition,” he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property that has suffered damage.” (Chopin 31) Lenoce’s perspective and thoughts on his wife are clear; he views her as his personal belonging that needs to be maintained. Her motherly and wifely duties start to be neglected, which is when he begins to feel as though she is becoming an “issue.” 

The conversation between the doctor and Lenonce addresses her well-being, but it doesn’t seem to come from a place of pure concern but instead from the inconvenience that it poses on the husband’s behalf. During their talk, the doctor mentions, “Women, my dear friend, is a very peculiar and delicate organism…require an inspired psychologist to deal successfully with them.” (Chopin 114) This hints to the reader that she is more relatable to a machine on the fritz rather than a sensible person. The changes in her mental state are more of just a phase that should pass and she will eventually return to her previous role as the dutiful wife. There was no passion in their relationship and it seemed almost contractional which is when I believe he started taking issues with her behavior. She no longer chose to be subservient like a cog in a machine but couldn’t quite be free as a bird-like she longed for. Her actions left her relationships and marriage in shambles. 

The inability to fit into a box-like her companions Adèle Ratignolle; the ideal dutiful wife, or Mademoiselle Reisz; the free musician, left her feeling lost. Along the journey of self-discovery, the feeling of alienation starts to fade only if you start to immerse yourself with people of like-mindedness; however, she never had the opportunity. Thus, in the end, she wasn’t necessarily a failure, independent, or a conformist- just alone. A human being that was consumed by pain that left her alone never to be understood by those around her.

The Awakening begins during a blissful vacation, interestingly not with the main protagonist’s voice or input. Edna is the main protagonist, but instead, Mr. Pontellier’s voice and character are the narrators at the beginning of the book. I think this is very telling as to Mr. Pontellier’s character both as a man and as Edna’s husband. 

I find that Mr. Pontellier is a very controlling, selfish, and quite frankly boring character. The first time that I see evidence of his behavior is on pages seven through thirteen. He starts by waking her up in the middle of the night because he wants to talk with her for the first time all day. Then, when she is understandably tired and not willing to talk with him about his day, he gets angry that she isn’t giving him all her devotion and affection. After her inaction, he seeks to “punish her” for her inattentiveness and goes on to berate her about her ability as a mother and wife. 

He even goes so far as to lie and pretend his child has a fever when he does not. “Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the bourbons and peanuts for the boys… Mr. Pontellier returned to his wife with the information that Raoul had a high fever and needed looking after. Then he lit a cigar and went and sat near the open door to smoke it.” (7-8) It also seems clear from this passage and others like it that he doesn’t seem to be a good father despite wanting Edna to be a perfect mother. Quite frankly, the fact that he would want to see Edna, whom he claims is “the sole object of his existence,” get upset is disturbing. (7) Even more so when you realize it is because he is not getting enough attention from her in his eyes. 

In the beginning, Edna is controlled and guided by both her husband’s thoughts and his oftentimes abusive words towards her. “Mrs. Pontellier’s mind was quite at rest concerning the present material needs of her children, and she could not see the use of anticipating and making winter night garments… But she did not want to appear unamiable and uninterested so she had brought forth newspapers.” (13) Edna at this time finds herself trying to be the perfect mother like Adele Ratignolle, the image of the ideal woman at that time. As time progresses, she finds herself falling further and further from this picturesque image. In short, Edna becomes the antithesis of Adele Ratignolle. 

Her time with Robert was the first taste of rebellion. Robert seems to be everything Mr. Pontellier is not; kind, exciting, and above all empathetic. He encourages her to jump into the sea, something she had not done before she met him. The first time she openly defies her husband was after the midnight party with Robert. She sits in a hammock and doesn’t allow her husband to force her to go to bed. Chopin cleverly uses an almost playful banter to describe Mr. Pontellier’s desperation at Edna’s defiance. “Edna, dear, are you not coming in soon?”… “No; I am going to stay out here.” “This is more than folly,” he blurted out, “I can’t permit you to stay out there all night”… With a writhing motion she settled herself more securely in the hammock.”(47)

Chapter 27 was a huge setting change. It almost threw me off because the book focused so much on their vacation. This chapter and the ones after show the Pontellier’s home life. In these next few chapters, we see the extent to which Mr. Pontellier attempts to control his wife and home. We see Edna truly start to rebel both against her husband’s wishes and also against society’s. The first true glimpse of this is on page 80. “Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it laying there, she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture.” This passage comes after the fight with Mr. Pontellier about going outside the home. This is a striking example of both the fact that she is stuck in an unhappy marriage and that she is done with living as she had lived. On page 86, there is further evidence of her unhappiness within her marriage and society’s confines. We can see a mental shift in which she is challenging the status quo presented to her. “She could not see in it but an appalling and hopeless ennui. She was moved by a kind of commiseration for Madame Ratignolle, a pity for that colorless existence which never uplifted its possessor beyond the region of blind contentment.” 

In the last part of the book, she is almost fully free of her husband’s controlling hands. Thanks to the doctor’s advice– sexist advice, but his help nonetheless — he stops being as controlling temporarily. He travels to New York to do business and she is left alone. Mademoiselle Reisz was a major player in Edna’s independence and growth. She was present for the ocean scene at the beginning of the book and it’s no mistake that she is with Edna in the latter half. She acts as encouragement for Edna’s “rebellion.” In this part of the book, she goes outside her home late, moves to another home, begins an affair, and visits whom she wants to. In short, she becomes her true self. Then a catalyst event happens. Robert comes back and visits her. He explains that the reason why he went away was that he wanted her to be his wife and because she was married they couldn’t marry. Edna felt the same way and love towards him and was devastated. 

This is why I believe that the book ended the way it did. I think she felt that she couldn’t have any man she grew to love nor any of the other freedoms she had grown accustomed to. “Despondency had come upon her there in the wake-ful night, and had never lifted. There was no thing in the world that she desired. There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert… But she knew a way to elude them.” (176) Her apparent suicide offers a disturbing and problematic glimpse into Chopin’s seeming solution to the problems faced by “Edna” and the 19th-century woman. 

The relationship between Edna and Mademoiselle Reisz was especially interesting to me throughout The Awakening. The man Edna conducted her first physical affair with, Alcée, made a mention about how he’d “heard she’s partially demented,” on p. 127 when, in stark contrast, we saw on the previous five pages how well Mademoiselle Reisz and Edna got along. In a way, they were both two social outcasts who had frankness that drew one to the other. At first Edna was only described as sometimes “capricious” on p. 43, and that character trait only grew along with her independence, which was similar to Mademoiselle Reisz’s in a sense. Not only were there numerous mentions of Mademoiselle Reisz’s poor fashion taste, but her standoffish nature set her apart from the idealized women that Edna usually kept in her company towards the beginning of the book (like Adele Ratignolle). Edna began to slowly mirror Reisz more and more through her independence and through the way she seemingly only did things that she wanted to do for the sheer pleasure of it.

While it’s undeniable that after the protagonist found out that she was the subject of one of Robert’s letters her interest in Reisz grew exponentially, even in one of their first meetings it’s clear that Reisz holds Edna in high regard. On p. 39 she personally inquired if the married woman liked her music and remarked, “You are the only one worth playing for. Those others? Bah!” In almost all of their interactions they banter together, and (besides Edna’s passing fancy in Alcée and her deep obsession with Robert) she appeared to be the only close connection that Edna consistently held regardless of outside influences or public perception. They both pursued interests in the arts, Edna with painting and Reisz with being a pianist, ended up living alone, lived their lives (in Reisz’s case this was true) like they were single, became disenfranchised with the pleasantries of polite society, and had a stubborn streak. While Edna had her most emotional connection with Robert, I think that she had her deepest intellectual connection with Mademoiselle Reisz. 

When reading “The Awakening,” I took note of the way in which Edna had her revelation. It was not some sudden blow to the head or anything of the sort, but instead a gentle rousing, a coercion to begin seeing the world in a new light. I believe this is a far more realistic depiction of an internal awakening — religious, sexual, romantic, or spiritual — than the alternative. Furthermore, from Edna’s description of her past, it was not as though she was deeply depressed or traumatized from some great upheaval in her life. She would run through the fields of her childhood property without thinking much of anything in particular. Yet in the course of events within the story, Edna somewhat reenters that stage of her life, albeit with more intense emotions than before and constant pondering throughout her days, whether for her art or concerning her lovers/friends/acquaintances. 

The restriction imposed by Edna’s husband and her disregard of him in favor of her own freedom is especially noteworthy. The story does not place any special significance upon their first meeting or their wedding (Edna even reportedly told her husband that a wedding is ‘one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth’). Mr. Pontellier firmly believes that wives ought to be submissive to their husbands, and as Edna has become insolent in his eyes since their vacation, he asks his friend Dr. Mandelet to examine her. The doctor responds that such behaviors are perfectly fine among women, even calling women as a whole ‘a very peculiar and delicate organism.’ By leaving for New York, Mr. Pontellier inadvertently allows Edna an exponential amount of additional freedom, which she takes full advantage of. There are multiple observations throughout the novel regarding Edna’s radiance, healthy glow, and renewed jubilation in character. All of these characteristics can be equated to her discovery of her own independence and discovery of free thought. 

One prominent character was Mademoiselle Reisz, with her sharp tongue and general dislike of society. In spite of her disagreeable nature, she was able to contribute to Edna’s awakening through her piano-playing, artistic and free-flowing. It is even during a visit to Reisz that Edna feels comfortable to act in a more masculine manner, throwing back her drink ‘like a man.’ She is also somewhat able to temper Edna’s infatuation with Robert by controlling Edna’s access to letters written by Robert (even though they are written for Reisz’s eyes only).

There are several different factors that contribute to Edna’s awakening throughout the novel, and these are only a few of the numerous ones that can be distinguished, although I found them to be among the most important for Edna’s development.

[Posted on behalf of a student]
The sea plays a crucial role in Katie Chopin’s The Awakening even though it is not a character in the story. In the novel, the sea symbolizes freedom and escape for the main character, Edna Pontellier. Edna feels confined by the roles that she must take on as a woman in the 1800s, leaving her wanting an escape from society and its constraints.

At the beginning of the book, Chopin writes, “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (Chopin 20) This gives the reader an introduction to the sea and the invitation that it gives the soul to escape. It is a few chapters later — in Chapter 10 — that Edna learns to swim. In learning to swim, Edna learns that she is not constrained by society while swimming in the sea. The sea gives her the freedom to be an independent woman who is not constrained by the roles she must play or by being “owned” by her husband. It is after discovering this freedom that Edna begins to “awake” and tries to escape the roles that she has been given. She then spends the rest of the book trying to escape the roles she has been given by becoming a painter, moving into a little house around the corner, sending her children away, and trying to make advancements with Robert. All of these fail as a way to escape the roles that society has given her as a woman in this time period.

In the end, the sea comes back as a way for Edna to escape. In the last chapter, Chopin writes, “The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude….The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents about her ankles. She walked out. The water was chill, but she walked on. The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and reached out with a long, sweeping stroke. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (Chopin 176) The beginning and end of this quote repeat almost word for word the introduction we are given to the sea as a way to escape, thus repeating the idea that the sea provides an escape and freedom for Edna. This time, though, the sea is literally giving Edna an escape from society’s gender roles and ultimately an escape from the world. The sea lets her be free from the world, and she no longer feels the constraints that the world has put on her and other women like her.

Throughout Kate Chopin’s The Awakening the issue of  — and potential damage from — prescribed gender roles for women is apparent.  The main protagonist Edna struggles with the few select roles she is allowed to play as she “awakens.” There were very few roles a woman could play in the 1800s, and by the end of the novel, Edna ends up drowning herself in the Gulf of Mexico.

As she swims, she recalls Robert’s parting letter to her and its miscalculation. “‘Good-by — because I love you.’ He did not know; he did not understand. He would never understand.” (156) Robert claims he left her because he loves her and doesn’t want to bring her shame for having an affair. Robert doesn’t understand, though, that he has taken the choice away from Edna entirely; the agency she’d strived to have over her life and her self has been removed, for she may have chosen to leave everything behind for him.

“She looked to the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again.” (157) Edna ends up embracing her death as her choice in a world with so few choices for a woman: a socially acceptable, dutiful housewife and mother or an independent social pariah. Edna struggles to try to find an in-between existence, trying to find herself. Through her misadventures, Edna learns the harsh reality: Even in the cultural and artistic hubbub she lives in, there is no place for the person she has become.

So she kills herself.

In a morbid way, by killing herself, Edna has made her stance. She is rejecting all the roles forced upon her by leaving her society in the most literal way. She is calm and resolute in her choice to reject all the roles she has been forced to assume. This is her choice, and in the end, she dies content.