At the start of “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, the main character is asleep. However, Edna is not physically asleep- but mentally asleep waiting to wake up into her true self. Edna Pontellier has found herself living a life she does not wish to have, falling into depression often due to her state. It is through a realization that she does not belong in the role she is playing, a new mindset in which she is not afraid to act, and beautiful masterpieces that she finally awakens to her true self, as she is leaving responsibility for passion. This journey Edna takes is all spelled out in the ocean as well, as Edna begins her long swim to the other side of herself.
Edna is happily married to a successful businessman and together they have two happy, young boys. Several young men are fond of her, and her friends Mrs. Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz view her as a very respectable woman. She lives among happy people and they assume she is content as well. Contrary to all this, Edna Pontellier is not happy at all. She is in agony over her definition of her own life- who she is as an individual. She does not wish to be Mr. Pontellier’s wife, nor a mother to her sons, but she wishes to be Edna. Purely Edna as she would have it. She once states that she would give up anything, …show more content…
She swims too far and tires, presumably drowning. The ocean throughout the story is presented as seductive and calling to Edna, mirroring how the independent life is also calling to her. However, this independent life also leads Edna to new sorrows to the point where she does not know how to feel and ends up going too far into her independence and killing her relationship with Robert, whom she loved. This is demonstrated as Edna swims too far and drowns, when she should have gone back to shore and been content in her swim and
Edna is happily married to a successful businessman and together they have two happy, young boys. Several young men are fond of her, and her friends Mrs. Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz view her as a very respectable woman. She lives among happy people and they assume she is content as well. Contrary to all this, Edna Pontellier is not happy at all. She is in agony over her definition of her own life- who she is as an individual. She does not wish to be Mr. Pontellier’s wife, nor a mother to her sons, but she wishes to be Edna. Purely Edna as she would have it. She once states that she would give up anything, …show more content…
She swims too far and tires, presumably drowning. The ocean throughout the story is presented as seductive and calling to Edna, mirroring how the independent life is also calling to her. However, this independent life also leads Edna to new sorrows to the point where she does not know how to feel and ends up going too far into her independence and killing her relationship with Robert, whom she loved. This is demonstrated as Edna swims too far and drowns, when she should have gone back to shore and been content in her swim and