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Edna Pontellier's Role In The Awakening

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The Awakening, by Kate Chopin is about men and women back in the Victorian Era. During the Victorian Era, women were supposed to stay home and take care of the chores and kids. Men during this time were the money makers and had all the rights and freedom. Edna Pontellier, challenges the way women are supposed to act by rebelling against her husband and starts following what she wants for once. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, every man that has ever been involved in Edna’s life has tried to control her.
Leonce Pontellier, is known as the “ideal perfect” husband. Leonce works, has a lot of wealth, is well-known, and he cares for Edna. To Leonce, he may think that he is treating his wife right when in reality, he treats Edna as if she was a pet …show more content…
Robert and Edna has this connection that is greater than Leonce and Alcee combined. While Robert loves Edna deeply, he too has control over her. Edna is controlled by Robert emotionally. Robert cannot contain himself in front of Edna because "her seductive voice, together with his great love for her, had enthralled his sense, had deprived him of every impulse but the longing to hold her and keep her” (Chopin 147). Edna has this affect on Robert that makes him go weak everytime Edna does or say something. Edna is dependent on Roberts love and affection. Edna cannot bear what it would feel like to be away from Robert and she refuses to live another second without him. When Robert decided to leave for Mexico, it broke Edna’s heart. For awhile, Edna was miserable and completely not herself. Without Robert there by her side, Edna thought that she could no longer do anything nomore. The words written on the note Robert left for Edna, “I love you. Good-by--because I love you” (Chopin 152) meant that they could never be together. After reading the note Robert had left, it was the last straw for Edna. Realization had finally struck Edna that she could never be with her one true love. Robert had an extremely a very deep effect on Edna and the realization of not even controlling who she can be with made Edna do the

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