Edna's Suicide In The Awakening

Despite living in a modern world, social convictions are still present in some countries, especially one that limit women from doing certain things that men can do. '' The Awakening'' by Kate Chopin, set in the Victorian Era tells the story of Edna Pontellier as she breaks away from social norms and pursues her own ambitions which ultimately lead to her death. Furthermore, Edna's death illustrates her rebellion as a form of self-expression. Edna's need for having affairs fulfills her desire for passion. Edna's affair shows that she lacks this kind of passion in her own life, therefore, leading her to commit herself to the affair. This could also be reflecting her fantasies of what a marriage is about. While talking to Madame Ratignolle, Edna thinks about her life back in Kentucky and remembers that '' she had been passionately enamored of a dignified and sad-eyed cavalry officer'' (Chopin 17). She is in love with the officer and she forms images about what love is in her head. When she meets Leonce, she wants to marry him because she wants to express the passions that lay within her. However, she does not think about how her life will turn out after the marriage and rushes into it, . The affairs also lead to Edna's death because she feels guilty out of morality, despite …show more content…
She sends a letter to her husband regarding the move but, '' without even waiting for an answer from her husband regarding his opinions and whishes in the matter, Edna hastened her preparations for quitting her home'' (Chopin 84).Even though Edna sends the letter to her husband, she does not really care if he agrees to it or not. Not waiting for her husband's response shows that Edna is starting to make her own decisions and is recognizing the feeling of being independent. Her independence also triggers her suicide because by committing this, she emphasizes her point that only she can control her own life and nobody can stop her from doing what she