Essay On Edna's Sacrifice In The Awakening '

The idea that what one values can be determined by what he or she sacrifices is a commonly accepted idea throughout not just literature, but also life in general. In The Awakening, the protagonist, Edna, became the perfect example of a character who's beliefs are shown by her actions. From the beginning, it was made clear that Edna valued the freedom to express individuality as well as the right to independence. Many of her sacrifices, such as giving up her fidelity in order to sexually please herself or moving out of the luxurious home she shared with her husband in order to live in a smaller one for herself showed that Edna valued her individuality more than the materialistic pleasures of the world. Eventually, her bold decision to commit …show more content…
Although innocent at first, it became apparent that Edna’s feelings for Robert were more than friendly, and one might view her lack of fidelity as a sacrifice for her own personal pleasure. Edna proceeded to have various “affairs” throughout the novel. The first major sacrifice Edna makes in order to achieve independence is not her string of lovers, but rather the house that she purchased in New Orleans, which was dubbed as the “pigeon house”. Small and quaint, it was a large change from the glamorous home that Edna shared with her husband. In today’s world it may seem somewhat insignificant that a woman would move into her own space, but during the time period of The Awakening, it was unfathomable that a female would give up the ritzy lifestyle provided by her husband in exchange for a small dwelling place. The importance of this action was highlighted by the narrator of the text stating that Edna “felt as if she had descended the social scale, with a corresponding sense of having risen in the spiritual”. Possessing a separate home allowed Edna to carry on her affairs without the reminder of her husband, as well as giving her space to create art, which she had deeply delved