In literature, suicide is often romanticized as a beautiful young woman with tired eyes who just broke up with her boyfriend, and cannot possibly live without him. But in reality that is not the case as many times, making the decision to end one’s own life is a irrational decision. Suicide is more often than not a side effect of depression and other mental illnesses as well as stressful events that have happened. In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier begins to develop and suffer from depression, which will lead to her decision to end her own life. Although many people believe that suicide is the result of a singular element, looking at Edna’s suicide shows that the decision is multifaceted and caused by a multitude of factors.
One of the major factors that leads to Edna’s suicide is the fact that she is becoming self aware for this time period. Women in this time period really could not think for themselves, as they were completely dependent on their husbands. Adele is a prime …show more content…
Before she made her way out to sea, she stripped completely naked, expressing her relief, “She felt like some new-born creature, opening her eyes in a familiar world that it had never known (Chopin 152)”. Edna had finally rid herself of the bonds of society, allowing herself to be in the truest form of herself, experiencing life the way she should have the entire time. As she swims out further and further, she does not express any regret in her decision, or the life that she had been living. Her thoughts in her final moments do provide a deeper insight, as her attention drifts to a dog chained to a tree, barking and fighting to break free. Edna, being the dog, society being the chain, and motherhood representing the tree, all pose as significant symbols. With Edna’s death, she is breaking free of the chains that are binding her to society's view of what she should
One of the major factors that leads to Edna’s suicide is the fact that she is becoming self aware for this time period. Women in this time period really could not think for themselves, as they were completely dependent on their husbands. Adele is a prime …show more content…
Before she made her way out to sea, she stripped completely naked, expressing her relief, “She felt like some new-born creature, opening her eyes in a familiar world that it had never known (Chopin 152)”. Edna had finally rid herself of the bonds of society, allowing herself to be in the truest form of herself, experiencing life the way she should have the entire time. As she swims out further and further, she does not express any regret in her decision, or the life that she had been living. Her thoughts in her final moments do provide a deeper insight, as her attention drifts to a dog chained to a tree, barking and fighting to break free. Edna, being the dog, society being the chain, and motherhood representing the tree, all pose as significant symbols. With Edna’s death, she is breaking free of the chains that are binding her to society's view of what she should