Edna

Stylistically, author’s tend to keep discernable similarities embedded within their works of writing and this does not exclude the nature of characters. Both Edna Pontellier and Louise Mallard shared substantially similar views on their lives as wives. Throughout both stories of each of the two women, Chopin displayed an ever present concept of women feeling confined in marriage rings which acted as handcuffs to societal expectations. First and foremost, Chopin had chosen to end both of her…

Lighthouse, contained characters heavily influenced by New Woman ideals. Edna Ponteiller and Lily Briscoe are “unlike the odd woman, celibate, sexually repressed, and easily pitied or patronized as the flotsam and jetsam of the matrimonial tide” (Showalter 38). Both characters challenge their male counterparts, seek independence and autonomy, and cannot be fulfilled by marriage and motherhood. Through the narratives of Edna Ponteiller and Lily Briscoe, Chopin and Woolf accentuate the traits of…

Dying, destruction and devastation are three words to describe death. Edna St. Vincent Millay and William Blake described death similarity. They each talk about their feelings towards dying. In “Conscientious Objector,” Edna St. Vincent Millay and “The Fly,” William Blake, the authors portray the idea of death from different perspectives. “Edna St. Vincent Millay was the oldest of three girls.” (Edna 1) She had a difficult childhood because her mother divorced her father because of his…

affect a young woman who becomes ahead of her time. The main character Edna…

graceful, pious, and before anything else - pure. Motherhood was clearly every woman’s highest achievement, but Edna is unwilling to repress her essential self for the sake of the role of “mother-woman”. Edna not only escaped from a stifling marriage, but also escaped from being spiritually pruned and socially entrapped. After six years of marriage and two children, it gradually becomes clear to Edna that her life is not fulfilling enough and she finds hope in her love for Robert Lebrun. Her…

off to the shoreline with Robert for a swim in the ocean. The ocean and swimming assume a critical part in this novel. The ocean is a model of death and resurrection, a reference point to passion, denial and temptation. The danger of the sea taunted Edna with the pleasure she had always longed for. Offering herself to the ocean was her last wander into the universe of energy, as it gradually allured her and silently murdered her; taking her away to everlasting lay down with it's "soft, close…

Adding to Dix’s argument, I would argue that in the novel, Edna believes that she has been overdoing her role as a mother. Moreover, we can perceive a tension between her role as a mother and wife and her desire to escape. From the very beginning, the narrator states that “Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother woman” (Chopin 10). Moreover, after the “awakening” Edna refuses to attend her children as she had been doing before. This action confuses Mr. Pontellier’s…

level of support towards their children create the possibility for both positive and negative impacts towards development. Firstly, the mindset a parent has plays a major part in influencing their children’s development. Throughout the book, we see Edna, Bing’s mother, expressing very open-minded beliefs. For instance, on Halloween, Bing, Sylvie, and Laura are all dressed up for the occasion. When Marie is helping Sylvie apply lipstick to her costume, she asks Laura if she would like some too.…

The diction “deeply” implies a sense of Edna’s emotional devotion to the married man, similar to the devotion she gave to the cavalry officer and Robert in Chapter II. This parallel shows how Edna repeatedly devotes herself to whoever is in her life. The married man fantasy for Edna furthers the development of her emotional state when she is devoted to someone. This developed state comes in the form of her realizing her true place in reality, and for her and the married man, it’s when…

independent life away from patriarchal abuse and oppression. Additionally, Chopin incisively describes Edna’s estrange marriage and struggle to overcome her responsibilities and expectations when she awakens and finds that she deserves independence. Edna manages to reject the standardized…