The Awakening Edna's Suicide Essay

814 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Edna's conflicting desires in chopin the awakening

In Chopin’s The Awakening two opposing viewpoints tend to surface regarding the main character, Edna’s, suicide. Was it an artistic statement or did Edna’s selfish and childlike character lead to her demise. These two perspectives consistently battle one another, both providing sufficient evidence. However, Chopin intentionally wrote two equally supported interpretations of the character in order to leave the book without closure.
Is Edna’s suicide an artistic statement? Many readers come to this conclusion based on Mademoiselle Reisz’ influence on Edna’s life. Edna aspires to be like Mademoiselle Reisz because she lacks a characteristic that Mademoiselle Reisz possesses, control over her own life. To gain control over herself, Edna chooses …show more content…

Edna misunderstands the situation and claims that she is the victim of Robert removing himself from her life. Robert solely wants to salvage her reputation and be a good man. He does not wish to become the man that ruined Edna’s even if it meant he could be with the woman he loves. She wholly disregards the things Roberts cares about when deciding that he is selfish for not only thinking of her. When Robert leaves her near the end of the book to protect her reputation, Edna still believed that she was the victim: “‘Good-by--because I love you.’ He did not know; He did not understand … it was too late”(125). Edna is a woman who leaves her husband, her children, and her friends all because she only cares about herself, and when she does not get what she wants, Robert, she decides that there was no more reason to live.
Though these two explanations provide equal merit, they are too different for the reader to come to any fully supported conclusion of the novel. On one hand the main character is a strong independent artist who refuses conformity. On the other, the main character is a basket case and the nature of her awakening is complete self absorbed. It seems likely that the author intended to create juxtaposition in the two different interpretations of Edna’s character

Show More
Related

  • The Role Of Reinvention In The Awakening

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier, ventures through a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. Mrs.Pontellier is a mother and wife who begins to crave more from life, than her assigned societal roles. She encounters two opposite versions of herself, that leads her to question who she is and who she aims to be. Mrs. Pontellier’s journey depicts the struggle of overcoming the scrutiny women face, when denying the ideals set for them to abide. Most importantly the end of the novel depicts Mrs.Pontellier as committing suicide, as a result of her ongoing internal

    Read More

  • Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Kate Chopin's, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier came in contact with many different people during a summer at Grand Isle. Some had little influence on her life while others had everything to do with the way she lived the rest of her life. The influences and actions of Robert Lebrun on Edna led to her realization that she could never get what she wanted, which in turn caused her to take her own life.

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier's Regression In The Awakening

    1583 Words  | 4 Pages

    Essentially, Edna is not able to fulfill any of the roles that are presented by Chopin in the novel: mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend, artist, lover to either man, and finally the traditional role of a woman in society. She does not quite fit into any niche, and thus her suicide at the end of the novel is the only way for Edna’s story to end. Chopin must have Edna die, as she cannot survive in this restrained society in which she does not belong to. The idea of giving yourself completely to serve another, Edna declares “that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, or for any one” (47). However, her awakening is also a realization of her underprivileged position in a male dominated society. The first sign that Edna is becoming comfortable with herself, and beginning to loosen the constrictions of not being an individual is when she asks Robert, her husband, to retrieve her shawl: "When he returned with the shawl she took it and kept it in her hand. She did not put it around her" (30). Edna is trying to establish herself as an artist in a society where there is no tradition of women as creative beings. For any woman to suggest a desire for a role outside the domestic sphere, as more than a mother or housewife, was perceived as

    Read More

  • The True Identity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, the main protagonist, experiences multiple awakenings—the process in which Edna becomes aware of her life and the constraints place on it—through her struggles with interior emotional issues regarding her true identity: the confines of marriage vs. her yearning for intense passion and true love. As Edna begins to experience these awakenings she becomes enlightened of who she truly and of what she wants. As a result, Edna breaks away from what society deems acceptable and becomes awakened to the flaws of the many rules and expected behavior that are considered norms of the time. One could argue that Kate Chopin’s purpose in writing about Edna’s inner struggles and enlightenment was to

    Read More

  • The Awakening

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout The Awakening, a novel by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontellier showed signs of a growing depression. There are certain events that hasten this, events which eventually lead her to suicide.

    Read More

  • Edna’s Suicide in The Awakening

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin ends with the death of the main character, Edna Pontellier. Stripping off her clothes, she swims out to sea until her arms can no longer support her, and she drowns. It was not necessarily a suicide, neither was it necessarily the best option for escaping her problems.

    Read More

  • Eros Vs. Thanatos In The Awakening

    353 Words  | 1 Pages

    It influences her heavily. One could say that, as a consequence of Robert's love, she kills herself. This is supported by the fact that the last thing she says before she loses consciousness is “because I love you.” The question is now whether her death is actually self-destructive behavior or could be seen as the last step in creating her true self. She fully takes control. Among scholars it is argued that Edna's death can be interpreted in different ways. One of these interpretations would be a sort of giving up, because eventually she realizes that she cannot be what society wants her to be and therefore removes herself from said society. On the other hand, it could be seen as her final move of independence, the only way she could be free; her final act of freedom. Like mentioned before, both Eros and Thanatos can be applied to these interpretations but it is open to the reader to decide which one it eventually

    Read More

  • What Is Edna Pontellier's Sacrifice In The Awakening

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.

    Read More

  • The Awakening

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    At first, the relationship between Robert and Edna is innocent. They mostly bathe in the sea or engage in idle talk. As the summer progresses, however, Edna and Robert grow closer, and Robert’s affections and attention inspire in Edna several internal revelations. She feels more alive than ever before, and she starts to paint again as she did in her youth. She also learns to swim and becomes aware of her independence and sexuality. Edna and Robert never openly discuss their love for one another, but the time they spend alone together kindles memories in Edna of the dreams and desires of her youth. She becomes inexplicably depressed at night with her husband and profoundly joyful during her moments of freedom, whether alone or with Robert. Recognizing how intense the relationship between him and Edna has become, Robert honorably removes himself from Grand Isle to avoid consummating his forbidden love. Edna returns to New Orleans a changed woman.

    Read More

  • The Awakening Edna's Sacrifice

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although Edna was not the ideal mother in the Creole society, she still deeply cared for her children and knew that her actions determined the fate of their lives. She was not willing to give up the future of what she admired for her own peace of mind. In Chapter 16, Edna tells Madame Ratignolle, “‘I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself”, demonstrating that even if she were to give up her life, her personal ideals would still remain. The stress of the Creole society taught her that her actions would affect her loved ones and she knew that she had to sacrifice her life in order to keep her happiness. It was extremely important for mothers to take care of their children. However, for Edna, when her children were away at their grandmother’s home, “their absence was a sort of relief... It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her” (p. 21). Her mindset of her children contradicted those of the Creole women, more deeply expressing her seclusion from their society and giving her another reason to search for a way out. The meaning of a work as a whole was unveiled after she found her way out. The suicide allowed her to save what was most important to her: her place as a female in a strict

    Read More

  • Edna Pontellier Mental Depression

    1975 Words  | 4 Pages

    Something rarely mentioned when discussing The Awakening by Kate Chopin is the possibility of the main character, Edna Pontellier, having a mental illness. Her unconventional awakening and suicide is often attributed to Edna, not being able to withstand the pressures and standards of society. However, there is a deeper reason for her motives. Edna Pontellier struggled with depression and other mental illnesses throughout her life, which ultimately resulted in her awakening and suicide.

    Read More

  • Selfish Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Could the actions of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novella The Awakening ever be justified? This question could be argued from two different perspectives. The social view of The Awakening would accuse Edna Pontellier of being selfish and unjustified in her actions. Yet, in terms of the story's romanticism, Edna was in many ways an admirable character. She liberated herself from her restraints and achieved nearly all that she desired. Chopin could have written this novel to glorify a woman in revolt against conventions of the period. Yet, since the social standpoint is more factual and straightforward, it is the basis of this paper. Therefore, no, her affairs, treatment of her family and lovers, and suicide were completely unwarranted. She was not denied love or support by any of those close to her. Ultimately Edna Pontellier was simply selfish.

    Read More

  • Edna's Freedom in The Awakening by Kate Chopin

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edna’s first action that starts off her route to freedom from her relationship is when she fell in love with Robert. Edna had already married a man that she had not loved but he has not been treating her a...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Suicide In The Awakening By Kate Chopin

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    collapse of conventional conceptions of the self. In “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, Edna is a character who ends up committing suicide. So then the question that is being asked is whether or not Edna's suicide is an act of tragic affirmation or pathetic defeat. Kate Chopin chooses to have Edna take a "final swim" as evidence of her absolute defeat as an insightful study of the limitations

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Escape in A Doll’s House and The Awakening

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edna conforms by enduring her husband, Leonce Pontellier; caring for her children and home, and keeping her relationship with Robert discreet throughout the novel. While there is an obvious internal battle between romance, conformity, confusion, and unrealized raw passio...

    Read More

More about The Awakening Edna's Suicide Essay

Open Document