Suicide is most often viewed as giving up to the pressures that one faces. However, with Edna, suicide was the only right choice for her, and by the end of the book, "there was no one thing in the world that she desired.... except Robert." (557). Despite her love for him, she refused to be Robert's wife and go from being one man's possession to another. The only other alternative with Robert would be to have an affair which is not only unacceptable to Robert, as he leaves her upon this request, but it would also be extremely difficult to accomplish in their society and would surely be detrimental to the lives of her children. A third alternative is to live as Mademoiselle Reisz did, i

Unlike the belief of many, Chopin does not compromise the theme, the awakening of individuality, in her novel, The Awakening, with its fateful ending. This theme is maintained and even strengthened with Edna's suicide for Edna upholds her newfound loyalty to her own individualism by taking her life. Through this ending, Chopin adds a new element to the novel that deepens its meaning, realism. The reality of Edna's situation sets in when she cannot escape the restraint that her society has on her. With this ending Chopin's novel moves from an inspirational story, rousing its readers to "wake up" to their true selves, to a social commentary, criticizing societies and cultures that don't allow people, and more specifically, women, to do this.

The end of the novel in which Edna takes her final swim in the ocean and ends her life contains a great deal of imagery which supports this argument. Perhaps the most popular symbol is that of the injured bird which is often viewed as symbolic of Edna's failure to continue her pursuit of individualism and independence. However, the fact that the bird is injured but not caged, as the bird in the beginning of the novel was, is very significant. Edna does not give in to the social conventions that have constrained her by returning to her "cage", but is broken by them in her unwavering pursuit to defy them.

Edna's final swim can be read metaphorically to describe her awakening, her struggles, and her eventual defeat, which is presently brought u

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1010
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)