the awakening

A detailed Summary of the awakening

The suicide of Edna Pontellier in the novel The Awakening, written be Kate Chopin, is not an awakening but a tragic event. If one takes into consideration the emotions and pain that Edna felt they may begin to understand what it was that drew her to her own demise in the sea. It may even become clear that Edna should not be held responsible for her actions. She was in a depressed emotional state and deep inside she was calling for help. The warning signs were there. Some may view this ending as her way of beating the system or winning but for a person to kill themselves under no circumstances should be viewed in that manner.

At the very beginning of the novel, there is constant reference to a caged bird. This can be considered to be a reference to the "caged" life that Edna leads as a wife and mother. Edna certainly felt caged, "an indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness..."(1652) She felt like her children "had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul's slavery..."(1732)

Edna was overcome with feelings of manic depression. Her moods changed like the tides of the sea. "There were days when she was very happy without knowing why... There we

Edna's life didn't have a healthy level of intimacy and closeness. Leonce and Edna were not intimate or close like a married couple should be. In fact when she married Leonce she felt she was "closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams."(1661) When Madame Ratignole held and caressed Edna's hand, "she was not accustomed to an outward and spoken expression of affection, either in herself or in others."(1660)

In the absence of Robert, Edna kept her senses awake when she developed an intimate relationship with Alcee Arobin. When he brought her home after their first day together, "Edna felt extremely restless and excited."(1703) When he kissed her "it was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded."(1709) Yet, throughout her relationship with Arobin her heart still belonged with Robert and it was he who she truly longed for. "Alcee Arobin was absolutely nothing to her." Her thoughts were concerned with what Robert would think of her "act of infidelity..."(1705)

A lot of questions can be brought up when considering the suicide of Edna. Did she plan to swim out so far that she wouldn't have the strength to swim back. Without sleeping the night before how much energy could she have had? She told Victor she was hungry. Could hunger play a part? The water was cold and that probably fatigued her. Edna began to have auditory hallucinations. "The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch."(1733) She must have lost some awareness as to what was going on at that point. Without being fully aware of the situation she may not have known enough to turn around and swim back. When she first learned of her ability to swim, "she wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before."(1668) Maybe she still had that urge deep down inside her to swim far out. She would be far away from her problems on land.

At this point Edna entered a state of emotional shock. "Edna grew faint when she read the words."(1730) After her sleepless night, she didn't have a clear mind. The next day she went to the Lebrun's house. She was tired but otherwise acted normal. She said she would stay for dinner. She asked for a couple of towels so she could "take a good wash and even a little swim, before dinner."(1731) It does not seem like she had planned her suicide at this point. She would not need any towels if did not plan on coming out of the water.

The lack of love in her life is a big contributor to her tragic fate. She did not marry Leonce, her husband, o

Some common words found in the essay are:
Robert Edna, Alcee Arobin, Kate Chopin, Frequently Leonce, Robert Lebrun, Alcee Arobin1700, Regarding Edna's, Madame Ratignole, Doctor Mandelet, Leonce Edna, alcee arobin, bird broken, robert left, edna robert, didn't choice, reference caged, caged bird, doctor mandelet, deep inside, suicide edna,

Approximate Word count = 1740
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English