The two major roles and societal duties thrust upon her day after day are that of wife and mother. Throughout the story as Edna attempts to become more and more independent, these duties of wife and mother she allows to slip. The seeds of the beginnings of this slippage in her duties are planted in her summer in Grand Isle. Specifically, her realization of some deep inner thoughts occurs with the coming to understand and acknowledge her curiosity of her infatuation with Robert Lebrum. Along with her realization of her feelings for Robert she becomes increasingly aware that her husband does not satisfy her emotionally as a life partner.

The children appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her, who had overpowered her and sought to drag her into souls slavery for the rest of her days. But she knew a way to elude them. She was not thinking of these things when she walked down the beach. (Chopin 339)

Second Edna’s role as a mother, the second role she feels traps her into society’s framework is one more complex. She loves her children as any mother loves her offspring, where Edna falls short is she sometimes becomes almost lackadaisical when it comes to her mothering duties. Sometimes absent mindedly literally forgetting about her children as she daydreams through her summer days on Grand Isle. Edna’s falling short in her motherly duties do not go un-noticed by her husband:

Throughout Edna’s awakening she becomes more and more entangled as her reality becomes more and more fleeting. She increasingly slips in and out of her daydream like states. In the end when she dies she is completely alone. In her suicide she achieves ultimate solitude through death, death in which she faces alone. She swims out into the ocean completely nude representing her being reborn through her dying. In the end Edna is naked as she came into the world. Edna in dying is taking the ultimate control of her life; in the only way she can during a time when males ruled society. Edna would never let her beliefs be compromised in the end for any reason.

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Edna also goes on to explain her father and sist

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1060
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)