Jane Eyre and Edna Pontellier each represent women struggling for independence. They both also have great desires to pursue true love, happiness and freedom from social conventions. They rebel, in part, shows strongly through their relationships with various men. For instance, Jane leaves Mr. Rochester when he pressures her to become his mistress. Jane also rejects St. John when he forces her into a loveless marriage. By the same token, Edna in The Awakening leaves her husband when she realizes their marriage is a loveless one. Later on, Edna rejects Alcee's proposal and also refuses to become Robert's possession. This is a very strong characteristic of feminism that highlights both women's intense emotional capacity. The difference in the way Jane Eyre and Edna Pontellier approach

Despite the similar goals of the two protagonists, Jane Eyre pursues hers differently than Edna. Jane ends happily. Jane eventually gains her freedom through her inheritance, and no longer has to depend on Rochester. Jane's physical and emotional journeys are brought to an end in the last chapter, as she switches from past to present tense: "My Edward and I, then, are happy" (783). This shows that she is no longer looking back, only forward to her future happiness, having finally attained her goals. She achieves her destiny on her own terms. On the other hand, Edna Pontellier could only attain her goals through dying. She chooses to gain her freedom in death. There is satisfaction in Edna's death. Chopin writes, "She felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" (1100). The satisfaction comes from knowing that she has succeeded in breaking free from societal constraints. Edna's choice represents a woman's awakening to the sea that her life and freedom of individuality. Suicide is Edna's way out and a way of self-fulfillment by defying all that she is taught. Her brave vision stands against the sexist majority and defines her as an individual. Edna is able to break away from the restraining world of Leonce, Robert, and Alcee in which she will never find true happiness. As Edna says over and over to herself: "Today it is Arobin; tomorrow it will be someone else. It makes no difference to me, it

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Approximate Word count = 988
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)