Awakening Kate Chopin's Masterpiece, the Essay

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Edna's behavior has been foreshadowed through a conversation about her past with Mrs. Ratignolle in which Edna tells Adele of her childhood and the actions she took and the choices she made. Edna tells Adele, "I was a little unthinking child in those days, just following a misleading impulse without question" (61). Edna has not come far from her childhood days of defying what society thought should be done with one's life. Though this statement is in reference to Edna running away from prayers in the Presbyterian Church, it applies to many other aspects of her life. During her stay at Grand Isle, Edna overcomes her fear and learns how to swim. By learning how to swim, Edna gained power that eventually made her grow "daring and reckless, overestimating her strength" (73). She lacked the opportunity to develop a strong sense of self before she married Leonce because she had simply gone from being a daughter to a wife with no intermediary stage of independence. Leonce unknowing opened a door for Edna when he ignored the seriousness of her relationship with Robert. Leonce treated Edna as though she were a "valuable piece of property" never spending too much time with her, interacting with her, and shaping her into what a wife was supposed to be. Leonce spent much time abroad working in his brokerage business and would rather spend time in a club than with his wife. Edna did not fit into Creole society and its arcane expectations of women.

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She was not one to cater to every whim and fancy of her children and husband, now was she one that felt as though she could run a large household. Though many people of the time found it appalling, Edna was not born to be the "angel of the house." She desires freedom from the life she's led and from society's expectations. Edna finds various forms of freedom including artistic, marital, monetary, sexual, and the freedom to choose how and when she will die.

Edna's story is one of tragedy in which she plays the tragic hero. She questioned the woman's function in society and provided alternative options for women of the time. Edna's flaw is her constant impulsivity and irresponsibility, foolishly thinking that her actions would bring her joy, but in fact, they brought her nothing but misery and despair. It is not as though was not given a good life; it was that she had not life. Edna became overwhelmed trying to discover who she was, and though it may appear cowardly by committing suicide, it was at this point that she was freest. She freed herself from the life she had, free from bondage, naked into the sea.

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