Kate Chopin

Melanie Freeman
English 48B
March 5, 209
Kate Chopin: The Awakening

A pattern that exists throughout Edna's "awakening" is that she often becomes overcome with emotion but has not been able to interpret the reason for her feelings. On some occasions she is extremely happy, others thoroughly depressed "without knowing why" (58). Edna can feel a change happening inside of her but she has not yet truly understood these changes. It is not until her last moments on the shore of the Grand Isle, that Edna finally understands herself. Unfortunately, at this same instance, Edna is overcome with heart break which prevents her from being able to exist as the woman she truly is.

"She understood now clearly what she had meant long ago when she said to Adele Ratignolle that she would give up the unessential, but she would never sacrifice herself for her children" (113).

Summary:
This moment follows the climax of the novel when Edna reads Robert's letter. The letter explains that he has left her again, implying that he is unable to reciprocate her love for him. Self-alienated from her husband and children, Edna is more alone and devastated than ever. She returns to Grand Isle, the island where she met Robert last summer for what appears to be a chance for her to clear her mind. As Edna heads to the water to swim, she removes her suit and stands completely naked on the shore. Edna swims far out and her weak, exhausted body succumbs to the ocean.

Response:
As Edna realizes the meaning of a sentence she spoke months before she finally understands the woman she truly is. She now knows that she was forced into a life she did not want and felt trapped by the social expectations of women from of her status. Her role as a mother was never fitting and at this point she finally embraces that fact.

Although Edna has started the process of reinventing herself by painting more often and living on her own, she has not been able to succeed in her personal relationships. She feels guilty for her relations with Adlee and crushed by her rejection from Robert. At this moment Edna finally comprehends what is mentally required to survive as the woman she is and has fallen short. She is too weak and injured and gives up in response. She is unable to fulfill the requirement Mademoiselle Reisz set for her; to "possess the courageous soul that dares and defies" (114). The ideal of becoming a woman without the confines of society's opression is a task impossible for Edna to achieve.