Awakening Essay, Research Paper

The Awakening

Kate Chopin

Edna? s rousing, from the beginning in Grand Isle, to her life in New Orleans and eventually her decease dorsum in Grand Isle, takes topographic point rather all of a sudden. She goes from a quiet, reserved lady, to an vocal, strong-minded adult female. Despite this dramatic alteration, one feature remained changeless throughout the book. She was really baffled about who she was and what she wanted in life. She is pursued by Robert, and is surprised when feelings for him stir inside her. At the beginning of the book, she dismisses him, chiefly because she was married.

? Mrs. Pontellier was glad he had non assumed a similar function toward herself. It would hold been unacceptable and raging. ?

As the hebdomads go on, her attitude alterations greatly. Her response to Robert is one of love and passion.

? I love you, ? she whispered? merely you, no 1 but you? ? ( page 179, 5th paragraph ) .

Edna frequently doesn? t understand her emotions and what is traveling on in her caput, and she besides often misinterprets them. Because of this she is a really unpredictable character, her actions and words are inconsistent in their messages.

? Edna Pontellier could non hold told why, wishing to travel to the beach with Robert, she should in the first topographic point have declined, and in the 2nd topographic point have followed in obeisance to one of the two contradictory urges which impelled her. & # 8221 ;

? Yes, ? she said. ? The old ages that are gone seem like dreams- if one might travel on sleeping and dreaming- but to wake up and find- Ohio! good! possibly it is better to wake up after all, even if to endure, instead than to stay a victim to illusions all one? s life.

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She seemed to welcome her waking up and, at first, enjoyed it. There were drawbacks to it though, merely as benefits. Peoples around her were deeply hurt by some of her independent, and sometimes self-involved, actions. By allowing her feelings for Robert in, she discovered passion, but at the same clip, hurting and loss. The idea of go oning her life the manner it was, and non being able to be with Robert drove her to such desperation she came to the decision it was better off non populating. Equally sad as this seems, she was at peace with herself when she died, which finally was all that she was endeavoring for.

I think that Edna made the determination to stop her life at the terminal of the novel because she felt wholly hopeless in her life. She had reached a point where she didn? t think anything would be changed for the better and thought if she continued populating she would be stuck in this drab, cheerless life forever. She had seen how good life could be, without the societal confines that engulfed her. Her infatuation with Robert had grown to go an compulsion and in her head she had come to a point where life without his love and company was non possible. In some ways this might look like the coward? s manner out, merely Edna get awaying her jobs. In world it was more than that, it was Edna eventually coming to footings with what she wanted in life, and what she wanted, she couldn? T perchance have. Throughout her rousing she had times of felicity, but chiefly was unhappy in her life. When she entered the ocean that twenty-four hours, she was absolutely content and peaceable, non scared or suffering. It brought back memories of her happy childhood and topographic points she loved. If she couldn? T be happy in life, at least she could be happy in decease.