The story of Edna, the joy of Edna and the grief of Edna
Edna keeps pulling me back into her life every year. Each time I want to let her go, her clutches seem stronger.
Readers, help me out here...... show me why I have made the right decision in including the awakening as permanent menu for LHE 3251. What are the interesting issues you have discovered in the Awakening?
The Awakening
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Subject: Self-discovery
Theme: Self-realization and subsequent rebellion against society’s conventions for men and women.
One of the main themes in the novel ‘The Awakening’ is self-discovery. Edna’s continuous struggle towards self enlightenment constantly brings her into confusion as she tries to uncover herself as a woman, a wife, a mother and most importantly, an individual. As quoted by Edna while was talking to Alcee Arobin, she says;
“One of these days, “ she said, “I’m going to pull myself together for a while and think – try to determine what character of a woman I am, for, candidly, I don’t know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can’t convince myself that I am. I must think about it.”
(Chapter 27:103)
This shows that Edna is still thinking about her role in family and society, in which she feels the pressure to act according to the female conventions and norms of the 19th century. But at the same time, she is undergoing a change in terms of self-discovery and is gradually rebelling through her expression in art and her social circle. Edna’s actions reflect the seeds of early feminism as well.
“A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.”
(Chapter 10:43)
This is a pretty heavy-handed symbolism. "Where no woman had swum before!" Edna hopes to surpass existing convention regarding female behavior. It demonstrates that she has come to the point of realization where she wants to come out from the oppressed circle of life she has been living within. Now that she has the strength, she wants to break free from the life that she thinks does not treat her well – the limitation of being a woman.
“Yes,” she said. The years that are gone seem like dreams- if one might go on sleeping and dreaming- but to wake up and find-oh! well! perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s life.”
(Chapter 38:116)
The stanza above, taken from Edna’s conversation with Dr Mandelet, symbolizes Edna’s inner yearning for freedom. She, who had forced herself to follow the unwritten rules of high society, realized there are things that she wanted for herself, hence deciding to walk away from the rules. To her, her responsibilities with her husband, children and society were an illusion that she had woken up from. She decided to cast away her past as if waking up from a dream, to a new life where she was free to dictate what she did, who she socialized with, and who to love. It did not matter if her decision caused her to be excluded from high society, she was willing to walk a path of pain and isolation if only she could love Robert freely.
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Main Issue : Discovery of true self.
From this novel, we can see that Edna started to discover her true self since she was in Grand Isle for the summer vacation, which to be precise happened when she falls for Robert. Below are some of the evidence from the novel :
The first one, Edna realized that she is actually does not love her marriage, but she loves Robert instead. This become stronger after a few incidents that show how disappointed she was with her husband's act. For example, when Leonce asked her to look after their child who is believed to be sick by him. Edna was very certain that the child was alright but he still forced her to go to their child. At last she cried because she was forced to do something that was beyond her willingness. The evidence of her love for Robert is when she was waiting for Robert's letter all the time after she went back to New Orleans. She is also exposed her feeling towards Robert to Mademoiselle Reisz as she is the one who provides Edna with Robert's latest news.
The second one is she discovers her true self that she is actually loves painting and music. Through painting, she is able to express her feelings. She has her own room where she keeps all her painting and surprisingly her painting received compliment from her friends such as Madame Ratignolle. She is also love music whereby she loves to hear the sound of piano from Mademoiselle Reisz.
The third one is, she is unwilling to hold the responsibility towards her children. Edna herself claimed that "she is unwilling to sacrifice herself for the children". She does love her children, but she does not want to be burden by them. We can see that throughout her marriage, she just willing to take care of them but not be responsible on them.
The fourth and the last one is she is actually does not like to live the fancy life she is in. Once she returned to New Orleans, the moment she entered the house, she does not feel alive although the house was equipped with rich furniture and stuffs. Instead, she made the decision to move out to a smaller house which the maid referred to as the "birdhouse". There, she gained her serenity, the life that she once experienced when she was back in Kentucky - her hometown.
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Part 1
Main Issue: The implication/consequences of self-expression
In the novel ‘The Awakening’, Edna, the protagonist is thoroughly described as someone who is very expressive in terms of emotions and sexual needs. She has face an extreme emotional torture by her own questioning about her freedom as a woman and a wife since she initially believe that these two aspects has limited her liberty to be expressive in order to get what she wants in life. This essay is going to discuss the implications of the awakening of Edna’s expressive behaviour towards herself, her love life and also towards her marriage.
After her marriage, Edna found her life is limited and dependable to her husband and her two children. She felt that her life is unfree and tied to the responsibilities as a mother and wife. To being a good mother-woman, she has to put her husband and her children before herself. It leads to Edna’s depression and inner rebel. She wanted her life to be free and lively as she went through during her young age. Edna’s discovery of ways to express herself leads to the revelation of her long-repressed emotions. She expressed herself via language as she learnt the mode of expression of the Creole women on Grand Isle. These women speak freely and share their emotions openly. At the first stage, their culture shocked Edna but soon she put an interest on it. She learnt how to speak out her emotions and sexual desire directly and outburst her feelings without fear. For example, in chapter 8 paragraph 9, Edna said to her husband, “You are not thinking of what you are saying…” Edna also revealed her emotions via art. It is her natural talent in drawing but her husband never support her to pursue this talent. But in chapter 9, when Edna heard Mademoiselle Reisz performed on the piano, she was motivated to go on with the hobby. In chapter five, paragraph twelve, it portrays Edna’s passion in drawing and her afford to take it out. “Mrs. Pontelier had brought her sketching materials, which she sometimes dabbled with in an unprofessional way. She liked dabbling. She felt in it satisfaction of a kind which no other afforded her.
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Part 2
A typically assumed reason for having an affair is that the person's spouse is, in some way, unsatisfactory. Perhaps by their affair, they are searching for a better source of love. This, however, was not a justifiable cause for Edna's adultery. Mr. Pontellier was a loving husband who tried to show his love for Edna in all of the ways he was able. Léonce showered his wife with valuable gifts. His life revolved around money, and he knew no other way to show his wife how much he loved her. He attempted to compensate Mrs. Pontellier materialistically for the lack of emotional support. While this may not be an ideal solution to the problem, it cannot be denied that Mr. Pontellier was trying to diminish the problems between them. Yet, even though it is understandable that she is upset that her husband lacks family skills, getting married was solely Edna's fault. The history of their relationship is far from perfect. Chopin states "her marriage to Léonce Pontellier was purely an accident... He fell in love...and pressed his suit with earnestness and an ardour which left nothing to be desired. He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her" (18).
Just because Pontellier cannot express his concern directly doesn't mean that he does not find other ways to care for his family. For example, when he is concerned about Edna's welfare, he goes to the doctor and fully obeys his orders. Another illustration of this is when Edna was lying in the hammock after the dinner party. Léonce reacts by telling her "This is more than folly. I can't permit you to stay out there all night. You must come in the house instantly" (31). One could say that here he tries to control his wife. However, he was simply concerned for her welfare and trying to prevent her from falling sick.
Her affair with Alcee Arobin cannot be accepted because it brought about the destruction of her marriage to Mr. Pontellier. What we can conclude from this story is the fact that one's sinful desire can only lead to doom and destruction. This is evident when her marriage was destroyed as a result of her own wrongdoings. Thus, one must never get carried away with emotions because getting overwhelmed in emotions can only lead to self-destruction. In this case, like Edna Pontellier’s marriage and her life, it ended in pure misery.
The Awakening
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http://www.scribd.com/doc/106871928/The-Main-Issue-in-the-Awakening-Atiqah-Dalilah-Najwa-Wardah-and-Hasanah
The Awakening: Highlighted Issues
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Freedom… While soaring in the sky, a mighty eagle thinks of nothing but the freedom it is blessed with. Diving from the bed of clouds into the shining blue marble, grabbing its meal as it owns both the sky and the sea. It is free from any binds, may it be worldly or the other. Just as a tiny sparrow, dashing from a tree to another on air. It joins its friends, chirping a beautiful orchestra on the stage roofed by the green canopy and floored by the sturdy brown branches. A bird is free. Everybody knows this fact and Kate Chopin, being a master of creative writing herself would of course notice this first before anyone does. “A GREEN AND YELLOW PARROT, which hung in a cage outside the door.” In the beginning of The Awakening, she has cleverly placed the image of 2 birds while giving Edna and those birds a similar trait in action which is to directly associate Edna's existence with the birds' in wants, situation and probably her current inner thoughts. How so? A bird, as it is supposed to be free by nature is in a cage. It's struggling by making loud noises while crying for freedom which it has longed for since the sight of freedom has lost her before. You will only appreciate something or someone once it is no longer yours. The birds are in a cage. They cannot fly any longer because the limited space restricts their movements and they have been reduced to such that their wings serve only as a pair of attached shoulder capes. Kate Chopin is trying to tell us from the beginning that Edna is among those birds. What does a bird want? Does it want to be behind metal bars? A dog, if not walked will become stressed and eventually disobey the one who tied its neck to the pole that has become its prison. What does a bird want? It wants to fly. That is also what is inside of Edna's heart. Her heart screams for a glide under the golden ray of the great golden ball while having gusts of wind breezing through her hair and looking down at the infinite horizon and the creations below her.
Her swimming in the sea without any piece of clothing on also reflects how badly she wants to be free. Nudity represents being natural or going back to how things should be. By being free of her own clothing, she feels as if the world is not holding her back and she is free to do anything she please. It's a great feeling for those who yearn to be unbound to anybody and anything around them. I feel that Edna's search for freedom or rather, her wanting for freedom is what the title 'The Awakening' means. That is, her realisation of wanting herself to be free. Before this, she might have been accepting the society's 'common sense' of what should be and what should not and that no matter how deprived of love from her husband she is, she should just remain quiet. All in all, the freedom that she had achieved, despite having the grim reaper knocking on her doors, in my opinion, was worth it.
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Based on the novel “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, we have identified a major issue that leads to several interesting events in the story which is the social expectation of the roles of males and females. In the novel, women are expected to handle house chores and their children while men are responsible to find money to raise the family. This norm does not only apply during the old days but it is still happening in this modern era. It is always a stereotype to think about the women managing the family solely while the men are always the exclusive gender to make a living, as we can read in Chapter 3, paragraph 6:
“He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his brokerage business. He could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying at home to see that no harm befell them”.
We have also discovered that the society expects a woman to treat her husband as a “God” and respect the children as though they are the master. Women are obliged to neglect their individual needs in the society and they are expected to be the “ministering angels”, looking out for their ill husband and children. This contradicts to the value of a family institution whereby every member respects each other and not by treating the wife or mother as a slave. This is proven in page 12 when the author states that:
“they were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels”.
Edna, the main character in the novel also has the desire to make decisions based on emotions and live the life she wants it to be but not long after she becomes a wife and a mother. One of the reasons for her dissatisfaction results from the way she is treated by Leonce, a man who has good intentions but hurt her by following what the society feel is right. In page 80, Leonce criticises Edna for not staying home on Tuesdays, which she is always expected to do so to satisfy the social conventions of the time. Leonce reminds her that she is not supposed to do such thing because they has got to observe les convenances if they ever expect to get on and keep up with the procession.
Another proof to show how Edna is so distressed with the demand of the society is when she says:
"I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself.”
This is the clearest indication of how she is willing to sacrifice almost everything but herself. She cannot stand the fact that she has to emerge as a person whom the society expects her to be. She has to be a mother-woman who is devoted only to her husband and children and Adele Ratignole is the person to suit this characteristic best. Edna even falls in love with Robert Lebrun, which is definitely not an art acceptable by the society.
We believe that Edna committed suicide when the story ended with her drowning in the sea. It might not be her intention when she first goes skinny dipping in the sea because all she ever wants is just a taste of freedom from people’s demands and perception. As she swims further in the sea and gets tired, she might eventually feels that there is no need to swim back to the shore. After all, she has lost her true love, Robert and she does not want to be someone different than a person she wants to be, therefore she decides to let herself drown and enjoy all the freedom she can get in the ‘other’ world.
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One of the issues in The Awakening is the sense of individuality. Edna Pontellier is a woman with what the society would dictate as a happy family; a husband, two healthy sons along with comfortable and wealthy lifestyle. However, along the way, Edna met Robert Lebrun and she realized just how trapped she is in her life. Her love towards Robert ignited her desire to set herself free of society and its expectation towards her. This very gradual realization continues until the end of the novel, when Edna finally managed to set herself free and finally able to go against the society’s set of rules, though it means taking her own life.
Edna wants to be perceived as an individual, not merely as ‘the wife of that man’ or ‘the mother of the children’. However, being a wife and a mother, it is hard for Edna to actually letting go of her bonds with everything from her life as she discovered herself as an individual woman, especially her children. She loved them very much, but her love is no match to the newfound sensation of being able to be herself. This is what prompted her to say to Madame Ratignolle one evening; “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself.” (c. 16) At that time Edna herself couldn’t understand the essence of her words, but she did eventually.
Edna turned towards painting in the process of rediscovering her true self. When confronted by her husband following her overwhelming passion towards painting while simultaneously comparing her to Madame Ratignolle that manage to take great care of her family while pursuing her interest in playing piano, Edna replied : “She isn’t a musician, and I’m not a painter. It isn’t on account of painting that I let things go” (c. 19) It can be seen that painting had been her escapade from the mundane routine of life as it allows her to see things from her own perspective; not tainted by that of others. Also, painting can be a symbolism of power, as she is able to create something from a blank canvas. Besides, the activity of painting has a quality that screams individuality as one’s painting can never be the same as other’s. As Edna becoming freer in her actions, so does her painting, which can be seen when she told Mademoiselle Reisz about her plan to move out of Pontellier residence and she mentioned : “Laidpore is more and more pleased in my work; he says it grows in force and individuality.”
Edna is living her life as if she is a single woman. She is living in a denial where she pretends that she does not have any responsibilities, thus doing everything she loves and abandoning her real responsibilities as a mother-woman. Her abandonment towards her responsibilities as a married woman can be seen in these lines; “She began to do as she liked and to feel as she liked. She completely abandoned her Tuesdays at home, and did not return the visits of those who had called upon her. She made no ineffectual efforts to conduct her household, going and coming as it suited her fancy, and so far as she was able, lending herself to any passing caprice.” (c 19) It shows that she is really determined to kick herself out from that kind of society’s norms and lives in her own world. The world where she rules everything.
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~The Implication of Self-Expression (Love and Passion)~
Edna’s discovery of ways to express herself leads to the revelation of her long-repressed emotions. During her awakening, Edna learns at least three new “languages.”
First, Edna had never been a person who acknowledge, name, define and articulate her emotion. But, since her encounter with the Creole women, she begins to associate with their culture. She realize that despite their chastity, these women speaks freely and share their emotion openly. From then on, Edna begin to learn to face her emotion and sexually directly without fear. All this can be found in the excerpt as in chapter 4, 'Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her, though she had no difficulty in reconciling it with a lofty chastity which in the Creole woman seems to be inborn and unmistakable.'
Edna also learns how to express herself through art. This was shown in Chapter IX when Edna attending a function where Mademoiselle Reisz was performing on the piano. Previously, music had called up images to her mind but mademoiselle’s piano playing stirs her in a deeper way where: “she saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body.” Later on when the music ceases to conjure up images in Edna’s mind, it forms an images in Edna’s mind like a sort of call to something within herself.In addition, Mademoiselle Reisz senses the reaction of Edna with the playing of music: noting Edna’s “agitation”, she even mentions that Edna is “the only one” who is “worth playing for” at the party. The awakening of Edna’s emotion throughout music pushes her to attempt painting with which she has never painted before. Painting itself is now acting as a true expression instead of a diversion for Edna.
Next, Kate Chopin brought up the self-expression of love in the novel. For example, the expression of Edna’s love towards Robert Lebrun. Throughout this novel, Edna learns a lot on how to express her true love desire that she has kept for a long time. This can be prove almost at the end of the novel, in the chapter 36, where Edna expresses her love towards Robert Lebrun,
“I love you," she whispered, "only you; no one but you. It was you who awoke me last summer out of a life-long, stupid dream. Oh! You have made me so unhappy with your indifference. Oh! I have suffered, suffered! Now you are here we shall love each other, my Robert. We shall be everything to each other. Nothing else in the world is of any consequence. I must go to my friend; but you will wait for me? No matter how late; you will wait for me, Robert?”.
continue...
DeleteThese lines show the expression of Edna about her true love towards Robert Lebrun. However, in The Awakening, love is clearly as a fantasy. We can see the difference of priorities in both characters. Robert wants a marriage with Edna while Edna wants freedom with Robert. The implication of self-expression of both characters brought nothing in the relationship at the end of the story.
Moreover, Kate Chopin also brought up the self-expression of passion in The Awakening. This can be seen in Edna's affair with Alcee Arobin in order to help to fuel her awakening. During this affair of mere passion, Edna finds out how free it feels to be able to express oneself through sexuality and romance. This can be proving in the Chapter 27, where Edna had a first kiss of her life with Alcee Robin.
“I'm jealous of your thoughts tonight. They're making you a little kinder than usual; but some way I feel as if they were wandering, as if they were not here with me." She only looked at him and smiled. His eyes were very near. He leaned upon the lounge with an arm extended across her, while the other hand still rested upon her hair. They continued silently to look into each other's eyes. When he leaned forward and kissed her, she clasped his head, holding his lips to hers.
Robert Lebrun’s flirtations with Edna had thought her how to express the passion that she has kept for so long. Robert is Edna's stepping stone throughout all types of terrain along Edna's journey. This situation leads Edna to cause her to desire more autonomy from her husband. Through Robert, Edna masters the language of passion, finding joy, happiness, and even completion, something she does not have in her marriage with Leonce. When Edna and Robert are at the beach late at night, they only sit next to each other. Robert attempts to talk to Edna, but she is silent and all else is silent too. Edna may not produce audible words, but her passion for Robert is intense.
As a conclusion, As Edna’s ability to express herself grows, the number of people who can understand her newfound languages shrinks. Ultimately, Edna’s suicide is linked to a dearth of people who can truly understand and empathize with her.
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Self expression issue can be vividly seen in the novel which comprises of freedom of speech, sexuality, and art. First and foremost, Edna Pontellier who is the protagonist in this novel has changed from someone who always keeps her emotions, feelings and thoughts to someone who is outspoken woman. She immersed into this new culture from the Creole society which is bounded with a culture of outspokenness. "Mrs. Pontellier, though she had married a Creole, was not thoroughly at home in the society of Creoles; never before had she been thrown so intimately among them. There were only Creoles that summer at Lebrun's. They all knew each other, and felt like one large family, among whom existed the most amicable relations. A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of prudery. Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her, though she had no difficulty in reconciling it with a lofty chastity which in the Creole woman seems to be inborn and unmistakable" (Chopin 4).
Secondly, self expression is also portrayed by Kate Chopin through sexuality. As we read through the novel, Edna Pontellier is pictured as someone who is high in sexual desires. Nevertheless, her husband is being ignorant about her needs. Therefore, she is having affairs with other men who are Robert Lebrun and Alcee Arobin. As she is having affairs with Robert, it is stated that she had a really sad time when Robert had left her. “Robert’s going had some way taken the brightness, the color, the meaning out of everything. The conditions of her life were in no way changed, but her whole existence was dulled, like a faded garment which seems to be no longer worth wearing. She sought him everywhere—in others whom she induced to talk about him. She went up in the mornings to Madame Lebrun’s room, braving the clatter of the old sewing-machine. She sat there and chatted at intervals as Robert had done”. (Chapter 16)
Last but not least, self expression is also being shown through art. Kate Chopin uses music which is played by Mademoiselle Reisz to show another type of self expression. "She waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination. She waited in vain. She saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her" (Chapter 9). Mademoiselle Reisz played the piano to express herself to the crowds on that night as well as to convey message to Edna. Later, Mademoiselle Reisz pats Edna’s shoulder and tells her that she is the only one who deserves playing for. As the consequence, Edna realized the soul of art within herself; she begins to paint although she had never done it. As a result, she managed to express her feeling in a new form of expression which is painting. Other mothers may find knitting socks is something that a woman should do. Notwithstanding, for Edna, painting is better than knitting socks as she can express herself.
Issues discussed in ‘The Awakening’
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The Awakening, Kate Chopin’s masterpiece actually discusses on the issues of gender and social critics during the Victorian era. At the beginning of Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, when we are first introduced to the main characters, after a day of pleasant swimming Edna returns to her husband with a sunburn at which time he states, “You are burnt beyond recognition,” looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage. In my perspective, possessions for a man of business in the Victorian era were of obvious importance and because of that the narrator relates, “He greatly valued his possessions, chiefly because they were his, and derived genuine pleasure from contemplating a painting, a statuette, a rare lace curtain–no matter what—after he had bought it and placed it among his household gods”. At the most positive this, for me it can be seen as merely a statement about a man who is proud of his own wealth, but one cannot forget the context and certainly not Kate Chopin herself of this text.
Given both of these “warnings” this idea about his love of property is suggested to extend beyond just trinkets or fine furnishings, it extends to women—Edna in particular. He has the desire to own her. In his mind, as evidenced throughout the text, she is something of an employee and must adhere to the strict “code of conduct” which consists of all the principles and norms of a constraining and limiting Victorian society. This clearly shows that Edna is actually stuck between the needs to have the right to express herself and live freely versus the expectations of Victorian society and its narrow definitions for what a woman should and should not do. This issue is developed throughout the book as the narrator tells the tale of Edna’s “awakening” or Edna’s process of awakening or realization that she does not fit into (nor wants) part of the Victorian expectations placed upon her. This happens in a series of stages during which Edna moves increasingly farther away from societal norms of the Victorian era.
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The Awakening
Main issue : Love vs Lust
The main issue that I would like to talk about in this novel is love versus lust. We have analysed this issue from three different perspectives. The first is the relationship between Edna and her husband, Leonce Pontellier. Edna and Leonce were married for years but their relationship is not very smooth all over. Edna too admits that her marriage with Leonce was merely accident, which also proves that their marriage is not due to love but fate. Both of them are not committed to each other as they were busy finding faults in each other. To be clear, they are only husband and wife for the sake of society and mere responsibility. Edna’s constant pursuit for freedom changes her into an irresponsible person, where she tends to neglect her children and household chores most of the time. Leonce on the contrary is concerned only about making money and his name in the society, he too regards Edna as his valuable possession. It could be seen when Leonce comments on her sunburns after a plunge in the sea. However, in Edna’s eyes she sacrificed her happiness under the compromise of marriage with Leonce. She tried to save her marriage but she could not as she was unhappy and there was constant longing for freedom in herself. She wanted to be independent and engaged in painting. This continuous self aspiration causes her to negligence of her household and children, which she thought as only a minute responsibility when compared to her pursue for freedom. This is what causes Edna to change into a rebellious person. As the readers read the story, they tend to be confused of what Edna is up to, this is because Edna is unable to understand her own self. So, she continued to do things that make her feel content and not tied to any responsibilities as a wife and motherwoman.
The second perspective in this discussion is about Edna’s relationship with Robert. Edna is very attached to Robert during the summer at Grand Isle. Edna had expected love from her husband, Leonce which he failed to provide as Leonce was in a way treating Edna as his possession and busy with his own life. Plus, Leonce does not seem to care when Edna spend most of her time with Robert. Robert was the one attached closely to Edna, who seems to understand her better than Leonce, fulfilling all her needs and keeping her happy all the time. Robert actually fall for Edna and was deeply in love with her, but knowing that Edna is a married woman, he stayed away and moved to Mexico. Robert’s departure has led Edna into emptiness, she realized that she was actually in love with him, that makes her to think about him most of the time, which leads to her loneliness. This is when Edna started to become rebellious against her husband and fulfill her loneliness by attempting to things that makes her happy. She managed to find love in Robert but things turn the other way round when he decided to leave her in the later part of the novel.
The third perspective is about Edna’s relationship with Alcee Arobin.
We could say that this relationship is merely lust between a man and woman. Arobin wanted to be close with Edna just for the sake of having sex. This can be proved by the lines in chapter 29 “If he had expected to find her languishing. Reproachful, or indulging in sentimental tears, he must have been greatly surprised. He was no doubt prepared for any emergency, ready for any one of the foregoing attitudes…”. These lines prove that Arobin just wanted to be with Edna in order to fulfill his sexual desires. As we can see, most of the relationship that is built in the name of love nowadays does not last longer because it is only lust. Edna, although she was upset because she had given her body to him, she acted as if she does not care in front of Arobin. This act of Edna makes easy way for Arobin to be close with her. For Edna, her true love is Robert and she never willingly gave up to her desire. Later on, Edna tries her best to avoid Arobin whenever he tries to be act intimate with her. Edna’s effort here shows that she does not want to give up for her lust because she is only in love with Robert
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