The motives of the
character Edna, from The Awakening by
Kate Chopin, are frequently brought into question and debated over in literary discussions
and articles. She acts selfishly but it is not necessarily completely through
her own fault. Through the course of the novel, Edna Pontellier undergoes a
journey of self-discovery and self-realization; her awakening. Edna believes
she’s discovered that, despite a longing for a man to understand her, she is
destined to always remain in solitude. Chopin writes a character who struggles
to be independent and shows her spiraling into depression and despondency as a
result. On her own, she tries to find a reason to continue fighting her battle
but only discovers more reasons to give into the ocean’s invitation. Chopin
suggests that on our own we are weak, that man was not made to journey alone.
Edna struggles from the
onset of the novel to escape a certain doom. Her actions henceforth are a
reaction to this force. On the opening page the reader is introduced to Madame
Lebrun’s pet birds that we are told sing as all caged birds do, in the hope of
being free. The analogy of setting a caged bird free chases her till the final
page. Some believe that this in an uplifting idea of setting what was once
behind bars free to fly on its own, but this soon proves to be her downfall.
For what was once was kept does not know how to care for itself and has only
two outcomes, death or entrapment again. We see this reference on multiple occasions;
Mademoiselle Reisz tests her wings to feel for her strength, and her “pigeon
house” that she can never leave. At the completion, as Edna walked down the
beach toward the sea, listening to its seductive call, a lone bird spiraled
above her beating its broken wings, falling into the water; sealing her fate.
Like
the birds, Edna needs someone to rely on. She finds love with Robert Lebrun but
lacks the strength and courage to vocalize her needs and plans. Robert is
prepared to step into society’s roles of marriage life being unaware of Edna’s
wishes. Together she could have been strong but on her own, her plans become
destructive not only for herself but, as she determines, for her children back
home.
To
accentuate her point, Chopin places Edna between two extremes: Mademoiselle
Reisz and Adèle Ratignolle and her husband. On one
side of the spectrum in Mademoiselle Reisz, a woman who has gained her
independence and is an accomplished musician. She is a person whom Edna
idolizes for much of the novel. The other end holds Adèle and her husband who,
together, have formed a family and are living a happy life, a life Edna
despises. While Mademoiselle Reisz did complete her goals and is a woman free
from man’s possession, she is also angry, cynical, rude, and venomous. The strength
and courage that it took to complete her plans left her damaged. Adèle may have
the life that Edna loathes, but she has a loving relationship that allows her
to be supported in whatever path she chooses to take.
For
Edna her path would have been living as an artist and as a partner to a man not
a possession. With these ideas in mind, reading Chopin’s novel will allow you
to understand the importance of companionship, whether it is romantic or friendship.
Humans were not made to struggle through life on our own. This novel serves as
a warning to those in this situation or those who are watching it happen.
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