The Unfolding of Edna

In The Awakening, the main character is Edna Pontellier. She is a young married woman who struggles with the conventional role of being the type of woman that is accepted during that era. The Awakening was written in the late 1800s when the role of women were tending to their kids and being a wife. Edna was a protagonist who struggled with the idea of womanhood and its inherent social constraints. She rejects her role as a mother, wife, and the social culture of her environment. Why would anyone in her position do such a thing when they had almost everything a woman could ask for during that time?

Her husband, Mr. Pontellier was a business man and "the sole object of his existence" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 3) was his wife. Although he was always away on business trips so he could provide for his family, he showed how much he adored his wife. " It was filled with friandises, with luscious and toothsome bits- the finest of fruits, pastes, a rare bottle or two, delicious syrups, and bonbons in abundance" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 3). Mrs. Pontellier didn't love her husband the way he deserved but "Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 3).

Edna rejects her cultural role as a wife, mother, and woman. In fact Edna's role in a woman's culture makes her unhappy. "She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as forgoing were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self -understood" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 3). Edna knew her life was what every woman dreamed of but it wasn't the life she wanted because she wanted to be free. In the novel, Edna grows up without a mother. Perhaps this is the reason why she doesn't know how to be one and acts the way she does toward her children.

She has two boys who she loves very much but doesn't really spend time with them. From a historical perspective, women of the high class did not always participate in the rearing process of their children. Even though she loves her boys, she finds the less time she spends with them will free her from reality. Her husband doesn't like that she doesn't care for the kids the way she should. "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, who's on earth was it" (Chopin, 2005, chap.3)? Mr. Pontellier thought his wife failed in her duty toward their children. " If one of the little Pontellier boys took a tumble whilst at play, he would not apt to rush crying to his mother's arm for comfort; he would more likely pick himself up, wipe the water out of his eyes and the sand out of his mouth, and go on playing" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 4).

According to (Stone and Co. 2008), "While Edna vacations at Grand Isle, several events initiate her awakening. He candid conversations with Adele reminds her of her long- repressed passion; Robert flirtations with Edna cause her to desire more autonomy from her husband; and Mademoiselle Reiz's piano playing serves as artistic inspiration for Edna. Adele idolizes her husband, and would do anything to please him. Adele's character provides an example of the ideal woman during that time. " They were women who idolizes their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels" ( Chopin, 2005, chap. 4). Edna's conversation with Adele highlights the disparity in their mentalities. Edna seems to seek something else in her life while Adele was the "embodiment of every womanly grace and charm" (Chopin, 2005, chap. 4). "Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother- woman" (Chopin, 2005, chap.4). Edna's relationship with Adele begins Edna's process of "awakening" and self- discovery. Through her relationship with Adele, Edna learns about freedom of expression.

The second thing responsible for Edna's awakening would be her relationship with Robert. He is known as the man who chooses a married woman each year and then plays attendant all summer long. At first, the relationship between Robert and Edna is innocent; they mostly bath in the sea or engage in talk. "Robert and Mrs. Pontellier sitting idle,