Suicide in Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening Essay

Suicide in Kate Chopins novel, The Awakening Suicide is often thought of as a very sad and quick answer to problems, such as depression but in Kate Chopins novel, she ironically portrays suicide as a passage to freedom. The Awakening (1899) is a short novel that depicts the life of a young housewife struggling for her independence, sexuality, and her self worth in an unromantic marriage. The author, through three major actions, shows the successful and triumphant awakening of Edna Pontellier. Ednas change in character unravels as she takes up painting, moves into her own house, and eventually commits suicide. As the story unfolds, we learn that, although Edna Pontellier lives in relative luxury in the French Quarter of New†¦show more content†¦As Edna experiences her awakening, she feels as if she is becoming a new person. Back in the city, Edna becomes more restless and always searching for her escape to her individual freedom. When Là ©once Pontellier and the boys leave town, Edna takes the opportunity to tease with routine by buying a little house around the corner from her family. When her husband hears word of this unusual behavior, he is convinced that his wife has gone mad. Being the respected businessman that he is, he quickly comes up with an excuse for his wife by having the house remodeled, so as not to fuel the curiosity of the neighborhood. Edna uses her new house as a sanctuary from the complexity of her situation in her emotional awakening. Ednas emotional roller coaster of Edna continues as Robert dashes in and out of her life. She realizes that in order for her to be happy she must disconnect herself form everyone, even her boys. The feeling of working to please others without consideration of her own well being haunts her. She is tired of being a possession of her husband, being tied down by her children, and of her hopeless love for Robert. At this point in the story, Edna becomes fully aware that she has transformed into a free woman but cannot live with the freedom that she had been working so passionately to achieve. In the new life that she created for herself, Edna is fully awakened with the realization she is no longer oneShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening: An Emergence of Womens RIghts in the Late Nineteenth Century1330 Words   |  6 PagesThe Awakening: An Emergence of Women’s Rights in the Late Nineteenth Century Kate Chopin’s The Awakening addresses the role of women within society during the late nineteenth century. The novel is set in South Louisiana, a place where tradition and culture also play a vital role in societal expectations. The novel’s protagonist, Edna Pontellier, initially fulfills her position in society as a wife and as a mother while suppressing her urges to live a life of passion and freedom. Edna’s relationshipRead More The Transformation of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening Essay950 Words   |  4 Pagesdid not know what† (Chopin). In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a passionate, rebellious woman. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent how unsettled Edna feels about her life. The reader can identify this by her thoughts, desires, and actions, which are highly inappropriate for an affluent woman of the time. In the novel, Edna has an awakening and finds the courage to make the changes she sees necessary. Kate Chopin is able to make qualityRead MoreKate Chopins The Awakening: Womens Role In Society Essay1504 Words   |  7 Pageswomen of this era express themselves freely or did they just do what society expected of them? Kate Chopin was a female author who wrote several stories and two novels about women. One of her renowned works of art is The Awakening. 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Kate Chopin was a female author who wrote several stories and two novels about women. One of her renowned works of art is The Awakening. This novel created great controversy and received negative criticism from literary critics due to Chopins portrayal of women by Edna throughout the book. The Awakening is a novel about a woman, Edna Pontellier, who is a confused soul. She is a typical housewife that isRead MoreKate Chopin s Life And Feminism1281 Words   |  6 PagesKate Chopin’s Life and Works- Feminism Kate Chopin, born on February 8th, 1850, was a progressive writer in the midst of a conservative and unequal time. She exposed the unfair undertones of society in such a way that made people outrage and condemn some of her works. However, in the early 1900s, her works were examined again and people started to listen to her ideas. One of these main motifs that Chopin’s works kept bringing up were feminism and equality. In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, a radicalRead MoreThe Awakening Ednas Suicide1304 Words   |  6 Pages Edna’s Victorious Suicide In the iconic debated novel â€Å"The Awakening†, Kate Chopin’s novel takes place in the Victorian Era, which is in the 19th- century, similarly the novel was published in 1899. Edna is depicted as a woman longing for more, a woman who was looking for more than just a life of complacency and living in the eyes of society. The story uses Edna to exemplify the expectations of women during this era. For example, a woman’s expression of independenceRead MorePersonal Demoralization In The Awakening1561 Words   |  7 PagesPersonal Demoralization in The Awakening To demoralize someone is to dishearten or discourage them and cause them to lose hope. Kate Chopin uses words like â€Å"depressed† (56), â€Å"hopeless† (56) and â€Å"despondency† (p115) to describe Edna Pontellier, the heroine, in The Awakening. Coupling this description with Edna taking her life at the end of the novel and Chopin’s own inferred demoralization, due to the universal aversion to The Awakening, the natural conclusion is that it is a work of â€Å"great personalRead MoreKate Chopin s The Awakening1109 Words   |  5 PagesKate Chopin is the author of the book The Awakening published in 1899. â€Å"Kate was born February 08, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri and died on August 22, 1904† (Feminist Writers). â€Å"Born as Katherine O’Flaherty and she graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart in 1868† (Feminist Writers). â€Å"Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870 and had five sons and one daughter† (Feminist Write rs). â€Å"Kate wrote fictional novels; her most known novel is â€Å"The Awaken† and short stories; her most known short story isRead MoreEssay about The Awakening1491 Words   |  6 Pages The Awakening nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was written in the late nineteenth century in St. Louis after her husband Oscar died of a severe illness. Her book appeared in 1899, after she was idolized by many novels written by Darwin and Sarah Orne Jewett. Her first attempts at writing were just brief sketches for a local newspaper that was only short descriptions of her life in Louisiana. However, Chopin’s interests had always run along more risky lines