In the book “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, the main character Edna Pontellier, is faced with many troubles. One of her troubles is the internal conflict of her facing herself and realizing her own identity. She is constantly under pressure to be the person she is expected to be by her peers, friends, and family. She ultimately does being to break free and find her identity even if it did mean that she must kill herself in order to do so.
Edna is constantly under pressure from all of the people around her. She must be the perfect wife and mother or else she is critiqued on every mistake. This happens all too often in “The Awakening.” Edna Pontellier was born of wealthy family in Kentucky which automatically gives expectations to live up to. The only thing that she has to herself is her painting in which she could never do because she is expected to be the mother first. While also being brought up in the society she was, she chose to marry someone of the Creole descent which is another culture that expects optimum qualities out of people. Her husband, Leonce Pontellier, makes her feel awful whenever she doesn’t do something that he
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People constantly tried to control her even if they didn’t know it or not. Robert, being among one of the ones in control. He had many control over Edna’s emotions and left her on many accounts that made her feel broken. The perfect Adele, was also another controlling factor. Adele would pressure and tell Edna what to do, for example, making winter clothes in the beginning of summer for Edna’s children. Adele would treat Edna as if the acts that she did was the up most abnormal and weird. Even Edna’s father, when he was in the novella for one chapter, told Leonce to control his wife (Chopin, 2003). Edna was perpetually always under the influence of someone else except in the end which is why she chose to swim in the ocean to never