Edna's Suicide In The Awakening

In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier faces realizations in her oppressive lifestyle that push her away from her relationships and prevent her from fulfilling her domestic duties. To advance her overarching theme of finding your true self, Chopin uses Edna’s emotional awakening, sexual awakening, and final act to express the conflict of societal expectations set for wives and mothers.
Chopin utilizes Edna’s emotional awakening to convey Edna’s glimpse of previously unknown possibilities beyond her life in Creole culture. Edna was entirely convinced when Robert proposed a swim, expressing that “at all events Robert proposed it, and there was not a dissenting voice. There was not one but was ready to follow when he led the way” (Chopin,

Before the idea of suicide entered Edna’s mind, Edna states she “would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (p. 49). Early on in the novel, Chopin highlighted that Edna’s stance on her family and children conflicted with the ideology of Creole culture. Chopin utilizes Edna’s early decision that she would give her life, but not herself, to express that Edna values her autonomy more than she does her children. By making this choice, Chopin is reflecting that Edna cherishes her own personal awakenings more than she does the social expectations that your children and husband come first. Later on in Edna's final moments, she notices that “the touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace. She went on and on. She remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that seized her at the fear of being unable to regain the shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on…” (p. 116). At this moment, Chopin shows Edna’s final decision that she makes with her gained autonomy to exhibit her finding her true self. Throughout the novel, Chopin has identified Edna as a character who has always felt content in solitude since she was always the happiest alone, conflicting with the norms in Creole society. Chopin’s choice to have Edna take her own life shows Edna’s final awakening as she breaks out of the societal confinement, and she now feels free to make her own decisions. Chopin uses Edna’s final moments to show how Edna has gained autonomy and is now free to make this final decision to take her own