As Edna tries to transition into the Creole society, she becomes aware of the intensity that is put on being an ideal wife and woman in the 20th century. A woman is supposed to love her husband, care for her children, be respectful, and obey her husband. Throughout her life in Grand Isle and her neighborhood, Edna awakens to the idea of a different way of living and a new view of the world. In Chopin’s story, she states that, “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her”(Chopin 17). In The Awakening, Kate Chopin uses the determination of an awakened woman to demolish the stereotypical roles of a twentieth century woman.
Edna goes from being a timid housewife to an autonomous young woman who tries to change her role in society. When Edna first arrives in Grand Isle, she is a typical woman of her era. She is shyer than most women and is very
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The start of her awakening is when she fights with her husband and in frustration, takes off her wedding ring, throws it on the ground, and attempts to crush it (Chopin 70). She decides to move out of her house while her husband and children are away, and buys a house of her own. At the knowledge of this, her husband stresses the importance of her staying at home to care for the children and is afraid of what others will think of her rebellious actions. Another part of Edna’s awakening is coming to terms with her love for another man other than her husband. When she whispers to Robert that she loves him and only him she also states that he was the reason for her awakening (Chopin 146). As she expresses herself she becomes vulnerable to new emotions that have never been felt and allow for her to get hurt