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The Awakening Edna's Freedom Quotes

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Edna’s Freedom The lifestyle for women in the nineteenth century was, compared to the life of women today, an extremely suppressed lifestyle. “The Awakening”, written by Kate Chopin shows the reader this: Edna Pontellier was a Victorian woman in the late 19th century who was dissatisfied with her life. During a summer vacation to Grand Isle with her husband, she struggles with the oppressive society she lives in, and during this struggle she finds love from another man. The novel follows Edna in her struggle against the oppressive society she lives in, and her journey of self discovery. Edna makes great gains in her personal freedom throughout the novel. There are a few symbols, like the sea and the tall grass meadow, that reinforce the theme of Edna’s personal freedom. To begin with, Edna discovers her desire for personal freedom as she approaches the sea during her stay in Grand Isle. In the first quote nobody is speaking, it is a narration, this is when Edna first discovered how to swim. “Intoxicated with her newly conquered power, she swam out alone. She turned her face seaward to gather an impression of space and solitude,” (Page 31). This quote supports the theme of Edna’s personal freedom by showing Edna’s happiness and willingness to swim out on her own …show more content…

This quote is Edna recalling that memory to her friend Adele on the beach. “I could only see the stretch of green before me, and I felt as if I must walk on forever, without coming to the end of it. I don’t remember whether I was frightened or pleased. I must have been entertained.” (Page 18). This reinforces Edna’s natural want for freedom. Even when she was a child she was not afraid to be on her own, not afraid to be isolated in an unknown place, but interested and entertained by it. This was the second symbol of Edna’s personal

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687 Words | 3 Pages

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…” (176). Edna and her recollection of the sea is accentuated and developed to demonstrate how she has overcome her fear. Kate Chopin’s use of the repetition at the beginning of each phrase adds emphasis on Edna’s emotion to the situation she is in. The difference in the Edna Pontellier at the start of the novel and the Edna in the last few paragraphs, is fear.

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742 Words | 3 Pages

"(Paragraph 10,Section 37)This text supports the theme of Identity because everything that has been happening since Edna 's "awakening" was finally starting to hit her. The realization has come very fast, and this moment starts the beginning of the end, her end. B."But her new and unexpected line of conduct completely bewildered him.

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794 Words | 4 Pages

Edna Pontellier possessed something rich and unworthy. Edna’s disregard for the individuals and society’s opinion did not force her to remain oppressed in the parrot’s cage nor become reluctant to the ocean. Edna’s heroic individualism liberated the chains that plagued her from flying and swimming into freedom and the discovery of Edna’s identity. All individuals experience various sorts of transitions in their life, whether it’s emotionally, physically, or mentally. It was Edna Pontellier’s journey of a thousand miles, new experiences and beginnings that led to the benefit of self- rule and sovereignty.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

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1614 Words | 7 Pages

The novel “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin is about Edna Pontellier, a wealthy housewife living in Louisiana during the late nineteenth century, and her journey of self-liberation. Edna Pontellier feels unfulfilled with her marriage to Leonce Pontellier, and her role as a mother. Edna meets, and falls in love with Robert Lebrun over the summer while her family is vacationing at a resort in Grand Isle. After the summer ends, and Edna returns home to New Orleans, she begins making lifestyle changes in order to bring back the feeling of happiness that she felt with Robert while in Grand Isle. Edna Pontellier experiments by having an affair, and attempts to live as an artist by taking up painting.

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1231 Words | 5 Pages

“ And all at once things seemed so small / my breath came short, and scarce at all” (“Renascence”15-16). She is the only one who will take care of herself. She had to be strong in a man’s world because she had no one to count on. As the world pushes her down, she has to fight back and stand for herself. In “ Renascence “ Edna talks about how bold she had to be for herself in life.

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467 Words | 2 Pages

Edna’s characterization throughout The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, describes Edna as someone with burning passion who desires to improve not only her life, but the lives of future generations. However Edna’s actions make her often seem weak to the oppressive people around her; sometimes, and in this case unfortunately, good ideas and beliefs are stopped cold by one’s surrounding influences. Edna’s feminist attitude, though formidable, is no match for the individuals who accept the current society’s customs. I find Edna to be a weak person from a general standpoint. However the story masks this obviousness fact by illustrating some of Edna’s questionable actions.

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595 Words | 3 Pages

This daring, adventurous desire stemmed from her husband, Mr. Pontellier, and his overbearing, possessive nature. This rebirth occurs, and over time Edna feels like herself, able to make her own decisions. Feeling alone, the “space and solitude” of the ocean emphasizes how Edna is different from the others in her society and seems rebellious to her husband (55). The freedom that

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1386 Words | 6 Pages

In Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.

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849 Words | 4 Pages

Edna continually questions whether or not she is destined to live a life of subordination or if she can find her own freedom. Edna Pontellier’s defiant nature is brought out

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1283 Words | 6 Pages

Edna broke free from the mold of her society. She was trying to find her purpose and her worth in a world where she did not have many rights or individual stability. Edna Pontellier worked to disregard the influence and power of men and society as a whole to discover more about herself and what she really wanted out of life (Bommarito). She gave up the “unessential” such as her home, possessions, and reputation to do things for

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1171 Words | 5 Pages

The ocean, and by extension swimming, serve to symbolize liberation and the pursuit of that thereof. Edna grew up as a respectable woman in Kentucky, a landlocked state with no land connection to the ocean. After settling into marriage with Léonce Pontellier, she moves out to coastal Louisiana and spends summers out in Grand Isle, surrounded by ocean. Grand Isle is where Edna meets Robert, and where she experiences her awakening. While there, Edna begins learning to swim, and as she learns to control the water she in turn discovers that she has agency over her own body.

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925 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.

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1074 Words | 5 Pages

To solve this, Edna seeks and endeavors her freedom and security in the sea to progressively develop into a more independent woman. Kate Chopin uses the motif

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1315 Words | 6 Pages

Edna Pontellier was only seen as a “valuable piece of property which [had] suffered some damaged” to her husband Mr. Pontellier (BOOK). One can also see that “The Awakening” also focused on the sexual desires of women, identity, and self-discovery Edna, a character in “The Awakening” experienced her awakening by discovering her identity in her own self. “The Awakening” attempts to tell the story a woman who wants to find herself while lusting. Later, at the end of the story, one discovers that since Edna Pontellier could not fully find her peace, and freedom she ultimately decides to commit suicide. Through this “The Awakening” shows that although women were oppressed, they also had empowerment.

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