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The Awakening Reality Essay

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The Reality of Edna’s Awakening
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was a dramatic novella that was based on society and how Edna was treated, love and independence of finding her true self. The author inputs the theme in a numerous amount of literary devices that include round character, irony and a metaphor to exaggerate the theme. This shows how Edna has two sides to herself; the one that tries to fit into society and another side that the public can see as a swell mother.
First of all, Edna wanted to break her place in society as she was part of the “mother- woman” status. Chopin used round character to describe Edna’s dramatic change throughout the novel as she has the “ability to publicly flirt” and go with other men, even though she was originally …show more content…

When Chopin decided to use a metaphor to compare Edna and a struggling toddler, she did not want to be the typical household mom, but as herself in the process of becoming an independent woman. As she was having trouble changing and being a “tottering, stumbling, clutching child” (Chopin, page 46), Edna finally found herself also realizing “its powers” (Chopin, page 46) and decided to be confident with the changes that are happening and be the independent child that “walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over`confidence.” (Chopin, page 46). The author compares the child to Edna, considering that the child may have trouble when they first start learning how to walk, to see that it takes time to get the goal that you want to achieve. What Edna wanted to see was a change within herself, but it did not really benefit her or her family and friends at the end as it consequently caused conflict.
In conclusion, The Awakening was mainly about society, love and the independence of trying to find the true person of Edna Pontellier. Chopin used a numerous amount of literary devices in the novella that include round character, irony and a metaphor to exaggerate the theme. Edna wanted to discover herself in an Awakening by finding love from Robert and trying to escape the patriarchy of her husband, Leonce, but ended up in a conflict against her own loved ones that

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