The novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a woman who rebels against society in attempt tF0o make herself happy. Edna begins her awakening when she meets Robert, A Creole man who chooses a woman each summer to devote himself to, on her vacation to Grand Isles at the start of the book. She realizes that she was not satisfied with how she was currently leading her life, so she starts to rebel and change her condition. She stops obeying what society thought and starts just doing what she wants. However, Robert acts more as a catalyst to this change than he was essential to the change. Edna Pontellier’s Awakening was not dependent on her meeting Robert.
Edna’s awakening all starts when she began to realize that
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First and foremost Edna desires to be independent; she wants to be able to lead her own life, make her own choices. The way that the Creole society is built would not let her do that; she is expects to be an obedient wife for her husband and to take care of the family and home. The men in this society dominate; they are the leaders and workers. She is forced to be this mother-woman which she does not want to be. She wants to have the rights and status of a man in this society, but she cannot do that because it would bring shame to the rest of her family. No matter how much she dislikes her situation with them, she still cares about her family. Secondly, the way that the creoles interact socially makes Edna uncomfortable. As the critic Spangler says in his article “Kate Chopin's ‘The Awakening’: A Partial Dissent”, “Edna can never feel completely at home with the Creoles among whom her marriage has placed her” (253). Edna is a Presbyterian from Kentucky, she is a rather reserved person. The Creoles, however, are not as reserved and discuss topics that “often [cause] her to blush” (253). The social views of Edna and the social views of the Creoles do not harmonize with each other very well, causing Edna to often feel outside and out of place in her