Identity In Edna Pontellier's The Awakening

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In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier seeks to flee from a state of passivity through acts of societal rebellion. By disregarding the expectations appointed to her according to her gender, she discovers her identity and accepts her emotional and sexual desires. These desires, while always present, were not an animate component of Edna's identity before her awakening. Rather, she was confined to the domestic sphere. This supports Culler's claim that Western novels emphasize the concept of an essential self which emerges through experience. Ultimately, The Awakening highlights the transformation that led to the emergence of Edna's fundamental nature. The course of Edna's self-discovery occurs according to a series …show more content…

For Edna's husband, she is merely an object that must fulfill the central roles to which she has been assigned. He disciplines her for her "habitual neglect" of their children and her inability to properly attend to their needs (637). These actions cause Edna to become consumed with despair, as she is severely oppressed by the constraints of her husband. Consequently, she moves into her own home and embarks upon an affair which satisfies her sexual and creative impulses. Evidently, Edna's dissatisfaction with domesticity leads to the emergence of her true …show more content…

Before she enters the ocean and hears the ethereal music, the narrator alludes to her transformation by stating that "a certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her" (642). This light represents truth and the promise of self-realization, which further emphasizes how Edna discovers a being which was always present within her. When Edna hears the music, her mind welcomes flagrant images of independence and freedom. For example, she envisions a naked man standing on a rock amongst a shore. He is shameless, uninhibited and free - an embodiment of Edna's desire to attain independence. This experience inspires her to swim for the first time, which is a symbolic baptism. She walks with "over-confidence" and her mind becomes liberated from its familiar order (654). Essentially, after this event, she is no longer a victim of Victorian influence. Rather, she is born as the essential

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