Character Analysis Of Edna Pontellier's The Awakening

The Awakening

While reading the Awakening one gets introduced to the main protagonist, Edna Pontellier a controversial character. The selfish choices that she made throughout the novel allow one to automatically begin to condemn her. Edna clearly understands that society would criticize her as being a deplorable woman, but throughout the novel, she doesn 't view herself as anything less than ample. "One of these days," she said, "I 'm going to pull myself together for a while and think--try to determine what character of a woman I am; for, candidly, I don 't know. By all the codes which I am acquainted with, I am a devilishly wicked specimen of the sex. But some way I can 't convince myself

Of course, each relationship with the men started out innocent, but the friendships spiraled out of control rapidly. She never attempted to stop the relationships extremity with either of the men. One may argue that Léonce was the motivation behind her unhappiness, but he was far from an abysmal husband. He gave Edna large sums of money and sent her care packages while he was away. Furthermore, he made a good living and was a very popular figure in society. Edna was a very selfish character throughout the novel which makes it hard not to condemn her for her actions. “I don’t want anything but my own way. That is wanting a good deal, of course, when you have to trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices of others –but no matter –still, I shouldn’t want to trample upon the little

Even though she had left the constraints of the role of wife and mother, society still controls much of her life and what she was able to accomplish. It was not an option to her, to try and return back to the life she had with her husband and children. Suicide was the only option that she had full control over, and she took it. Edna felt as if her children would be better off without her, but sincerely every child requires a mother’s love and attention in their lives. She allowed her need for love to curtail the love her children received from her. Edna was fine without her children,“Their absence was a sort of relief, though she did not admit this, even to herself. It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her.” Her choice to end her life, and not return to her children was just purely thoughtless. Different from the other women at Grand Isle, Edna attempted to find love outside of her marriage. As she fell in love with Robert she began to put a halt to her present life. This is where one would condemn Edna for fighting against the societal and natural structures of motherhood that defined her by the title of wife and