How Does Edna Gain From The Restrictions Of Society?

The Awakening by Kate Chopin was at one time considered to be scandalous by many critics in 1899. Chopin uses the character Edna Pontellier to express ideas, that, at that time, were completely oblivious to American society. Edna, a archetypal woman in society, being that she was married with two children, vacationed at a place named Grand Isle during which she began her awakening period with a man named Robert. Over the course of the book, Edna continued to meet influential people such as Adele Ratignolle, Alcee Arobin, and Mademoiselle Reisz, who all continued to spark her desire for independence from the restrictions of society such as her husband and children. Consequently, several incidents occur, such as the ring remaining intact after

she stomps on it, the party being a failure, Adele’s childbirth, Robert’s note, and a crashing bird that assure her that she will never truly reach the full liberation from the restrictions of society, and that she will always be connected to them in some way. Therefore, one can view these incidents in the fact that Edna failed in her mission of escaping the restrictions of society, and ultimately turned to suicide because she saw no other elopement.
To begin with, Edna starts rebelling against the restrictions of society in quiet, which consequently ends up in failure. Edna and her husband had been arguing about her not spending her Tuesday afternoons at home anymore, which sequentially resulted in him leaving to go get dinner at the club. Edna, infuriated, throws her wedding ring on the floor, and it states, “When she saw it lying there, she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet” (Chopin, 57). This statement symbolized how that Edna was not strong enough to break her wedding ring, and moreover, was not strong enough to end her marriage, meaning that she had failed in escaping the restrictions of society. Additionally, Bird contributes to this topic by including in her essay, “she is childlike in her actions and thoughts, never thinking before she acts, and never considering what might happen because of her actions” (2). The fact that Edna was childlike contributes to the idea of failure because she was unaware of the steps to exert to reach the freedom from the restrictions of society. Edna’s childlike reaction to her frustration with her husband proves that she was not competent in knowing how to deal with emotions, and the fact that she could not even dent the ring meant that she was destined for failure.
In like manner, further situations occur in Edna’s life that result in failure, which makes her believe that all her hard work to reach the freedom from the restrictions of society was an expenditure of time.

Previously, Edna decided to throw a going away party to celebrate her accomplishments of moving into a smaller residence, but the dinner ends in failure due to Edna becoming frantic after hearing a song, and all her guests go home. After returning to her new home, the pigeon house, Edna tells Arobin, “I feel as if I had been wound up to a certain pitch- too tight- and something inside of me had snapped” (Chopin, 101). Edna had presumed the dinner to be a success and show others that she could be independent and live by herself, but after all her guests left due to her outbreak, her spirit was crushed because it had not resulted in a positive outcome. The failure of the dinner showed her that becoming free from the restrictions of society was not as effortless as she had looked forward to, and foreshadows her failure in her future attempts to separate herself from her husband Leonce. Additionally, Wyatt’s essay also contributes to the idea of failure at the dinner when he states, “she behaves in an inappropriate manner at the dinner party when she practically falls apart when Victor sings Robert’s song” (3). Edna could not conceal her emotions when she heard the song, meaning that she had failed in trying to convince the others that she was capable of being independent,

because it proved to them that since she was emotionally unstable, she was not capable of living alone. Her inability to maintain her emotional stability during the dinner prompted the dinner to end in failure, meaning that she was responsible for demolishing her own expectations, and foreshadowed the fact that she would fail in future aspects of life.
Additionally, events that Edna witnessed also caused her to realize how that she was failing in her attempts to escape the restrictions of society.

During the process of Adele’s childbirth, Edna’s only thoughts are those of pain and agony, but before she leaves, Adele tells her to think of her children. Once in the open air, Edna begins talking to Doctor Mandelet in which she tells him, “I want to be let alone. Nobody has any right-except the children, perhaps” (Chopin, 120). By saying this, Edna now realizes that she is attached to her children in a way that she can never be totally independent of them. Without being able to separate herself from her children, she has failed to escape all restrictions of society like she desired. Bird adds to this statement in her essay by saying, “Edna finally realizes the commitment and obligation she has to her children “and that children can demand the mother’s life, even if they cannot claim the woman’s soul” (1-2). Insightful to reality, Edna knows that she cannot abandon her children because she has an obligation and commitment to them, nevertheless meaning that she has failed in her mission to become totally independent of them. Adele’s childbirth brought back painful memories, but also made her realize that her children will always be her children, so therefore, she cannot be totally free from the restrictions of

society.
Furthermore, additional events occur with Robert that imply her failure in life. Edna had just returned from Adele’s after her childbirth and saw that Robert had left her a note that said he was leaving because he loved her. That sleepless night she repeated to herself, “Today it is Arobin; tomorrow it will be someone else. It makes no difference to me, it doesn’t matter to Leonce Pontellier – but Raoul and Etienne” (Chopin, 122). Edna realized that the men in her life were only temporary, and because she was not easily satisfied, she would be alone. She realized that all the time that she had spent trying to gain independence from the restrictions of society so that she could be with Robert, was just a waste of effort because she had failed in continuing a relationship with him. Similarly, further references state that, “Not only can she not escape her family, but now she must live without the man that she loves” (Bird, 2). Since Grand Isle, all Edna could ever think of was being with Robert, so when he left, every step she had taken to become independent was a failure because she still did not further her relationship with Robert. Her whole motive in life was to create an opportunity for her and Robert to be together, so when she saw that her dream was no longer possible, she believed that her whole life was a failure, and that she would never be happy.
Finally, one event occurs that emphasized that Edna’s suicide is in fact the result of her giving up because she felt as though she had failed to escape the conventional lifestyle. Edna had returned to Grand Isle, and began to walk along the beach when Chopin decides to use imagery as a means of symbolism and states, “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water” (124). This example relates to Edna’s life in the way that Edna continuously persevered to free herself from the constrictions of society, like the bird pursued to remain in flight; however, society continued to pull her down, like gravity continued to pull the bird down. Edna was not strong enough to reach full independence like the bird was not able to fly with only one wing, symbolizing failure on both parts. Uniquely, Bird adds to this analysis in which she states that, “By committing suicide Edna successfully escapes the society she no longer knows how to live in” (2). Edna feels as though she has no other option than suicide because society continuously overpowers Edna, and it appears that she will never reach what she truly desires. The bird is used to illustrate how that Edna tried very hard to reach independence, but ultimately decided that she could do nothing more than to just give up because of her many failures.
In conclusion, one can see from the previous examples that Edna’s suicide was her way of escaping out of a world that she could no longer stand to live in because she had failed several times in escaping the restrictions of society. She was not strong enough to break her wedding ring, or capable of throwing a successful dinner, indicating that she failed in the aspect of being self-reliable because she could not control her emotions. Additionally, her experiences with Adele’s childbirth, Robert’s note, and the struggling bird allowed her to realize that she could not escape the restrictions of society like she wanted and that she basically had done everything for nothing, so she believed it was in her best interest to just give up. Edna’s decision to end her own life, allowed her to finally reach the peace that she deserved after desperately wanting freedom from the constrictions of society, and unending failure.