The Id In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

“I can trace - of a summer day in Kentucky of a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean to the very little girl walking through the grass, which was higher than her waist.”(17). This was just one of the memories Edna, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s Novel, recalls of her childhood. It is later revealed that she was “running away from prayers” which escape she believed was “just following a misleading impulse.” This demonstration of impulsiveness embodies the Freudian concept of the Id. This essay will analyze the entire novel through a Freudian interpretation. According to this father of psychoanalysis, the Id is an unconscious part of the psyche that demands immediate pleasure, regardless of the consequences. It is characterized by two impulses:

Eros (life) and Thanatos (death). Individuals who are driven by their Id are usually impulsive and reckless, going against the norms of society (McLeod). This part of the brain is usually at its strongest when an individual is a child, but Freud asserts that most people grow out of this id domination (McLeod). At the start of the novel, Edna suggests that her Id reawakens during her time on the Grand Isle when she declares, “I feel this summer as if I were walking through the green meadow again; unthinking and unguided,” thus, sparking the beginning of Edna’s “awakening,” a journey of Id domination. In Kate Chopin’s novel, Edna becomes a reckless women who rejects societal norms and follows her pleasures into several affairs and, ultimately, her death.
The Id is not the only governing force inside Edna’s brain. The Superego and the Ego also play a part in Edna’s life. Her two closest friends, who are the living manifestations of these two concepts, try to sway Edna away from her dominating Id. The Superego’s function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids (McLeod). It gains its notion of right and wrong from the values and morals of society. The superego consists of two systems: the conscience and the ideal self (McLeod). The conscience can punish the individual by causing feelings of guilt (McLeod). The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how one should behave (McLeod). Mme. Adele Ratignolle is the living embodiment of the Superego. She is the ideal women of her time who advises Edna to behave according the rules of social convention, like her However, Edna rejects her friend’s ideals which leads to her rejection of the superego. Edna also rejects the Ego which deals with the real world and is motivated by what needs to be done through the reality principle (McLeod). The Ego attempts to satisfy the Id’s impulses while obeying society’s rules and must mediate between the two (McLeod). Mme. Reiz, the living embodiment of the ego, tries to guide Edna and help her curb her desires. Both women fail to overpower Edna’s Id which eventually dominates her completely. In The Awakening, Edna embodies Freud's Id through her unabashed impulsiveness and conflict with the more responsible parties in her life. Edna’s Id dominates her ego and superego, leading her to seek pleasure through reckless behavior, which ends in her demise.
Edna clearly displays her reckless behavior throughout the novel which could be scene as an example of her desire to satisfy her id. While at the Grande Isle, she finds herself forming a connection with the ocean. She believes she is capable to swim although she lacks experience. But in order to satisfy her desires she begins to swim: “A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before”(27). Chopin describes the Id in this scenario as a “significant import” that has the power to overpower not only her physical body but, her “soul.” This control leads Edna to become “daring and reckless” and does not realize that she is “overestimating” her abilities. Edna’s swim is an example of how she allows her Id to control her. Her desire to “swim far out” shows that she not only wants to seek pleasure but, to break social norms. Since she was the only woman who swam this length. This innocent swim ends up haunting Edna later in to novel when she returns to the Grand Isle and dies. At this moment the Id has managed to take full control over Edna and no force can stop the Id.
Mme. Ratignolle is the living embodiment of the superego and who employs the conscience and the ideal self to change Edna. This attempt however, is unsuccessful. Mme. Ratignolle is the ideal women of her society: “they were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands…Many of them were delicious in their role; one of them was the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm… Her name was Adele Ratignolle” (9). Adele is the ideal woman of creole society though obeying her husband and taking care of her children maintaining a sense of grace, fulfilling the idea of the “ideal self.” She was the “ideal self”of her time and the person Edna should have been. “Adele is a dear friend, yes; she is a nurturing figure. “But above all, she is the living embodiment of that state which Edna's deepest being longs to recapture”(Wolff 469) Adele tries to get Edna to be her “ideal self,” but is later rejected since the id is still in control of Edna. Adele tries again to persuade Edna to be her ideal self when Edna declares, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself”(46). In this statement Edna announces that she would only give up the “unessential” for her children and would not give “herself.” This denounces society’s ideals and the superego since Adele declares the opposite. "I don't know what you would call the essential, or what you mean by the unessential," said Madame Ratignolle, cheerfully; "but a woman who would give her life for her children could do no more than that--your Bible tells you so. I'm sure I couldn't do more than that.”(46). By saying it is a women’s job to “give herself to her children,” Adele is trying to persuade Edna to behave like her, i., like the ideal woman. By relating this responsibility to the Bible, Adele shows that society’s religious mores support this motherly responsibility, too. To this Edna responds, “Oh, yes you could!" laughed Edna” (46). By laughing Edna is rejecting the superego and society’s wishes she allowing her Id to control her and is not willing to give up her “essential” for her children. Later in the novel, Adele tries to sway Edna away from behaving recklessly since the return of ex-lover Robert. She tries to remind Edna of her motherly duties: “Still she remembered Adele’s voice whispering. ‘Think of the children; think of them.’ ”(106). The fact that it's a whisper and not a higher tone shows the weakness in Edna’s superego. It no longer has any power since it’s whispering not yelling. This shows that the Id and dominated her superego completely. Instead of thinking of her children, Edna only thinks of her lustful desires: “She meant to think of them; that determination had driven into her soul like a death wound - but not tonight. Tomorrow she would think of everything”(106). Even though her children “had driven into her shoulder like a death wound,” the fact that she she pushed them out of her mind shows that the Id was embedded in her soul. Her desire to be with Robert overpowers her. She does not “think of the children,” but instead lets her Id control her. This shows that Adele’s living embodiment of the Superego is not enough to repress Edna’s id.
Mme.

Reiz is the living embodiment of the Ego by attempting to guide her with the reality principle. (McLeod) This principle is the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly. Mme. Reiz tries to remind Edna of the present world by trying to make her realize her desires are just illusions. However, her guidance is rejected by Edna since her Id overpowers her Ego. Edna tells Mme. Reiz about her art career and how she wants to be an artist. Mme. Reiz reacts by saying, “‘Ah an artist! You have pretensions, Madame.’... ‘To be an artist includes much… And moreover, to succeed the artist must possess the courageous soul.’... ‘Courageous, ma foi! The brave soul that dares and defies’ ”(61). Mme. Reiz questions Edna’s intentions as an artist. By saying the phrase "Ah an artist! You have pretensions, Madame,” she is almost mocking Edna. Mme. Reiz believed that Edna lacks the true understanding of what an artist is. She tells Edna that there is more to being an artist then using a paintbrush, there is a mental aspect to it too. Edna must have a “courageous soul” in order to be an artist through daring and defying. However, Edna never fully grasps Mme. Reiz’s advice . Her desires overpower her ability to become a “brave soul.” Mme. Reiz continues to advise Edna: “ ‘You are purposefully misunderstanding me ma reine. Are you in love with Robert?’... ‘Why do you love him when you ought not to?’... ‘What Will you do when he comes back?’ ”(78) Throughout the novel, Edna longs for Robert’s return and deeply lusts for him. However, Edna never thinks of the outcomes of his return. Mme. Reiz is the only person in the novel who questions Edna’s intentions with Robert. By asking “Are you in love with Robert?” shows that Mme. Reiz is skeptical to Edna’s true intentions with Robert. Edna could simply want to have a sexual affair and not a real relationship with Robert. She also reminds Edna that she “ you ought not to” love Robert

since she is married. Mme. Reiz’s ability to bring all theses things to Edna’s distorted reality shows that she is Edna’s Ego However, Edna’s Id overpowers her Ego. This is shown when Mme. Reiz calls Edna “ ma reine” which in french means my queen. Thus, demonstrating that the Ego’s responsibility is to serve the Id and not overpower it unlike the Superego. Lastly, Mme. Reiz cautions Edna about her affair with Alcee Arobin: “She kissed Edna upon her shoulder, and whispered: ‘Bonne Nuit, ma reine; soyez sage’(85). Mme. Reiz tells Edna the french phrase “soyez sage” which means be wise. This phrase cautions Edna not to interact with Arobin. However, Edna’s Id overpowers Mme. Reiz’s words. Similarly to Adele, Mme. Reiz also speaks in a whispered tone. She again addresses Edna as “ma reine” thus, showing that the Id has all the power. The Id is the “reine” of Edna’s mind. Lastly she “kissed edna a upon her shoulder” which portrays Mme. Reiz to be weaker than Edna. Although Mme. Reiz tries to expose Edna to the reality of her actions, she is unable to overpower Edna’s passions.
Edna’s rejection of the Ego and superego allow the Id to fully dominate her. Edna is impulsive and governed by her passions. This mentality eventually causes her to die recklessly commit suicide. After Robert leaves Edna, she heads to Le Grande Isle. She reflects on her past and contemplates her past choices: “She understood now clearly what she had meant long ago when she said to Adele Ratignolle that she would give up the unessential, but she would never sacrifice herself for her children”(107). Edna believes she is no longer giving up the “unessential.” At this point of the novel, she realizes that she would be sacrificing herself if she continued to live. Her duty as a mother cannot stop her from her desire of death. Her id is fully controlling her and it's only desire is death. “Edna, who has children and a husband, decides to end her life in order to satisfy her pleasures, yet this act does not take into consideration the happiness of her family that she chooses to leave behind, a perfect example of the id”(Sigmund Freud). She decides to go to the ocean for last swim but before she strips down: “ How delicious! She felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known”(108) Edna’s removal of her clothes demonstrates her desire to be a baby. The Id is the only thing developed as a child, so it makes sense she felt like a “newborn creature” since her Id is dominating her. That fact it feels “delicious” to be naked shows her excitement and desire for committing suicide. “The water was deep, but she lifted her white body and reached out with a long, sweeping stroke. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace”(109). By returning to the sea it shows she is actually returning to her mother’s womb. The fact she finds the sea “sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” demonstrates Edna’s desire for pleasure leads to her reckless suicide. “And with her final act Edna completes the regression, back beyond childhood, back into time eternal”(Wolff 471). “The final avatar of Edna's awakening reveals her desire to return to the oceanic phase of her childhood and the embracing arms of the lost mother. But the sea, like her lovers, betrays her at last; its image of infinity masks the destructive force of regression to the inner world of the infantile”(Taylor and Fineman 44).
Although this novel pre mandates Fred, the novel lends itself to its philosophies through the behaviors and actions of the characters. Chopin warns readers of the consequences of not having a balanced mind. Without an equilibrium of the Id, Superego, and Ego and individual is forced on a path of reckless and ultimately deadly actions. Edna’s life is a clear demonstration of the realities one may face with an unbalanced mind especially one where the Id dominates.