Edna’s Cop Out

Edna’s real awakening is the realization that she is not sure of her place in a society ruled by man. Throughout the novel, Edna is described as a rebellious and rather selfish character: She cheats on her husband and often ignores her responsibilities to her children. At the beginning of "The Awakening", Léonce expresses that “he thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation” (48). It bothers Léonce that his wife does not really pay attention to their conversations. Edna is a Creole woman and knows that the role of women is limited to the Cult of Domesticity. However, Edna thinks that her life is dull. In hopes of discovering a new and more exciting lifestyle which will satisfy her selfish desires, Edna slowly descends into a transformation, of which Léonce tells Edna that she is neglecting her household duties. He further emphasizes this by reminding Edna of society's expectations for women. He poses the question, “If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it?”(48). He is not really worried about Edna at this point, but he questions her current state. Edna’s actions soon lead to mischief, and they are viewed as immoral and a disgrace to humanity. Edna has romantic relationships with other men, such as Alcée Arobin and Robert Lebrun. Edna’s affairs with these men become quite obvious, and her friend Adèle advices Edna to focus her attention back on her husband and her children. One day on Grand Isle, Edna learns to swim in the ocean. She displays pride admitting that, “she wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before” (73). This moment is significant for her because she feels empowered and in control of her life physically, mentally, and spiritually. She is holding herself up, and the fact that she achieves this independent of others makes the moment even greater. Edna feels encouraged to rebel against the ideals set for women, and she develops deeper feeling for Robert. Edna believes that her affairs with men, especially Robert further expound her intentions of rebellion. She claims that her willingness to end ties with her husband by moving out of their house and confessing her love for Robert shows that she dares to be independent. Yet, Edna commits suicide shortly after Robert ends his relationship with her. As Edna swims to deeper water she is similar to “some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known” (175). In this last awakening it dawns on Edna that she has no place in society. She “steps” out of her realm, but she wants to hold onto this unrealistic fantasy of obtaining a forbidden lifestyle. She acts on this by allowing herself to drown. Still, Edna may not have ended her life if Robert decided to stay with her. Robert represents a chain that Edna does not want break free from, and therefore she can not be truly independent; she refuses to accept his departure from her. The bird with a broken wing, flying in the air before it crashed into the ocean (175) is Edna. Edna cops out knowing that she would be in some sense alone and misunderstood.