Kate Chopin’s "The Awakening" ends with the death of the main protagonist, Edna Pontellier. The readers are left wondering whether her self-inflicted demise is a triumph or a tragedy. While Edna starts as a constricted woman, her journey through the story truly is an “awakening” of her true self. To some, Edna’s suicide ending the story serves as a victory over her struggle with self-expression and conventional gender roles. However, when closely examining her mental state, personal past, and unconditional, rebellious behaviors it is clear that her death proves to be a surrender of her life rather than a conquest of life’s conflicts.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines depression as “a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.” Often times it is depression that leads individuals to commit suicide when they feel they have no alternative route. Unfortunately for Edna Pontellier, physicians in the late 1800s and early 1900s did not put any serious thought into mental illnesses. Thanks to modern research, readers can now recognize the symptoms of depression in Edna.
Edna’s emotions rise and fall almost as quickly as the tide. One of the first times the readers are introduced to her expression of emotions is after she checks the temperature of her child when Mr. Pontellier insists that the child has a temperature. “The tears came so fast to… [her] eyes that the damp sleeve of her peignoir no longer served to dry them.” Edna had no explicit reason to be crying. In fact, the readers are informed that emotional experiences such as the one described were not uncommon in her marriage.
Further elaboration of Mrs. Pontellier’s constantly changing emotions is almost perfectly expressed on page 1690 of "The Awakening" when the readers are told,
"There are days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day… There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,—when it did not seem worth while to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead; when life appeared to her like a grotesque pandemonium… She could not work on such a day."
The contrast between being “happy to be alive and breathing,” and “not seem[ing] worth while… to be alive or dead,” is extremely drastic and shows the very peak of Edna’s emotional rollercoaster as well as the valleys.
The constant mood swings of Edna eventually became so extreme that they were undeniably evident to those around her. Although generally over looked at the time the novel takes place, Mr. Pontellier became worried that Edna was mentally ill. When an individual is depressed, it is often times their loved ones that notice the change in behaviors before the person who is depressed. Edna’s husband is not alone in his observations of her drastically conflicting emotions. Alcée Arobin “was ready at all times to submit to her moods, which were as often kinds as they were cold.”
Edna’s adolescence is brought up several times throughout the story. Although it is a smaller part of the story itself, her childhood plays a particularly large role in determining her suicide as a tragedy. Edna’s mother died when she was young and she grew up fighting with her younger sister, Jane, out of forced habit. Having a young girl’s mother die is enough trauma on the child, but Edna’s relationship with her family was compromised due to the lack of unconditional love that naturally comes with mother figures. These relationships molded Edna into the adult she has become. Pages 1657-1658 in "The Awakening" explains this by expressing, “Even as a child she had lived her own small life within herself. At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life—that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.”
It is common for children with one parent to search for acceptance and love in romantic partners. This need of acceptance can be severely unhealthy and lead to further depression. Edna is no exception of this stereotype. She allowed herself determine her self-worth based on the attention she received by her childhood crushes. These were often infatuations with older men that were not aware of her attractions and had no intentions on perusing them.
When Edna was just becoming a teenager, one of these men entered her life. He was engaged to a lady who lived on a neighboring plantation. Edna’s “affections were deeply engaged… and the realization that she herself was nothing, nothing, nothing to the engaged young man was a bitter affliction to her.” The repetition of the word “nothing” shows the anger and self-loathing Edna felt. The young man was not aware of her crush nor was he in any position to encourage it due to his age and relationship status.
Another instance of Edna’s childhood infatuations occurred when a cavalry officer came to visit her father. Edna “could not leave his presence when he was there, nor remove her eyes from his face.” The officer did not stay for long and exited Edna’s life as soon as he had entered. This was just another reason for Edna to search for man’s acceptance and attention.
As Edna became an adult she gradually became completely disconnected from her family. When she met Mr. Pontellier, he fell in love with her. However the readers are told that his absolute devotion only flattered her; she was not in love. Edna’s father and older sister, Margaret, were opposed to the idea of Edna marrying Mr. Pontellier due to the fact that he is Catholic. For Edna this was all the more reason to get married—she wanted nothing more than to spite her family. These feelings were also made evident when Edna refused to attend her sister’s wedding and argued with her father over the subject. This set her up for unavoidable unhappiness.
Edna Pontellier’s mental state and childhood together result in her unconventional and rebellious behaviors that the story is centered around. She has love affairs with different men which is still considered taboo in today’s time. Though neither of them will admit it, Edna and Robert Lebrun are secretly in love with each other. When Robert chose to pursue Edna that summer he became very attached to her. This was intimidating for him, so in order to avoid these feelings he travels to Mexico. This hurts Edna and no doubt reminds her of the men that left her life when she was younger.
While Mr. Pontellier and Robert are away, Edna has an affair with another man. Not only is Edna cheating on her husband, but she is also abusing the love she has for Robert. She sleeps with this man while staying as unattached as possible. The several love affairs she has with men other than her husband is her exploring her sexual freedom. Being completely unfaithful to Mr. Pontellier is not what a “proper” woman would do. Though she feels as if she has more control in her life, she is still ultimately married and held back by her husband. She cannot escape that fact.
Edna did not have a mother to be an example for her and, therefore, is simply described as “not a mother-woman.” She sends the children to stay with their grandmother and does not miss them as other mothers would. Edna loved her children “in an uneven, [and] impulsive way.” It was expected of her to want to have as many children as possible and watch over them with loving caution. She, however, refused to follow that norm.
In an attempt to outwardly express herself, Mrs. Pontellier does all she can to rebel. When she swims in the ocean for the first time at Grand Isle, she undergoes a sort of epiphany. This gives her the courage to break from social norms. Edna’s desire for freedom from gender roles is the climax of her war against herself. Edna’s final realization who she is ultimately leads to her destruction and her suicide due to her inability to actually be herself in the life she has created.
Edna Pontellier was a woman way before her time. Not only did she suffer from a mental illness not acknowledged by physicians but she also defied all social norms of the time. Her childhood and decisions she made when she was young caused her to be depressed which only worsened with time. When Edna finally accepted that she was unable to be the woman she wanted to be, she took her own life in the ocean where she first felt inclined to pursue her freedom. Edna did not go on to live the life she desired. Her internal war did not end victoriously. It instead ended rather tragically.
