Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is the quintessential example of a character pulled in opposite directions. Edna faces external, rather than internal conflicts in the novel. She is more so in conflict with society, rather than herself. This acceptance she strives for comes in two forms, that of practicality in contrast to that of desire. In the Awakening, Edna experiences tensions of society and nature, which is the catalyst to her journey of striving for balance.
”In the first direction, the reader witnesses the era when women only existed to make the male happy. The main character Edna finds that she has nothing to do other than stay in the house bored, since even her children are raised and cared for by servants. Day after day, all Edna is permitted to do is care for her husband and be there whenever he needs help or entertainment. Woman at that time could not vote, could not go out without a male escort, were not allowed to smoke in public, and were not allowed in the work place. These ideals set by the male driven society caused Edna to face her second trend of free will, conflicting with her other direction of oppression. ”In the world of Edna Pontellier one can either be defined by men or live a life separate from the rest of society. Adele Ratignolle is the epitome of the male-defined wife and mother. She is a ‘mother-woman.’ Adele is a talented pianist, yet even the very personal act of creating music is performed for the sake of her children. ‘She was keeping up her music because the children, she said; because she and her husband both considered it a means of brightening the home and making it attractive’ (Chopin 27). Adele also brings constant attention to her pregnancy in ways Edna finds to be somewhat inappropriate. Adele is very proud of her title of mother, and one might say motherhood is what she was fated for. Edna attempts to find self-definition by creating a third lifestyle option and beginning to act like a man. She sees that men can live lives of sexual fulfillment, while not being expected to bear or care for their children, and develop a personality and individual self through participation in the business world. Edna first finds a sense of masculine freedom when Leonce goes to New York and Raoul and Etienne go to Iberville to stay with their grandmother. ‘A radiant peace settled upon her when she at last found herself alone. Even the children were gone’ (Chopin 80). Edna explores her newfound lifestyle by taking up gambling at the racetrack and beginning to sell her paintings. Entering the world of”capitalism”is a big step in her search for independence because until that point she had been, like most nineteenth century women. By infiltrating this masculine world, Edna can generate an income all her own and use the money she makes to rent a house.
The pigeon house, as she calls it, is a place far away from any reminders of her family life. Her final attempt to acquire the unfettered life of a man comes in the form of her affair with Alcee Arobin. In this relationship, Edna samples masculine sexual freedoms; however, something in Edna’s nature makes it impossible for her to be fully satisfied with the masculine lifestyle. Nature reminds Edna of her position as a mother by making her crave her children’s presence periodically. The first night that she is alone after Leonce’s departure to New York and the children to Iberville, ‘she talked intimately to [the doggie] about Etienne and Raoul’ (Chopin 81).
Even in her excitement about her freedom, she can’t help but think about her absent children. Then, after confessing her love for Robert out loud for the first time, she is inspired to go to the confectioners and purchase bonbons to send to the children, accompanied by ‘an abundance of kisses’ (Chopin 91) Here, while allowing herself to consider love outside of the confines of her marriage, Edna still thinks of the children and desires to spoil them with treats, reminding them of their mother’s love.
Finally, after moving into the pigeon house, Edna feels the desire for her children so strongly that she journeys to Iberville to see them. This much-anticipated visit still fails to hold her attention on the boys for long. ‘All along the journey homeward, their presence lingered with her like the memory of a delicious song. But by the time she had regained the city the song no longer echoed in her soul’ (Chopin 105). The constant reminder of her children’s presence in her life brings Edna’s awareness to the natural pull of motherhood on women. The actual process of childbirth is what brings Edna’s realization about motherhood to its full development. Adele summons Edna to keep her company during her accouchement. When Edna arrives at the Ratignolle’s, she finds Adele in the salon, ‘all her beautiful hair . . . drawn back and plaited. It lay in a long braid on the sofa pillow coiled like a golden serpent’ (Chopin 121). This reference to the serpent can allude to two different things. Edna’s realization about her natural position of woman and mother in combination with the societal position she’s expected to fill drives her to suicide. Adele’s final words to Edna before she departs the Ratignolle’s the night of the birth is, ‘Think of the children, Edna. Oh, think of the children! Remember them!’ (Chopin 122). Adele’s plea invades Edna’s consciousness and becomes the final factor in her decision to leave her current life behind. The concept of sharing her body with another being, becoming truly a part of something other than her individual self, is the opposite of everything that Edna has been looking for. She thinks of how Raoul and Etienne will be a constant presence in her life and how her natural position as a mother prevents her from being able to live a life without them. After all, a woman’s primary job is to bring her offspring to adulthood, and they in turn bring significance to a woman’s life. Edna is unwilling to go about the rest of her life as ‘Raoul and Etienne’s mother’ and ‘Leonce’s wife.’ She knows that to do so would be to give up herself, something she swore she would never do. ‘The children appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul’s”slavery”for the rest of her days’ (Chopin 127).
Edna will not allow herself to be chained to its natural and societal titles, and she commits suicide to free it from these definitions. Edna embraces her rebirth to escape the demands of being an adult woman. Children are ignorant of the burdens of procreation and their predetermined societal roles, and Edna longs for this naivety. As she steps into the water, she sheds her obligations, Edna lets go of the concerns that nature and society place on a woman by allowing herself to forget her past and immerse herself in death. Nature and society were the two strongest forces attempting to mold Edna Pontellier into the woman that they wanted her to be, but through her suicide, Edna is finally able escape their grasp. Leonce and society owned her soul, telling her to be subservient, to tend house, adore her children and keep up appearances, but it was Raoul and Etienne who imprisoned her body, reminding her constantly of the torture of childbirth that nature requires of her. Nature kept Edna loving her children and declaring that she would give up almost everything for them, but it was her desire for individuality and self-definition that led her to her deathly rebirth.