Identity and Societys Expectations In Kate Chopin’s The...

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier’s suicide is an assertion of her independence and contributes to Chopin’s message that to be independent one must choose between personal desires and societal expectations. Chopin conveys this message through Edna’s reasons for committing suicide and how doing so leads her to total independence. Unlike the other women of Victorian society, Edna is unwilling to suppress her personal identity and desires for the benefit of her family. She begins â€Å"to realize her position in the universe as a human being and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her† (35). Edna’s recognition of herself as an individual as opposed to a submissive housewife is controversial†¦show more content†¦For these reasons Edna chooses her only viable option and commits suicide. This enforces Chopin’s feminist message because Edna is exercising her freedom and making this choice on her own. She isn’t allowing society to choose for her. Edna’s ultimate assertion of independence occurs when she chooses to end her life. She has created her own set of beliefs and values that are no longer compatible with those of society. She realizes that she will never be able to live the life that she wants because society will not accept her unconventional choices. As a result, she begins to disassociate herself from her surroundings and see everything as â€Å"part and parcel of an alien world [that has] suddenly become antagonistic† (151). She will never be accepted with her new beliefs. Death is the only possible thing that she feels she has any control over and so she decides to kill herself as an act of liberation. In death she will never be controlled or possessed by another person. She commits suicide as the ultimate assertion of her self control. Edna realizes that she will never entirely be her own person because of her children. She sta tes that she would â€Å"give [her] life for [her] children but [she] wouldn’t give [herself]† (133). She would be willing to give up her physical life but not her identity. When she witnesses Madame Ratignolle giving birth, she is told to â€Å"thinkShow MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Kate Chopin s Chopin 1690 Words   |  7 PagesKate Chopin was a famous American author of many short stories and novels. Chopin is now considered to have been a predecessor of the feminist movement and a leader of the feminist authors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kate Chopin lived a rather traditional life as a housewife until her husband’s untimely death, which significantly changed the course of her life. Chopin s career as a writer actually began when she started facing financial struggles due to the death of her husband. 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