Who is Edna Pontellier?
A woman struggling with opposing thought; torn between her outward and inward self.
In the novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin challenges the sexism apparent in the Victorian era and introduces the main character, Edna Pontellier. Her outward self conforms to the traditional feminine role while her inward self rebels. This strain between the outward and inward reflects a series of childhood issues and eventually results in a cause for suicide. It also correlates to the symbolism and main, controversial themes found throughout the prose.
Edna’s struggle between her inward and outward self started at a young, tender age. Chopin writes “Even as a child she lived her own small life all 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 later understood that Edna’s dual life was greatly affected by the loss of a motherly figure. Being raised by her sister, she swayed from the traditional family unit, introducing the concept of an alternate lifestyle at a young age. Additionally, a child struggling with concepts of conformity demonstrates a very matured mind. This shows how Edna was rushed into adulthood, losing child-like abandon and innocence.
Edna’s strain between the outward and inward continues into the years of adulthood. After Edna leaves her husband, and chooses a liberated, independent, and artistic path, she starts to feel the backlash of this decision. Edna visits the beach where she feels welcomed and comforted in the midst of social rejection. She describes seeing “A bird with a broken wing beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” The bird symbolized Edna’s rebellious side, broken and falling to its death. Edna couldn’t survive outwardly expressing her hidden insubordination. Needing acceptance, her being would forever be strained between obedience and disobedience. Rather than allowing herself to be suffocated by society, she jumps into water and chooses the suffocation of the sea.
The struggle with conformity and evolution of societal rules has been continually occurring throughout the history of humanity. And throughout history, it has always been a great source of inspiration for the centuries of artists. Chopin uses Edna and her mental strain to illustrate the difficult confines placed on women in the turn of the century. However, Edna’s story remains timeless, illustrating the ongoing burden of awakening to truth and the hardship accompanied with actually pursuing the side of social defiance.
