Estetisk-filosofiska fakulteten
Sofia Årlén
”She grew daring and reckless”
Two Perspectives in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening
Engelska
C-uppsats
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Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad
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Vårterminen 2008
Maria Holmgren-Troy
When reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, some readers may mistake the narrator for the
main character, Edna, although what she knows, sees, and feels is not always conveyed by
Edna herself, but by the narrator. Thus, Edna’s awareness is not as developed to begin with as
one might believe when first reading the text. In fact, Chopin has created a situation where the
reader is more aware of Edna’s situation than she is herself, due to a third-person narrator.
When the story begins, Edna is neither expressive nor aware, but the narrator is. Edna’s
husband Léonce Pontellier is the first character to be introduced in the novel and Edna is
described through his eyes, as his wife: “Beneath [the horizon’s] pink-lined shelter were his
wife, Mrs. Pontellier […]” (Chopin 44). This places her in an inferior position from the start
because, as stated by Pat Shaw, “Edna first comes into view as a secondary character in the
background of narrative action” (180). Edna has internalized the patriarchal norms of society,
which keep her silent and submissive at the beginning of the novel. She is unaware of her own
oppressed situation and is passive in her interactions with people. During the course of the
novel, she slowly awakens and becomes more aware of her situation, and therefore becomes
more active and expressive.
In this essay, I will explore two different perspectives in The Awakening, the narrator’s
perspective and Edna’s perspective, as well as Edna’s awareness throughout the novel, which
I will describe using a feminist approach. Although the third-person narrator has a deeper
insight into Edna’s development than she has herself, I will show that in the course of the
novel Edna develops an understanding of her own situation and potential that is closer to the
narrator’s. In order to demonstrate this development, I will examine the two perspectives in
relation to Edna’s interactions with the people around her during her awakening. In addition, I
will show that Edna’s development is connected to her level of activity in her interactions
with others.
The first night we become acquainted with Edna and her husband, she is passive and
silent. Mr. Pontellier comes home from Klein’s Hotel and assumes that because he thinks that
their son has a fever, Edna should take care of him (Chopin 48). In terms of gender, it is clear
that Mr. Pontellier has internalized the traditional gender norms, because he believes that, as a
woman, Edna is the better candidate for nursing the children. Before her awakening, Edna
conforms to what Lois Tyson calls the patriarchal woman: “To [the patriarchal woman] are
attributed all the virtues associated with patriarchal femininity and domesticity: she’s modest,
unassuming, self-sacrificing, and nurturing. She has no needs of her own, for she is
completely satisfied by serving her family” (90). When Edna fails to do what her husband
expects of her, Mr. Pontellier comments on “her habitual neglect of the children” and
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continues by stating that “[i]f it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on
earth was it?” (Chopin 48). Edna is silent, but her actions are explained by the narrator. She
does not believe that her son has a fever, because “[h]e had gone to bed perfectly well […]
and nothing had ailed him all day” (Chopin 48). Nonetheless, since Edna is socially
programmed to be compliant to her husband, she checks on him anyway, and finds that he is
perfectly fine.
As she returns to the bedroom that night, Edna is still silent (Chopin 48). She does not
dare to disagree with her husband, so this passage is described by the narrator. At this
moment, Edna is passive in the interaction with her husband. Furthermore, Edna cries that
night, but the narrator states that “[s]he could not have told why she was crying” (Chopin 49).
Thus, it is clear that Edna is not fully conscious of what is bothering her. However, the
narrator is: “[a]n indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part
of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish” (Chopin 49). Tyson
explains that a patriarchal woman is categorized as “emotional (irrational), weak, nurturing,
and submissive” (85), which is exactly how one could describe Edna at this point. She is
passive and silent in the interactions with her husband at the beginning of the novel, because
she is acting in accordance with what is categorized as traditional female behavior in
patriarchal society. The narrator is therefore describing Edna’s life at this time.
Another reason why Edna is not very active in discourse with others at the beginning of
the novel is because she is of Presbyterian background and has a more reserved character than
the French Creoles1 in her community (Chopin 60). The fact that she is “thrown into a very
different culture by virtue of her marriage to Leonce Pontellier” (Walker 61), makes her an
outsider in the Creole community. The Creoles are different from Edna because they are more
outspoken and more intimate than she is and Edna “[is] not accustomed to an outward and
spoken expression of affection, either in herself or in others” (Chopin 61). As Linda Huf
states: “There is no doubt then that Edna Pontellier was a child unaccustomed to caresses. It
was the reason she developed a reserve […]” (Chopin 62), which explains why Edna feels so
confused in her interactions with the Creoles. The narrator observes: “Their freedom of
expression was at first incomprehensible to her” and she “gave over being astonished, and
concluded that wonders would never cease” (Chopin 53). What Edna has not yet realized,
1
A ‘French Creole’ is: “someone of European descent [or] someone of mixed European and African descent. In
Louisiana […], it applies either to someone of French or Spanish descent or (popularly) to someone of mixed
French or Spanish and African descent” (Farlex).
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when the narrator and the readers have, is that she is different because of her reserved
character (Chopin 61).
In spite of her reserved character, there are two people at the beginning of the novel that
Edna feels comfortable talking to: Robert Lebrun and Adèle Ratignolle. This summer, Robert
has been a close friend to Edna and he does most of the talking when they meet. He is very
open and talks “a good deal about himself” (Chopin 46). His willingness to open up to her
causes Edna to reveal things about herself too. Furthermore, he is an unmarried young man,
which makes him less intimidating than her husband, so talking to him is easier for Edna:
“They chatted incessantly” (Chopin 46). Thus, their relationship is important for Edna’s
development, even though, at this point, the narrator still describes what they are talking
about; Edna’s words are not presented as direct speech.
As Edna spends time with Adèle she learns that they are very different, but despite this,
the narrator confirms that they have a connection: “[T]he candor of the woman’s whole
existence, which every one might read, and which formed so striking a contrast to her own
habitual reserve–this might have furnished a link” (Chopin 57). This connection is enhanced
because, Adèle is a Creole and very open with her feelings, which inspires Edna to open up as
well. Also, Edna may be more comfortable talking to Adèle than to her husband because they
are both women. In her interactions with Adèle, Edna is not considered to be in an inferior
position and is therefore active and speaks more openly.
Nevertheless, as women, Edna and Adèle are opposites in the story, because Adèle is a
good example of what a ‘good girl’ is – someone who lives the life of a woman as society
expects her to live without questioning her inferior position. Tyson states that “[i]f [a woman]
accepts her traditional gender role and obeys the patriarchal rules, she’s a ‘good girl’; if she
doesn’t, she’s a ‘bad girl’” (89). This is where Edna and Adèle are even more different than
earlier stated, because Edna would be considered a ‘bad girl’ in comparison to Adèle. As
Jennifer Gray remarks: “The role of women prescribed by the dominant patriarchal ideology
is defined in relation only to marriage and to motherhood. It is embodied in Adele Ratignolle,
whom Chopin terms the ‘perfect motherwoman’” (57). Edna is not a mother-woman and as
will become more apparent later in the novel as Edna progresses, deviating from the norm,
she becomes more of a ‘bad girl’ than a ‘good girl’. Furthermore, she starts to express her
own thoughts and feelings more, even though the narrator’s perspective is still there.
When Adèle and Edna are alone on the beach, Edna is free from her motherly duties and
she feels comfortable expressing her own thoughts and feelings more openly than before.
Here, Edna is active and her thoughts are expressed in direct speech: “First of all, the sight of
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the water […] made a delicious picture that I just wanted to sit and look at” (Chopin 60).
Because she feels comfortable talking to Adèle, she is honest about her feelings and says:
“sometimes I feel this summer as if I were walking […] idly, aimlessly, unthinking and
unguided” (Chopin 61). When Robert and the children come up to them, they are no longer
alone and Edna is again forced to be a mother who lacks the relief of being her own person
(Chopin 60). She is therefore passive. The narrator describes a freedom that Edna feels when
being alone with Adèle, but never feels when surrounded by the children: “She was fond of
her children in an uneven, impulsive way”[…], but “[t]heir absence was a sort of relief,
though she did not admit this, even to herself” (Chopin 63). Edna is not aware of why she is
uncomfortable being a mother, but the narrator informs the reader that having children was a
“responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitted her” (Chopin
63). So, the narrator is aware of Edna’s feelings at this point, but Edna is not.
The topic of discussion is also important in Edna’s interactions. Her socially programmed
submissiveness leaves her silent when it comes to her desires and dreams at the beginning of
the novel, and it is the narrator that explains that Edna has a desire to paint. However, as Edna
develops throughout the novel, she starts to express such desires. The first time we become
acquainted with Edna’s artistic side is when she sits with Adèle and Robert, and she has
brought her sketching materials and wishes to dabble with them (Chopin 54). Here, the
narrator points out that “[s]he liked the dabbling” (Chopin 55). This entire event is described
by the narrator, and not by Edna. The narrator states that “Mrs. Pontellier liked to sit and gaze
at her fair companion” who was “seated there like some sensuous Madonna” (Chopin 54),
which makes it clear that Edna feels the desire to paint a picture of her friend. At the
beginning of the novel, “[p]ainting is merely a way she amuses herself on summer afternoons
[…]” (Huf 69), but as she is upset because the picture she draws does not resemble Adèle she
proves, through the perspective of the narrator, that her art matters to her: “She was greatly
disappointed to find that it did not look like her” (Chopin 55). Despite the fact that she is
upset, her reserved character and socially programmed submissiveness keep her quiet even
though she has friends to whom she should be able to express her frustration.
Edna has trouble expressing her own thoughts and ideas when being confronted by
Robert at Madame Lebrun’s party, so the narrator describes her interaction here. When Robert
asks Edna if she wants to hear Mademoiselle Reisz play the piano her answer is not conveyed
as direct speech. Instead, the narrator informs the reader that Edna thinks it would be a great
imposition to ask of Mademoiselle Reisz to play for them that night (Chopin 70). Edna is
embarrassed to be asked and “would not dare to choose” (Chopin 71). The narrator tells the
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readers that Edna “begged that Mademoiselle Reisz would please herself in her selections”
(Chopin 71). This reveals that Edna does not have the courage to choose, and that she, even
though she is “very fond of music” (Chopin 71), is submissive to others’ wishes;
Mademoiselle Reisz should choose whatever song suits her at the moment. This is a sign of
Edna’s social programming keeping her silent, because she has learned to be altruistic in her
interactions with her husband and her friends.
Despite her programmed submissiveness in her interactions, there are events and people
in Edna’s life that trigger her expressiveness in different ways. Her ability to express herself is
linked to whomever she is with at the moment and what has happened the moments before. It
is the narrator who describes Edna’s thought process and her actions the night Edna finally
learns how to swim: “Edna had attempted all summer to learn to swim” (Chopin 73), but the
ocean scares her because she has not mastered swimming yet. Nevertheless, this night, after
the party at Madame Lebrun’s, they all walk toward the beach for a nightly swim and Edna
realizes that she can swim. As stated by the narrator, she suddenly grows “daring and
reckless, overestimating her strength” (Chopin 73). Furthermore, the narrator explains that
“she wanted to swim out, where no woman had swum before” (Chopin 73). Through this
passage, Edna is silent, but as she dares to swim she realizes something that she has not
realized before and therefore, her feelings are conveyed as direct speech: "[h]ow easy it is!”
(Chopin 74). In just a short period of time, she goes from being passive to active when it
comes to expressing herself, starting to articulate more in her own words.
Edna becomes increasingly independent and outspoken during this night, and in the
interactions with both Robert and her husband she is active, which can be seen in the use of
direct speech. She asks Robert: “Did you think I was afraid?” (Chopin 75), and carries on an
entire discussion with him. When it comes to Mr. Pontellier, Edna is also more expressive
than before. As stated above, the power lies with Edna’s husband when they discuss their
child’s care at the beginning of the novel, and Edna is silent, but here she speaks up. She now
disobeys her husband when he leaves the porch to go inside and wishes for Edna to do the
same. Indeed, Mr. Pontellier acts as if Edna needs his permission to stay out there, but she
tells him what to do and she ignores his pleading as he is waiting for her to come in. She tells
him: “Léonce, go to bed […] I mean to stay out here. I don’t wish to go in, and I don’t intend
to. Don’t speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you” (Chopin 78).
The sea seems to be a source of power for Edna, one which gives her the strength to
challenge her husband, because at “another time she would have gone in at his request”, but
tonight she does not (Chopin 77). As Avril Horner and Sue Zlosnik explain, “Edna gradually
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becomes aware of the subtle manner in which marriage is oppressing her […]” (47). The
submissiveness that she has been programmed to show for her husband is here overcome,
because at any other time “[s]he would, through habit, have yielded to his desire […] not with
any sense of submission or obedience to his compelling wishes, but unthinkingly […]”
(Chopin 77). What the narrator highlights here is Edna’s previous unawareness of her social
programming. That Edna is more active now than before also shows that she is changing her
ways and becoming more aware of her situation.
At night, Edna has several indescribable dreams and has trouble sleeping because of them
(Chopin 79). These dreams trigger Edna’s awakening and she begins to follow her impulses
more than before. The narrator states: “She was blindly following whatever impulse moved
her […]” (Chopin 79). Moreover, the narrator informs the reader that Edna is baffled by the
dreams: “She slept but a few hours. They were troubled hours, disturbed with the dreams that
were intangible, that eluded her […]” (Chopin 79). The dreams awaken Edna to some extent,
and even though she does not know exactly why, they bring up feelings that confuse her. The
dreams are described by the narrator, but they are significant in Edna’s awakening because
she changes from here on (Chopin 79).
The consequences of her awakening are many. Edna is left baffled by an exuberating
experience in the water and dreams which awaken her impulses. The first impulse Edna
follows after her dreams is to spend time with Robert, which is interesting because she has
“never sent for him before” (Chopin 80). Hence the dreams have had an impact on Edna and
it makes her do things she never dared to do before. Still, Edna is not expressing her feelings
about following her impulses; it is the narrator, again, that informs us of this change. This
indicates that Edna is not comfortable talking about the subject of her dreams to anyone.
The narrator explains that Edna is starting to feel a kind of freedom, one that “felt as if
she were being borne away from some anchorage which had held her fast, whose chains had
been loosening […] leaving her free to drift […]” (Chopin 81). Together with Robert, Edna is
active and speaks freely about their future plans, as if nothing held them back (Chopin 82),
but the freedom she is feeling is still unexpressed on Edna’s part. There is a change in Edna’s
behavior though, as she follows her impulses more. While at church, Edna feels differently
and also acts accordingly, because before “she might have made an effort to regain her
composure”, but now, she leaves the church when feeling “giddy and almost overcome”
during the service (Chopin 83). Here, Edna is not passive because her feelings are conveyed
as direct speech: “I couldn’t have stayed through the service” (Chopin 83). We can see that
Edna is developing a sense of self and making choices to suit her own liking, instead of her
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husband’s or her friends’. She is also becoming more active and expressive when she is with
the right person or when a subject that she feels comfortable discussing is introduced. Her
submissiveness is fading because she is becoming more confident and aware, as well as
increasingly expressive, which means that the narrator’s perspective is becoming less
important here.
When Edna literally wakes up in a cottage after the incident at church, she feels as though
she has been sleeping for years, and articulates this to Robert: “How many years have I
slept?” (Chopin 85). This is an indication, not from the narrator but from Edna herself, that
she feels as though she just woke up from a dream where she did not have any control over
herself, and now, suddenly has. Nevertheless, the narrator lets the readers know how unaware
Edna is of her own situation: “That she was seeing with different eyes and making the
acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did
not yet suspect” (Chopin 88). The narrator also reveals that Edna begins to understand that
she is changing, but not in what way: “she tried to discover wherein this summer had been
different from any and every summer of her life. She could only realize that she herself—her
present self—was in some way different from the other self” (Chopin 88). So, she is aware of
a change, but not of how she is developing or why she feels differently than before.
As stated above, Robert has much influence on Edna’s life and development throughout
the novel. He has been a good friend to Edna this summer, teaching her how to swim and
spending his days with her. As Emily Toth states, Edna “is more at ease with Robert than with
any other man” (215). He has the ability to make Edna talk more, even though we have not
seen her do this yet. However, at this point, his behavior makes her express her own feelings,
which are conveyed as direct speech. When Edna is told about Robert’s leaving for Mexico,
she “laid her spoon down and looked about her bewildered” (Chopin 89). Hearing as shocking
news as this, and not even from Robert himself, it is not surprising that Edna is stunned,
because Robert and Edna have spent much time together this summer. She is not only
surprised, but sad about this news. This is one of the reasons why Edna is active and speaks
more, because she is passionate about this issue and wishes to know the details of her beloved
friend’s departure. Again, the topic of discussion is important for Edna’s self-expression. She
exclaims: “Impossible […] [h]ow can a person start off from Grand Isle to Mexico at a
moment’s notice […]?” and she wants to know when he is leaving and if he is all packed up,
after which she leaves for her room (Chopin 89). Since Robert has been talking about Mexico
for years, no one really thought it would actually happen, let alone Edna, and let alone this
summer (Chopin 90). Because the news is a shock to everyone at the table, Edna’s desperate
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feelings are muffled, but it is clear how she feels about it: she is beside herself. With Madame
Ratignolle’s statement, “I think it was showing us all—you especially—very little
consideration” (Chopin 92), it is clear that she believes that Edna is special to Robert,
revealing that she thinks they have a connection deeper than the one he has to the others.
When Robert and Edna say their goodbyes, Edna’s feelings are conveyed as direct speech:
“This seems to me perfectly preposterous and uncalled for […] never saying a word to me
about it this morning. […] I’ve grown used to seeing you, to having you with me all the time,
and your action seems unfriendly, even unkind” (Chopin 94). At this point, Edna says it all on
her own, but the narrator’s perspective is still there.
The narrator creates a way for the reader to understand Edna’s love for Robert without
her having to actually articulate how she feels about him. Even though Edna has the
opportunity to speak to someone about her feelings for Robert, she does not, and the narrator
explains Edna’s actions at this point. What reveals Edna’s hidden feelings is the letter that
Madame Lebrun receives from Robert. Here, Edna is not alone, she is with Madame Lebrun
but we still have the narrator’s comments: “[The letter] possessed the greatest interest and
attraction for Edna […] She examined every detail of the outside before opening it” (Chopin
96). Her curiosity about the letter shows that Robert is special to Edna. She also “experienced
a pang of jealousy because he had written to his mother rather than to her” (Chopin 96),
which proves her feelings for him, even though she is not yet as aware of them as the narrator
is. The narrator informs us that Edna questions her husband about running into Robert in
town: “Mr. Pontellier had seen Robert in the city, and Edna asked him a dozen questions or
more. Where had they met? […] What had they talked about? […] How did he look?”
(Chopin 96). When Edna later hears that Robert has written a letter to Mademoiselle Reisz
that is about her “from beginning to end” (Chopin 115), she is intrigued and wants to read that
as well. Both Robert’s letter, which is filled with questions concerning Edna, and her wish to
read the letter prove that they both miss each other and have feelings for one another. So, as it
seems, when Edna is with Robert, she talks more on her own, but when it comes to expressing
her feelings for Robert to another person, she is silent at this point.
As mentioned above, Mr. Pontellier has the power while Edna is passive in their
discussions at the beginning of the novel, but as we have seen, this is changing. While
confronted by her husband about missing her reception one Tuesday, Edna is active and
speaks on her own. She explains that “[t]here were a good many” callers and that she knew
this because she “found their cards when [she] got home” (Chopin 100). Missing her
reception is not acceptable to Léonce and he, at this point, is confused and asks: “Why, what
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could have taken you out on Tuesday? What did you have to do?” (Chopin 100). He lets her
know that such behavior is not tolerated: “Why, my dear, I should think you’d understand by
this time that people don’t do such things […]” (Chopin 101). His reputation is important to
him and Edna has disobeyed as well as embarrassed him by missing her reception. In this
discussion, Edna is active and her remarks are reported in the form of direct speech, even
though the narrator still explains her thoughts and emotions more thoroughly than she does
herself. We can also see that Edna is more active now than before as she is trying to defend
herself when her husband accuses her of ruining his reputation (Chopin 101). In contrast to
the first night, when their son allegedly has a fever, there is marked a difference in Edna’s
behavior. In this situation, Edna is active, but in the earlier situation, she is passive and says
nothing, which is proof that Edna has gone through some kind of change, even though she
might not be aware of what kind.
As we have seen, Adèle and Robert are two of Edna’s friends and she feels comfortable
talking to them, but as she develops throughout the story, she finds another friend to
communicate with, Alcée Arobin, who “appeals not to [Edna’s] heart but to her newly
aroused senses” (Huf 69). Arobin is the man Edna sees in the absence of both her husband
and Robert, and he becomes someone she can talk to. Edna spends time at the race track with
Arobin, who is a known womanizer, and he awakens something within her that has been
dormant for a long time; her sexuality. As Cynthia Wolff states: “To be sure, Edna’s
awakening involves a liaison with Arobin, and the novel leaves little doubt that this
attachment includes sexual activity” (247). Edna’s actions here are described through the
perspective of the narrator. At the race track, Edna “played for high stakes, and fortune
favored her […] The fever of the game flamed in her cheeks and eyes and it got into her blood
and into her brain like an intoxicant […]”, and “Arobin caught the contagion of excitement
which drew him to Edna like a magnet” (128). According to the narrator, Edna expresses to
Arobin that she wishes to return to the race track (Chopin 129). They are becoming close and
she begins to feel comfortable talking to him. One night when Arobin “stayed and dined with
Edna […] They laughed and talked […]” (Chopin 130). At this point, Edna is active in their
discussion. He pleads for her to come back to the race track with him, but she suddenly tells
him that she has “had enough of the races” (Chopin 131). What she says to Arobin when she
wishes to end the night is reported as direct speech: “Why don’t you go after you have said
good night? I don’t like you” (Chopin 131). She is honest with Arobin and says: “I’m greatly
upset by the excitement of the afternoon; I’m not myself. My manner must have misled you in
some way. I wish you to go, please” (Chopin 131). This statement contains a trace of her
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submissiveness, because she feels that she has done something wrong and has to excuse her
behavior.
In the discussion with Arobin, she has an opportunity to be outspoken and takes it, but
the narrator continues when Arobin leaves and she is alone. This passage is important when it
comes to her awareness, even though her solitude does not give an opportunity for the use of
direct speech. Here, she wonders what Robert would think of her, of her spending time with
Arobin, as if she feels guilty for being with him. The narrator says: “She felt somewhat like a
woman who in a moment of passion is betrayed into an act of infidelity […]” (Chopin 132). It
is interesting that she does not have her husband in mind here, because he is the one she
actually has a responsibility toward, not Robert. This is where Edna realizes that she,
according to the narrator, had married Léonce “without love as an excuse” (Chopin 133). So,
as we can see, Edna is becoming more aware about her situation with Léonce.
At this point in the story, Edna starts articulating her feelings much more than before, but
the narrator still explains Edna’s development to the reader. She is much more confident now
and cares less about what others might think, and she is therefore more active in the
interactions with others. Edna says: “I believe I ought to work again. I feel as if I wanted to be
doing something“ (Chopin 106), to Adèle, which reveals that Edna has a feeling that
something is missing and that she needs to have a focus in her life. Although, it is the narrator
who tells us that Edna is starting to believe that she is a true artist and could actually be doing
this for a living, Edna expresses her feelings and desires about painting to Adèle: “Perhaps I
should be able to paint your picture one day” (Chopin 106). The reason she is able to say this
now, when she has not been able to before, is because she is more independent and therefore
has the courage to speak up and ask more of others. Edna’s independence does not only come
from her artistic advancement; she has an inheritance from her mother, money that is only
hers and not her husband’s. Her independence grows when she starts to earn her own money
selling paintings. “Thus, by the time Edna has decided to leave her husband’s house for the
cottage on the corner, she need not worry about money” (Huf 71). Nonetheless, her changes
are not greatly appreciated by patriarchal society because, as stated by Janet Beer, “Edna […]
poses the particular danger of the social order that arises from a woman’s having independent
financial means” (175). In patriarchal society, Edna is not supposed to earn her own money,
because that is a characteristic more commonly attributed to men. In addition, Beer observes
that Edna “fulfills the worst fear of the male-dominated social order: that an economically
independent woman will be an uncontrollable woman” (175). Undoubtedly, Edna’s freedom
is making it easier for her to express herself. She becomes less submissive and she speaks her
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mind regardless of what others might think, which indeed makes her an uncontrollable
woman in patriarchal society.
At this moment in Edna’s development, the narrator reveals that Edna “began to do as she
liked and to feel as she liked” (Chopin 107). Edna has decided to “never take a step
backward” (Chopin 108) in her development, so she stands tall when Mr. Pontellier confronts
her about her lack of submissiveness. Edna’s is active in her response to Mr. Pontellier’s
attacks and states: “I feel like painting” (Chopin 108). Here, Edna is expressing thoughts and
feelings in her own words. Edna is, as Huf states, “caught in a contradiction between her
responsibilities as a woman and her requirements as an artist” (71), even though she explains
that it is not on the account of the painting that she leaves her duties as a wife and mother. The
narrator shows that Edna feels free by explaining that “[w]hen [she] was at last alone, she
breathed a big, genuine sigh of relief” (Chopin 126). Edna starts seeing everything with new
eyes; their house and her life; she realizes “that her time [is] completely her own to do with as
she like[s]” (Chopin 127). As Horner and Zlosnik point out: “[a]rt and music becomes
increasingly important and [Edna] eventually places them at the centre of her life” (49). Since
she is alone here, it is the narrator who tells the readers what Edna is feeling (Chopin 127).
When we hear from Edna again, it is she who speaks and not the narrator. Edna has
developed a greater sense of self and is more articulate as well as active when it comes to her
feelings and desires. When she visits Mademoiselle Reisz, she declares: “Mademoiselle, I am
going to move away from my house on Esplanade Street” (Chopin 134). To Edna this means
having a home of her own where she can feel free, so we can see that her awareness has
grown, but the feelings she has and her reasons for leaving her home, are described by the
narrator (Chopin 134). As the discussion continues, Edna reveals something about herself that
she has never before admitted. Mademoiselle Reisz asks Edna: “Are you in love with
Robert?” and Edna answers: “Yes” (Chopin 136). Here Edna takes over the narrator’s role in
expressing her feelings. After this astonishing admission, Edna is changing even more
(Chopin 137). Arobin asks her: “What is the matter with you? […] I never found you in such
a happy mood” (Chopin 137). Choosing not to respond to his question, Edna instead
expresses her wish to discover who she really is: “One of these days, […] I’m going to pull
myself together for a while and think–try to determine what character of a woman I am; for,
candidly, I don’t know” (Chopin 138). It is clear that Edna has become comfortable talking to
Arobin. Here, Edna tells Arobin about her meeting with Mademoiselle Reisz earlier: “she put
her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong […]”
(Chopin 138). This type of statement has so far been expressed by the narrator and not Edna
12
herself, and that it comes from Edna tells the reader that she is changing and becoming more
active, as well as moving closer to the narrator’s perspective.
When Edna sees Robert again, she speaks on her own, without the narrator describing her
feelings. It is clear that Edna has gone through a change because these days she is more
comfortable with confronting men: “Why have you kept away from me, Robert? […] You are
the embodiment of selfishness” (Chopin 164-65). Edna continues to say that maybe what she
is doing is not common for a woman, and explains, in her own words, that she has gotten
“into a habit of expressing” herself (Chopin 165). Per Seyersted states that since Edna “cannot
give up Robert, while realizing that he might consider her ‘unwomanly,’ she takes the
initiative when they next meet, giving him the voluptuous kiss which sets him on fire” (qtd. in
Toth 143). It is clear that Edna feels freer than before, because she takes more chances
following her impulses. She wants “to play the man’s role as taker” (Toth 143), and therefore
kisses Robert (Chopin 166): “She kissed him on the forehead, the eyes, the cheeks, and the
lips” (Chopin 167). She says: “you must have forgotten that I was Léonce Pontellier’s wife”,
and, speaking on her own, using the past tense in saying that she was Léonce Pontellier’s
wife, she indicates that she no longer sees herself as his wife (Chopin 167). She says that
Robert is a “very foolish boy, wasting [his] time dreaming of impossible things when [he]
speak[s] of Mr. Pontellier setting [her] free” (Chopin 167), because she feels that she is no
longer one of her husband’s possessions. This means that he is not the one to set her free or
not; she is her own person: “I give myself where I choose” (Chopin 167). All of this is
expressed by Edna, not by the narrator, telling the readers that she is becoming much more
active and expressive in her interactions with others.
It is with Mademoiselle Reisz that Edna first expresses her true feelings for Robert
(Chopin 136), but now Edna expresses her feelings directly to Robert. She does this on her
own, and what she says is reported as direct speech. She says, “I love you […] only you; no
one but you”, and continues by revealing that it was he who awakened her last summer “out
of a life-long, stupid dream” (Chopin 168). This statement shows that she has awakened
enough to be aware of a change within herself and to be able to express her true feelings for
Robert. Edna wants her and Robert to be “everything to each other” and she believes that
“nothing else in the world is of any consequence” to them (Chopin 168). Because Edna does
not behave like a typical lady, and takes control over the situation with Robert in an attempt to
get closer to him, she scares him off instead. As Seyersted states: “Edna wants to decide over
her own life, but this urge brings her despair rather than happiness” (149).
13
At this point, while interacting with Dr. Mandalet, she is expressing herself more freely
than before. Dr. Mandelet, the family physician, is a man and therefore regarded as superior to
Edna in patriarchal society, but Edna feels comfortable speaking to him anyway. As stated
above, Edna is comfortable speaking to Adéle and Robert at the beginning of the novel, but as
she develops, she is comfortable speaking even to someone who is considered superior to her,
someone who is not her husband. Furthermore, Horner and Zlosnik explain that “Edna
partially confides in Dr. Mandelet […] and thinks to herself that he might, in time, have
understood the nature of her desires” (46). As he asks her about going away during the
summer with her husband, she is strong, active, and outspoken saying: “I’m not going to be
forced into doing things. I don’t want to go abroad. I want to be let alone” (Chopin 170). Edna
informs the doctor that “[t]he years that are gone seem like dreams […] oh! well! perhaps it is
better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one’s
life” (Chopin 171). Here, she proves her own awareness of her awakening. Edna continues to
say: “I don’t want anything but my own way” (Chopin 171), and shows the readers that she is
no longer submissive and altruistic, but even a bit selfish instead.
After the reader has seen a big transformation in Edna, from being passive to active in her
interactions with people, there is a passage in the novel where the narrator again speaks for
her. The letter she receives from Robert, telling her that he is leaving again: “Good-by—
because I love you” (Chopin 172), affects Edna in the worst possible way. The narrator
explains that Edna “grew faint when she read the words” and that she was sleepless all night
(Chopin 172). As Seyersted points out: “Edna is defeated in the sense that she cannot
meaningfully relate herself to people around her and in some way integrate her demands with
those of society” (149). She goes to Grand Isle that morning and is set on having a swim
before dinner. At this time, Edna states: “I have a notion to go down to the beach and take a
good wash and even a little swim, before dinner” (Chopin 174). Here, I might add that she is
going for a swim in water no one would dare to go into because it is too cold, on an empty
stomach, and without having slept at all the previous night. As she walks alone toward the
beach, Edna is silent, not only because she is alone, but because “[s]he had done all the
thinking” (Chopin 175) already. These are the reasons why we from now on do not hear from
Edna herself, but from the narrator.
In Edna’s time and society it is expected that a woman wants a husband as well as
children, but Edna does not want that and is therefore an outsider who cannot find her place in
the world. Edna goes for a swim and ends up taking her own life, because she has reached the
limit of her own development in patriarchal society. Her awareness has grown and, as Ann
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Howard puts it, “Edna moves to self realization and to a final awareness that she has
awakened to a world in which she has no place”. She is determined never to take a step
backward (Chopin 108) and suicide therefore becomes the only option she sees possible for
herself. The readers know what she is thinking because the narrator describes her every move
since she stopped expressing her thoughts on her own. The narrator is there to tell Edna’s
story as she has stopped trying to interact with society.
At the beginning of the novel, Edna plays the traditional role as a woman, as a typical
wife and mother, because that is what patriarchal society expects her to do. She is regarded as
inferior to her husband and has therefore learned to be submissive and silent in their
interactions. During her development, Edna has been left baffled by a powerful experience in
the water, sexual advancements, love, and dreams which awaken her impulses. These various
triggers cause many changes in Edna’s life, changes not greatly appreciated by the society she
lives in. The more independent she becomes, the more she follows her impulses, and because
of that, she learns to express herself not only to women, but to men in superior positions. As
she develops throughout the novel, she becomes more aware of her situation and the changes
that take place within her. As this happens, she also realizes that she cannot live the life she
wants without there being consequences for her development, and subsequently, reactions
from the people around her. As Edna awakens, she learns that the only way she can be free is
to take her own life. Suicide is a salubrious ending for Edna because it is her choice and her
way to find the freedom she wishes to have, but could never keep in patriarchal society.
In conclusion, Edna becomes stronger, less altruistic, and more expressive throughout the
novel, and she develops an understanding of her own situation, one that is closer to the
narrator’s. The two perspectives are closely connected to Edna’s ability to interact with
others, or more importantly, her level of activity when given a chance to interact. Edna is
passive in the interactions with others at the beginning of the novel, but as her awareness
grows she becomes more active and her feelings are more frequently expressed in direct
speech. After she has awakened and realized her situation, Edna is aware that there is no room
for her in patriarchal society and that suicide would set her free. Although she speaks more
and more toward the end of the novel, the narrator gets the last word. However, this is only
the case because Edna is determined not to think anymore; she is done thinking and has
reached the limit of her self-expression in her society.
15
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