Analysis Of Edna Pontellier's Sacrifice In The Awakening

History is filled with tales of those who were willing to risk it all in order to be the change that the world needed. In the book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier, realizes the sins that are imparted upon her by society and is willing to sacrifice everything about her past self in order to be break free of the chains that entangle her. Edna’s sacrifices include her comfortable lifestyle and esteemed reputation; however, to Edna these are small sacrifices that are needed in order to progress as an individual and expand into a new realm of independence. As she develops throughout the story, she starts to value a sense of independence and of equality more and more. However, the bonds placed on her by upper-class society's expectations mean that in order to achieve a position in life where she can embody her values, she must sacrifice her current culture and position.

When we first meet Edna, she is living a luxurious lifestyle where her husband provides for her. She is viewed as a

Edna’s wedding ring is symbolic of Edna’s marriage, “she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet.”(17.31). The seemingly unbreakable wedding ring symbolizes how difficult it is for Edna to break out of her marriage in this patriarchal society. With the destruction of her marriage, she is also forced to sacrifice her house since it is legally her husband’s. This means she has to move into a much smaller house, where she is alone. While this may seem like a huge sacrifice for most people, she doesn’t view it in this way. The oppression of her values that was inflicted upon in both that house and by her relationship her relationship with her husband meant that to Edna, leaving that house and situation was liberating and as if she had busted out of a