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How Is The Awakening Related To Edna's Declaration Of Independence

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Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, is a story about a protagonist named Edna Pontellier. Throughout the novel, Edna is striving for some form of independence. However, she had no way to obtain it as she felt trapped by her marriage. Eventually, Edna was finally “awakened” and started to act on her discovery of her true-self. This true-self was one that did not live vicariously through her kids or her husband. It was one that let her live freely without control from another person. In the late 1800s, the tradition paired with the limitations of the law gave women very few opportunities for individual expression. This, in turn, led to lack of independence for women at that time. Edna wished to be free from this theory, however, she did not

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