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Identity In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna Pontellier desires for something more than her role determined by society. She discovers her own identity and sheds her role as a Victorian housewife. In the final chapter, she takes off her Victorian clothes and she feels like a newborn creature. She has had her awakening and she feels completely free of her roles in society. Just like Edna I have had a somewhat similar experience. With my transition from Catholic school to public school I had to discard my uniform for my own new wardrobe that reflected me. I went to a Catholic school called St. Margaret Mary’s for basically my whole life. I started going there since Kindergarten and attended there until eighth grade. It was a small school. Everyone knew …show more content…

I didn’t think it’d be that much of a change, but it was sort of a new identity for myself. Attending a Catholic school and wearing a uniform meant I had to follow certain standards and be cautious of my behavior. It was stressed to set a good example for the school. No longer wearing a uniform meant that I could let go of this part of myself and find a new personality. I had an awakening much like Edna’s where I was working to find myself. Even in Catholic school I always wanted to feel freer and challenge the predetermined behavior I had to follow. I often felt confused because I knew I had to be a certain way but I knew I was losing a part of myself by doing so. I did not want to lose a sense of creativity and personality by conforming to the ways of Catholic school. I knew in my last year of attending the school that I would no longer have to lose a part of myself and I would be free. On my last day of school, I wore that uniform for one last time and I have not seen it since. Just like Edna’s final scene, I let go of my Catholic school self and found a new identity. I found a personality for myself and became more independent. I can relate to Edna’s feeling of freedom. It’s interesting how letting go of articles of clothing can feel relieving. It’s a freeing experience and for both Edna and I, it meant finding a new independence for

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