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Internal Conflicts In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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In the novel The Awakening Edna faces many internal conflicts. These include her role as not only just a women during the this era, but as, more specifically, a wife and mother. She learns more about herself throughout the novel and is empowered by what she feels she could be. Although she is tied down by society’s expectations of her, Edna finds her true self and is inspired to pursue a life outside of what is expected. The Awakening is an example of a novel with a character that plays an important role because of her alienation due to her gender, class, race, and religion, and revelation about society’s assumptions and moral values. Chopin gains her knowledge about the struggles of overcoming diversity, both racial and gender, through her own past experiences. She…show more content…
She sees the amount of pain Madame Ratignolle is in, how gruesome the scene is, and she makes the comment that she regrets attending the delivery. This serves as a lesson to Edna in many different ways. This was her first big realization that during her pregnancies and deliveries, she did not experience the real pain. Her pain was numbed by chloroform which played the role as an anesthetic. Edna then looks back at her feelings towards the birth of her children. She merely saw them as an addition to “the great unnumbered multitude of souls that come and go” and reveals her nonmarital nature. Then, Madame Ratignolle tells Edna to “Think of the children Edna... remember them.” These words ring in Edna’s head and played the role as a wake up call. Edna has previously planned on abandoning her moral values, but these words made her realize the effect her actions of adultery may have on her children. This is the first example of Edna’s alienation and how society’s assumptions of her, which were brought to her attention by Madame Ratignolle, should play a larger role in her
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