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Motherhood In Chopin's The Awakening

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Edna is the main character in the novel who sacrifices herself in the biggest way possible. She realizes that she cannot face the terms of motherhood and the forced marriage to Leonce Pontellier. Edna wants to be the independent women that she isn’t allowed to be, which the meaning of The Awakening is that people cannot be forced to be in a relationship with a person they don’t truly love. Towards the end of the book after Robert leaves her and as she thinks about her life and the events that have happened that she regretted. Edna said “She was trapped in motherhood.” She didn’t like the lifestyle she was given, she had lost the love for Leonce even though he was in love with her. This evidence into the theme which is people …show more content…

Edna says she wants to do her own thing without being fettered by her children or the society that is saying that you can’t get divorced. Edna also states that her children are bringing her down and damning her soul; Edna thought about her being free and realized that it is just another fantasy and the one person who actually gave her pleasure was Robert and he had left her for the sake of herself. Edna had been getting frustrated with the idea of her not being satisfied and her not receiving the love that she wanted and the realization of her not getting love or independence she didn’t give love back. She did love her kids but she never really wanted to be in this grouping of a mom or a housewife essentially. Her overall point is that she wants to be free and actually get satisfaction from activities other than painting, she felt constricted with Leonce. Thus, leading for her relief by ending her life at Grand Isle.

In conclusion Edna doesn’t want that role of being a mother. She wants the intimate love that Robert gave her without the weight of Leonce and the kids on her mind. The Awakening is really about how people won’t love a person who they never did love and that marriage and kids will not change that. We see this with Edna and her struggles of her marriage and the frustrations with her love life and with the role of a wife during this time

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