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What Is Edna Pontellier Sacrifice In The Awakening

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In “The Awakening”, Robert Lebrun sacrifices his love and desire for Edna Pontellier because he knows that he can not be with her. This reveals that even though Robert was in love with Edna he knew what was right and he understood why he could not be with Edna. Robert sacrifices his love when he leaves for Mexico in search of business and at the end of the novel when he decides that he can not stay with Edna in her “pigeon-house”. When Robert leaves to Mexico in search of business and riches he does not tell Edna that he was planning on leaving after spending all day with her. This showed that he did not want Edna to know because it would of made it harder for him to stay. In addition, when Robert sends Mademoiselle Reisz a letter from Mexico telling her about his plans to return, Mademoiselle Reisz confesses to Edna that …show more content…

After Edna goes to be with Adele Ratignolle during the birth of her child, Edna goes back home to the “pigeon-house” and finds that Robert is gone but he left a note for her. The note says, “Good-bye, because I love you…”. Robert leaves Edna this note saying that he has to leave her because he loves her too much. He realizes what he has done and how he feels about Edna but that Edna is married and has a family, therefore, he can not be with her. Robert sacrifices his love for Edna many times during the novel, first when he leaves for Mexico and then when he realizes that even though both him and Edna feel the same way about each other and want to be with each other, that can not happen because she is already married to Lèonce Pontellier and has a family that needs her. Love is shown by many characters throughout the novel the novel, Robert and Edna’s love for each other and Lèonce love for Edna are examples that are seen in “The Awakening”. Robert’s sacrifice showed how in love with Edna he was that he knew he had to leave before it got more

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