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Back to Subjects - Anthropology

the body piercing culture

the body piercing culture In Kate Chopin's, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier came in contact with many different people during a summer at Grand Isle. Some had little influence on her life while others had everything to do with the way she lived the rest of her life. The influences and actions of Robert Lebrun on Edna led to her realization that she could never get what she wanted, which in turn caused her to take her own life. In the Creole culture, outward affection and expression were a common thing. Edna, being brought up in Kentucky, "was at first a little confused. . .by the Creole's gentle caress. She was not accustomed to an outward and spoken expression of affection, either in herself or in others," (Chopin 22). Robert knew that Edna was not of Creole background and that she might not take his flirting as simply that. Yet, he still continued to playfully pursue Edna like the women which he had been devoting himself to each summer for the past eleven years. He did not understand that what he was doing was wrong in the culture that Edna had been brought up with. Once, when Robert laid his head against Edna's arm, she brushed him off. He then did it again and Edna "could not but believe it to be thoughtlessness on his part; yet that was no reason she submit to it," (15). Edna was at first disturbed by Robert's actions. Because she did not know about the Creole culture, she allowed Robert to flirt with her and she actually took him seriously. The flirting resulted in her starting to have feelings for him and to wonder about her place in life. Another thing was that Robert was not blind to the whole situation and that Edna would not understand his flirting. When Madame Ratignolle was walking back to the house with Robert, she flat out warned him about what he was doing. "Let Mrs. Pontellier alone. . .she is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously," (27). Robert argues that there is no possibility of Edna taking him seriously. That whole conversation only reiterates that Robert does not understand what he is getting Edna and himself into. Robert finally realized what was happening between Edna and him. He started to have feelings for her that he could not control. When he told everyone that he was going to Mexico for business, it was actually to get away from Edna, to prevent any inappropriate actions from occurring. He even comes close to admitting the truth to Edna, but catches himself before the truth comes out into the open (59). Although Robert left to get away from Edna, he might have actually made things worse. He promised to write to her, but never did. By Robert not writing to her, it left Edna in agony. She longed for him even more when she did not hear from him. Not knowing that Edna would eventually read the letters, he wrote to Mademoiselle Reisz unintentionally professing his love for Mrs. Pontellier. After reading the letters, Edna realized that the feelings were mutual. Edna came to the conclusion that she wanted to get away from her house, husband, and anything that reminded her of the such so she decided to move into a small apartment around the corner. The biggest mistake that Robert made was actually returning home after Mexico. The feelings that both he and Edna had for each other were rekindled. She saw the "same tender caress, with an added warmth and entreaty which had not been there before - the same glance which had penetrated to the sleeping places of her soul and awakened them," (130). At first Robert tried to keep away from Edna but realized that it was useless and gave in to his feelings. Even though Robert left for Mexico because he did not want anything to happen between Edna and him, he gave into her kisses when she kissed him at her house. He led her on to believe that something could actually happen between the two of them even though she was a married woman. He finally explained to Edna why he had left for Mexico and also why he didn't write to her, thinking that that would make things better and they would both understand that they just could not be together. Instead it just made their feelings for each other even stronger and they even joked about how Leonce would be fine if they ran off with each other. When Robert left his note on the lamplight saying, "I love you. Good-by - because I love you," it made Edna think about her situation in life even more (148). Back in Grand Isle, Edna came to the conclusion that made her think that there is nothing more to live for. "There was no one thing in the world that she desired. There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence, leaving her alone," (151). She realized that she could not live with out Robert because she could not deny her love for him. She also could not live with him because, if she did, her life would have been destroyed and everything that she knew would have crumbled around her. She would have been outcast from the society and would never be able to see her children again. Taking her life would be the best option for her in her situation, she concluded, and proceeded to walk defiantly towards the ocean with no fears in the world. Some people might argue, however, that Leonce, Edna's husband, was the one who caused Edna to kill herself, not Robert. Leonce treated his wife like she was a prize to show off to all of his peers. When she came from the beach with a sun burn, he looked at her as "one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage," (3). Because of the way that he treated her, she realized that she was not living the life that she wanted or should be living. Like almost everyone else, Leonce also did not think that anything would come out of Robert's flirting with Edna. Leonce did not realize that Edna was not brought up in the Creole culture and would not know how to deal with the way that Robert acted. He allowed Robert and Edna to go out together without even thinking twice. He did not see anything wrong with the two of them doing everything together. Even though it was common in the Creole culture for people to openly show their feelings, Leonce should have realized that Edna, because of her different upbringings, would not know how to deal with Robert's actions. In one way or another he was the one that helped start their feeling towards each other. Although there are a few more small examples about how Leonce might have caused Edna to take her life, the influence that Robert had over her is even more overpowering. Because of Robert, Edna realized that she was not happy with who or where she was and decided to drastically change everything that she was accustomed to. If Edna Pontellier had never met Robert Lebrun, she may never have realized how unhappy she was, and, in turn, may never have chosen to end her life. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1261