trip and the children go to stay with his mother. As she begins to spend time by herself, she becomes accustomed to the independence she feels. She also begins to resent that she does not have anything of her own to cherish. "I'm tired looking after that big house. It never seemed like mine, anyway-like home." (132) It bothers Edna that "the house, the money that provides for it, are not [hers]." (132) She desires her own sanctuary and decides to move to a smaller house a few doors from her current residence. Since she has been successful at the horse races and she has been selling her art, Edna has enough money to live on her own, without financial aid from Leonce. This act essentially relinquishes most of the power Leonce held over her. She no longer needs him for survival. By doing this, however, she has willingly surrendered her place in the social strata. In order to maintain his image, Leonce puts an ad in the newspaper that explains Edna's move as a response to the remodel scheduled for their home. Edna does not discount this, for she is not concerned with how people perceive her. Her concerns center fully on obtaining her own happiness, a philosophy she has never been allowed to indulge in previously. The final scene of the novel depicts Edna's suicide. Although the reason for her decision does not spawn from her relationship with her husband, she cannot yield the independence she has won and return to him. In order to fulfill her quest, she must continue on her search for independence. "The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring and murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude." (189) She submerges herself in the ocean and in the solitude she has longed for throughout the novel. Only in her death is Leonce completely powerless. She has taken control of her destiny.Edna Pontellier as a literary character is shocking for her time. She achieves true empowerment, a status not often...
