nd will never "set her free"(552). Edna also can?t find her purpose because she is "not a mother-woman"(473) and she could not "give herself for her children", like her friend Adele Ratignolle (505). Without Robert and a purpose in life, Edna chooses not to live. Edna?s decision to end her life is the only way for her to escape reality. "The Awakening" has a tragic end, but it?s the only possible end for Edna Pontellier. Edna feels trapped in the "cage" of society, it?s rules and standards, and she can?t find happiness if she follows the rules. She cannot be happy without Robert, but Robert cannot be with her. Edna feels like a trapped bird. She sets herself free, only to find that her wings are not strong enough. As Edna takes her last swim she feels like a happy child, running through the "blue-grass meadow" that has "no beginning and no end" (558). For Edna it?s the beginning of her freedom from all.Kate Chopin is an American writer of the late nineteenth century. She is known for her depictions of southern culture and of women's struggles for freedom. At this time in American history, women did not have a voice of their own and according to custom, they were to obey their father and husband. Generally, many women agreed to accept this customary way of life. Kate Chopin thought quite differently. The boldness Kate Chopin takes in portraying women in the late nineteenth century can be seen throughout The Awakening and other short stories. The following is an overview of her dramatic writing style. Elaine Showalter states, "Chopin went boldly beyond the work of her precursors in writing about women's longing for sexual and personal emancipation." (170). Chopin said that she was not a feminist of a suffragist. She was not an activist and she never joined the women's suffrage movement or belonged to a female literary community. Chopin saw freedom as a matter of your won spirit or soul without constraints. She did not try to encourage the...
