r husband. Madame Ratignolle and Mademmoiselle Reisz not only represent important alternative roles and influences for Edna, they also suggest different plots and conclusions. Adele Ratignolle's character and story suggest that there is a possibility that Edna will stop rebelling and return to her marriage and learn to love her husband. This was "the plot of many late nineteenth-century sentimental novels about eering young women married to older men." (Showalter 182). Mademoiselle Reisz's story suggests that Edna will lose her beauty, youth, husband, children-everything. Chopin refuses both of these endings to escape from the literary traditions they represent. Her literary solitude made it possible for her to put her own ending in the story. The least obvious ending for Chopin to choose was the one she chose, suicide for Edna. Chopin develops the story in such a way that Edna has come to know herself, her true self, and does not need to continue living and searching. Kate Chopin's success as a writer plummeted after the release of The Awakening. It has been noted that contemporary critics were shocked at the way Chopin portrayed Edna Pontellier. Edna's character violated the codes of the behavior of nineteenth-century American women. The criticism became so bad the The Awakening was banned and dropped out of sight for many generations. It was not until the 1960's that Kate Chopin was recognized as a writer with her own views. Elaine Showalter states "Kate Chopin's literary evolution took her progressively through the three phases of the nineteenth-century American women's culture and women's writing." (176). The Awakening is a commentary on the restraints faced by women at the turn of the century. The novel is really all about independence and understanding. The peace that is offered in the promise of personal freedom concerning love and all else, shown in this novel, is enticing. ...
