The Awakening

The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is a unique novel that shows the reader a woman that comes to her senses and grasps reality. Throughout the whole story the main character, Edna Pontellier, comes and goes between her home in New Orleans and her summer home in Grand Isle. By using these different settings Chopin represents Edna’s conflict and the meaning of her work. The author also used foreshadowing, situational irony, and symbolism to …

…the love between Edna and Robert. Robert had left her in an attempt to protect her, himself, or possibly both. This left Edna to pursue a minor romance with Alcee Arobin. Or stay in a marriage that held no hope of fulfillment. Or she could pursue other third-rate affairs, while being discreet enough not to hurt her children. None of these options satisfied her longing for the one who had "awakened" her. Edna chose suicide.