Individualism In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening continues to be a significant and bold piece of literature for its time period. Protagonist Edna Pontellier is an important character in historic fiction for feminism as Edna pushes the roles that many 19th-century women were expected to adhere to. The Awakening encountered awful criticism at the time it was published and eventually lead to the book being banned for decades. However, Edna discovers that the female role models in her life lack the freedom that she wants to live and that her displays of individualism continue to go against the restrictions that society places on her. For example, Edna’s search for individuality is displayed when she states, “I would give my money, I would give my life for my children, but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin 53). Edna shows love towards her children; however, learns the importance of analyzing the roles that are expected of women in the 19th century. However, in the novel
Her husband sees Edna as a possession when he “looked at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property that has suffered some damage”, and she needs to fulfill the role of mother and wife that society placed on her. The change in Edna’s behavior is distinctly different from the women in society that her husband thinks that she could be suffering from a mental breakdown. He disagrees with his wife’s lack of attention to him and his children and tells her that she has “habitual neglect” for children (Chopin 637). Edna combines the new freedom she feels with her lover Robert and her growing sense of awakening, the problems that are in Edna’s life become more apparent to her. The pressures that Edna feels from her husband, society and children is ultimately what pushes her over the