Awakening

The ideas of self-deception and self-awareness are extremely prevalent in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, specifically in the main character Edna. Edna struggles her entire life about her true identity, and what she really desires out of her life.

As mentioned in the novel, Edna has always desired to break free from society, taking pleasure in resisting societal norms. Being a Protestant Christian, she reveled in the fact that she chose to marry a Catholic man, a ritual that was very uncommon back then. Though she knew what type of marriage she was getting herself into, she hoped somewhat that the passionless marriage would help to tame her and help her become accepted by society, in the way that Madame Ratignolle is. She deceives herself into thinking that this is what she wants, and that contentment will only find her once she does become an ideal member of society. This is displayed by her originally favorable opinion of Madame Ratignolle. Even early on however, it is clear that Edna is not like the other women in society, and this is pointed out by her husband, who finds it peculiar that she does not worship him and their children in the way that the other women do. Though she does love them, she seems to value herself more than her family. Edna believes herself that she leads a double life, the outer one for society, and the inner one for herself. However it is this inner personality that struggles to break free throughout the course of the book, and Edna soon becomes aware of this growing feeling inside of her, eventually reaching her epiphany regarding what she truly wants. During the course of the novel, Edna tries to pursue this new life of hers, desiring to actually live out her dual lives, fooling herself by thinking she can be spontaneous and still be accepted by society. She thinks she can have her cake and eat it too, in the most basic sense. However, Edna does not realize until too late that she is attempting to live an illusion. Her perfect family life is nothing like it seems to those from the outside looking in. Though she does attempt to castaway society’s influence, she unsuccessful, and her attempts to live an ideal inexistent lifestyle ultimately fail.

The novel is clearly able to portray the author’s views on this situation. Though society downcasts Edna, it does not irk her to a certain extent as she tries to live her life as an independent woman. However, the idea of being an independent woman and being accepted as well is clearly a fallible theory, displayed through the character, Madame Reisz. Though Edna respects and adores her work, Madame Reisz is a bit of loner, outcast by society for her unacceptable behavior, and though she is a highly revered pianist, her disposition is not favorable to those in society. Through Reisz, Chopin is able to display Edna’s underestimation of society, and how easily she fools herself into thinking she can have the perfect life, when she needs to be aware that nothing can be perfect and that she has to accept that life has its pros and cons. Edna does not live an uncomfortable life, but because of the way she is treated by her husband, she tries to make a complete turnaround, unaware that