What Led To Edna's Suicide?

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Great literary critic Margaret Atwood once said, “The answers you get from literature depend on the questions you pose.”, and I believe she is right. Everytime I read a book or watch a film, I usually ask closed ended questions. But as I’ve begun to read more, I have learned that the greater parts of literature are open ended questions because open ended questions bring interpretation. It could bring interpretations of life, money, and nature and many more from different perspectives. I challenged myself to ask interpretative questions on the book The Awakening. The book The Awakening is a tragic tale of Edna Pontellier and trip of self discovery. Edna is faced problems of sexism and self discovery. The questions I asked myself were: In The Awakening, what specific factor led to Edna’s suicide? and Does Edna undergo at least one awakening …show more content…
A struggling marriage, an unsatisfying affair, and poor self-understanding were factors that all lead to Edna’s death, but I feel that the marriage is most significant one.The tone of Edna’s marriage can be seen in the quote “ ‘You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage”. Based on the quote, Edna’s husband (Mr. Pontellier) viewed Edna as a piece of property instead of a human being. This treatment caused Edna to drift away from him. Personally, I believe that there was a point in time that Edna did love Mr, Pontellier, and the treatment of being property caused her to lose that initial love. Losing love for someone or not feeling loved by someone, often times, cause people to question their self worth and value. I believe that the failing marriage lead Edna into the failing affair and the questioning of her identity, and, when combined, lead to her death. Even though Edna died, I do believe she achieved her own awakening and the awakening of
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