Edna Pontellier was a fascinating woman. After all of her struggles to become independent, she never stopped trying to be her own person. She knew that she didn't fit into the Creole society, and I don't think she ever considered herself to be one.
If anyone were to ask me whether or not I agreed with Edna's choices, I think she did the right thing. It may not have been accepted way back then, but I think it was a good idea that she at least made an attempt to become her own person. One of Edna's first attempts to her "awakening" is in chapter 10, page 28. It states, "But to her unaccustomed vision the stretch of water behind her assumed the aspect of a barrier which her unaided strength would never be able to overcome". This scene is where Edna swims out into the sea. She thinks she swam quite a distance, when in actuality she didn't swim very far. She thought that she had gone a lot farther than she really had, but I don't think that bothered her very much. I think this proved to herself and other people that she wasn't afraid to go out of her comfort zone.
Edna did not make a lot of good decisions if you were to ask another woman of that society. She did not pay enough attention to her children, and she did everything she could to break away. Even though she didn't make the best choices, I believe the choices she made were quite necessary. From the moment she was introduced in the novel, you could tell that she did not belong in the Creole society that she married in to. Edna did everything she could to break away and become independent, and I think she made the right decision.
Would you do the same sorts of things if you were put in her place? What other elements from the story stand out?
ReplyDelete9/10