A Character Analysis of Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, a Novel by Kate Chopin

Through multiple generations of readers and critics, various questions have arisen in terms of what type of woman Edna Pontellier truly is. As the primary character of The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna has been criticized both in the realm of the novel and in the world of readers alike as a childish, promiscuous and selfish woman, who was never truly “awake” in her own life. Many side with this position, but others say that Edna’s awakening is one of herself as an independent woman, not one of conforming to gender roles set forth by society.

As the story develops, Edna’s character is revealed as one of utmost independence from the roles that define her: woman, wife and mother. These roles pigeonhole her as being confined to the life a woman should lead, having a dependency upon men, and as the heart of a household. What can be seen in Edna is that she desires to break free from the confines of these clichéd roles set forth by society and yearns to be the artist and independent woman she has always wanted to be.

While this is certainly an admirable trait in all women from a modern perspective, it was not looked well upon in the late twentieth century. People in this society never deviated from set gender conventions, almost always setting forth females as “mother-women,” which Edna does not identify with. As Leonce notes in the novel, Edna is not one of these women as she does not idolize her children as most other women often do in this era.

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Alongside of her lack of motherly instinct, Edna is also not the type of woman who functions well as a wife. Her marriage, even from the beginning, is not the epitome of a normal marriage. The relationship between Edna and Leonce is strained, and through this strain of personality difference and frustration with one another, their marriage slowly dwindles and Edna’s “sexual awakening” emerges.

As one critic of the text states, “[Edna’s] awakening is a realization of her sensual nature, not of her equality or independence as an individual” (Walker 252). This critique definitely rings true in the sense of Edna’s sexual awakening throughout the bulk of the text. In terms of her marriage especially, it can be seen that she is not sexually awakened by the relationship she holds with Leonce, and is much more interested in extramarital affairs, which are considered deeply in appropriate for the era.

With this life Edna leads (which involves promiscuity outside of her marriage), she can be seen as being fully “awakened” in that she unabashedly leads these affairs and is very open about them. Multiple people inside and outside of her social circles discuss her promiscuity, but she does not seem to care. This lack of awareness leads back to the idea that Edna is a childish woman, serving as the paradox of her character traits and the primary reason for which she is “unawakened” as a whole.

Another trait commonly discussed about Edna is how perpetually unaware she seems to be of how her actions affect others For multiple reasons, many critics and readers alike state that Edna is very childlike in her nature and actions. Multiple instances of this behavior arise throughout the novel, especially in terms of her personal endeavors in art, her children, her marriage, and her affairs.

Her endeavors in art help define her as an independent woman while also characterizing her as childish and selfish. She is childish in the sense that she does not thoroughly think through situations at hand, including her ability to support herself, her search for independence, and the intensive amounts of responsibility she will have to take for herself. Alongside this new responsibility in supporting herself, Edna is forced to come to terms with the fact that being an artist may not be the best choice for her.

With this choice of independence also comes the choice to move on from her marriage to Leonce. As her extramarital affairs are publicized, she does not realize that she is making a certain image for herself or that she is forcing a certain image upon her husband and children. Her actions in this situation are immature, and Edna’s lack of awareness of the effects of her actions on those around her support the idea that she is an infantile woman.

Another situation supports the idea of Edna as a childish and “unawake” woman: the neglect of her children. When she makes the choice to do as she pleases for herself, she leaves her children behind. She neglects their care slightly at the beginning of the text with her son’s fever, and it slowly escalates to leaving the family completely. While this may not seem as intense as conducting extramarital affairs, it certainly has an immense impact on her sons and leaves them feeling abandoned and thus is an extremely selfish action on Edna’s part.

Moving away from the childish nature of her actions, it is clear that Edna is trying to become awakened in multiple senses. Going along with the ideas of sensual awakening, Enda also appears to be undergoing a feminist awakening. Her feminist awakening begins with her marriage to Leonce. At the beginning, Edna is a seemingly being a “normal” wife of her timeand exhibits many of the stereotypical traits of wives and mothers in the late twentieth century. Shortly after this initial inkling of normalcy, however, Edna’s unhappiness in her marriage is revealed and she symbolically tries to break off her commitment by jumping on her wedding ring. This symbolic breaking could also signify the breaking of traditional gender roles and the beginning of a feminist awakening in realizing that she is unhappy simply doing what women are expected to do in her time.

Though she does symbolically break these roles in this moment and eventually removes herself from situations in which she is not content, in some of these moments it seems as though Edna is not truly “awake.” Her ignorance is apparent in multiple situations. Though she is independent, this ignorance confines Edna and restricts her from awakening to become the magnificent person she yearns to become.

While this idea contradicts the initial idea of Edna being an independent, her lack of awakening in multiple partitions of her life needs to be addressed because it lies behind all of the actions which unfold throughout the text. Though she is an independent and openly sensual woman (which is to be admired), she is also often ignorant in times where she must be serious and responsibile, which is where she needs to be consistently awakened.

In looking at Edna’s character overall, her multi-faceted personality makes it easy to see how she functions as a feminist icon and as a childish figure. Her actions and their repercussions follow the ideas of breaking free from stereotypes, but also eventually lead to her personal demise both mentally and physically. Being such a complex character and so dually-minded in terms of her childishness and independence, it is clear that Edna Pontellier truly is a paradox of what a woman can be and is certainly a small token in the scheme of feminist literature.