The Awakening essays

The Awakening essays One interesting thing about Edna's suicide is that it was very impromptu. It wasnt as if she had been contemplating it for a while. She just started swimming. Her emotions just swept her away, as did the tide. I dont recall the book ever talking about divorce, though. If this story had taken place in todays society, Edna would have simply divorced her husband, instead of committing suicide. Although the story does state that she loved and respected her husband, by todays standards her staccato and temporal relationship with Robert, in my opinion, would have been enough to make her divorce her husband and try to marry Robert. The divorce rates these days are skyrocketing. With all of the womens rights movements and everything, this story takes on a new meaning in this day and age. The story also shows that divorce was not common during the time that it was written, as it was not mentioned. I'm sure people who got divorced in that time were looked down upon and shunned. Chopin did not want that to happen to her character because you need to have sympathy for Edna in order for her suicide to move you. Also, the character Alcee would have taken on a slightly different role in present times. His audacious behavior towards Edna would be displayed differently, had Edna been a present day woman. She would have probably taken the flirtatious comments and gestures more easily, as present day society is more open than it used to be. But I think the most interesting thing about Ednas suicide was the fact that right before she swam off into oblivion, she felt totally free, which raises an interesting point. Maybe all she wanted to be was free. Divorce, like her suicide, would have freed her from everything. She could have done whatever she wanted after the divorce. So I guess it would have been to her benefit to get a divorce had this been a true to life story. She could have had innoc...