Edna had been forced to live by rules she did not make. She had done all the things society expected a woman to do. She found a financially affluent man, married him, and bore his children. She now finds herself disillusioned to the life she was taught to desire. She has finally "awakened" to the fact that it is okay to want something more. She has liberated herself and is moving forward independently. I initially thought badly of her because she did not find complete fulfillment in motherhood. I guess in my mind I thought she should feel fulfilled, but then I reconsidered. I believe that if you are stuck in a home you are unhappy with you should have the right to leave it, if you are stuck in a job you are unhappy with you should have the right to quit it, if you are unhappy with yourself you should have the right to change yourself. Edna has the right to leave her home, her role as a wife, and change herself from the person she has been programmed to be. This does not make her a horrible person or mother, just a woman suffering from an identity crisis.
She stated that "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my
life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself."(Chopin) Ultimately, she chooses to give up her life. Was it for her children? I really don't think so. I believe she gave up her life because she couldn't give up who she had become. I confess I was disappointed in the ending of this story. I was disappointed because I really wanted to see Edna successfully complete her "awakening." I was hoping she would become a successful artist and improve her relationship with her children. I was expecting a happier ending. As Dr. H asked in class, is this story a triumph for feminism or a tragedy? I would definitely consider this a tragedy because of Chopin's choice of endings. Edna was a caterpillar completing her metamorphosis to a butterfly, but never got the chance to fly because of the constraints of a patriarchal society.
The original 1899 book cover
It's interesting. Were it not for a couple of crucial lines of dialog, I would say that this story could have read in its day as an endorsement of restrictive patriarchal ideas.
ReplyDelete"Look at how a woman handles freedom! She doesn't know what to do with it. In the end she was so confused and miserable, she had to take her own life-- poor dear. If only her husband had taken her father's advice. If only that doctor had said something... "
However, lines like "the colonel was perhaps unaware that he had coerced his wife into her grave" (page 71), and Edna's late admission on page 112, "Oh! Well! perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather then to remain a dupe all one's life" effectively kill that interpretation for me as a reader.
It occurs to me that this problem, the externally unsuccessful woman with the internally successful epiphany, must be intentional on Chopin's part. There is a huge tension in the text between different worlds, roles and expectations in marriage and in cities.
I have a strange time looking at this as a feminist or social activist text when Chopin leaves no way for Edna or other women to win.
I agree with Erin that I find this very hard to take as a feminist text, but I believe that it more stems from the fact that Edna is a very unlikeable character to me. However, I do not believe that the women in these stories always have to win. There is nothing wrong with a depressing ending if it gets the point across: "this is why we need to make the genders equal! See the inequality! Don't you see it?!"
ReplyDeleteNot everything has to be a happily ever after ending, and honestly, the more I think about the ending in that context the more I like it.
I also like the ending. Chopin seems to be saying that, in the society she was forced to live in, Edna had no other way out.
ReplyDeleteTerrific post, Angela. I love how you guide us through your carefully evolving thoughts on the book.
ReplyDelete