The reviewer from the New York Times Saturday Review of
Books asked the question "Would it have been better had Mrs. Kate Chopin's
heroine slept on forever and never had an awakening?" I think that’s a
very interesting question. It’s difficult to foresee what would have happened
to Edna had she not awakened, but I would argue that if Edna had not awakened
she would have met the same fate. By “awakening” she was able to experience the
freedom she longed for, and she was able to break free from the constraints she
had as a mother and as a wife, but ultimately the new life she had created for
herself fell apart and she chose to end it all. I think if Edna had not
awakened she still would have taken her life. I think if Edna had not
experienced the awakening that Robert was the catalyst for, she would have
experienced a different type of awakening that would have also ended in her death.
I believe even if Robert had not been in the picture, Edna would still have
become so miserable with being confined to her role as a mother and a wife that
she still would have come to the resolution that there would never have been a
way for her to escape and she would have taken her life. Anyone else want to
share their thoughts?
I agree, I think that we keep getting caught up in the details and the criticisms of Edna's character that we forget the bigger picture. She would have most likely gone through with something of the sort regardless.
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