Awakening

    The Awakening is set in a time when it was very normal for women to not do much besides be a housewife and a mother. They were expected to marry and have kids young and take care of their husbands and kids until they die. That was it. Some women were okay with that lifestyle, but others were not. I'm not sure that Edna started out as someone that was okay with how society was. She got married and had kids and she took care of them. I don't think she wanted that life for herself but did it anyway. She didn't want to be placed in the metaphorical box that society had molded, but she did it anyway. She also lived a sort of "double life". I think she felt like two separate people; the one that is shown to others and the one that only she knew about. She outwardly showed a version of herself that was different than the one in her head. It's as if she's wearing a mask that hid her true feelings.

   There is a moment in chapter 10 that I think is supposed to signify a new beginning for her, the beginning of her awakening. After the party, they all go for a swim. She is hesitant to swim, but suddenly feels empowered and decides to swim alone. She swims out intending to go "where no woman has gone before". I think this symbolizes the first steps toward self-discovery. Almost like getting baptized or something along those lines, like a rebirth. She comes out of the water a new person. After this, she starts to change. In the chapter after that, she had a newfound confidence and doesn't go to bed when her husband asks her to even though she had never defied his word beforehand. This is why I believe this was the start of her awakening. 

  

    I think many people in Edna's life lead her to her self-awakening throughout the story. Robert made her recognize a love that she didn't have for Mr. Pontellier. She felt unsatisfied with not only him but her life as a whole. She didn't feel like she could be her true self with her husband. He wanted her in the same metaphorical box that society wanted all women in. I feel like Adele set off her feelings of longing and unfulfillment. While listening to Adele play, she feels the emotions that the music is conveying, and she cries. I think even her children helped her recognize who she was. She says that she would give up everything for her children, except for herself. She recognizes that she isn't willing to not be her authentic self, even for her kids. 

  An awakening I've had in my own life was one that really changed my life. In middle school (around 2013) I met a friend and we did almost everything together. We were friends for a long time and it ended in 2021. It's still something that I'm coming to terms with, so I won't go into much detail, but it was a toxic friendship on both ends and I realized that. There was a particular instance that solidified this feeling for me and we stopped being friends. I realized that I wasn't able to grow and change because this person was in my life. It got to the point where I don't think either of us enjoyed each other's company but kept hanging out because of mutual friends. After we stopped hanging out, I realized a lot of the issues that stemmed from that friendship. I'm still realizing some things today. I also realized a lot of things about myself and who I am. Since ending the friendship, I've been able to be more of my authentic self and it feels pretty good.