“It has been positively asserted that woman is the very quintessence of selfishness” (Dix “Are…” 127), because a woman who ardently pursues her passions must, by definition, care for none but herself. A young author whose foundation for writing lies upon her own experiences, Kate Chopin entered Creole society, formed a family, and later indulged herself with torrid affairs prior to writing The Awakening. Present within that society, various art forms allowed for self-expression and exploration. Edna Pontellier creates art as a means of distraction from society’s suppressive expectations, but struggles to do so, thereby indicating a woman’s limited autonomy within the Nineteenth Century. Sculptures and drawings and paintings gain renown through …show more content…
Her spirits revive once Robert returns to her, although tensions arise when he questions her possession of another man’s portrait, leading her to remark, “It was at the other house. I thought it had been left there” (Chopin 139). The extension of Edna and Robert’s affair into winter fits not within societal standards: “With the first cold weather madame will resume her still tailor-made frock, and with it her perfectly correct ideas of deportment” (Dix “Summer…” 130). A woman may flirt during the sweltering months of summer, caring little for other’s opinions, yet must submit once the air grew colder or else expect shame and disapproval from society. Despite her efforts, Robert worsens Edna’s depression by abandoning her. Abandonment by her love, possessiveness from her husband, suppression by her children, all culminate in Edna’s inevitable suicide: she ventures into the gulf, reflecting upon her life. She determines that Mademoiselle Reisz would have “laughed, perhaps sneered” (Chopin 159) were she aware of the situation and recalls the woman’s words: “you call yourself an artist! What pretensions, Madame!” (Chopin 160). Advanced in age and happily unattached, Mademoiselle suffered myriad hardships “with Christian fortitude and resignation” (Dix “Women…” 134), thereby displaying the strength possessed by women in lieu of personal freedoms; a strength which in which Edna lacked. Depression and consistent denial of her desires left Edna feeling as though suicide was the only option afforded