open prompt 3 oct 16

The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. 

Death is never a trivial aspect of literature.  It always carries with it much more than the event of death itself.  This is shown to be true in The Awakening by Kate Chopin in which Edna Pontellier makes the drastic decision of choosing to take her own life.  This death illuminates the meaning of the novel as a whole by emphasizing the level of despair she felt as a result of her awakening and giving her the ultimate control of her life, the choice to live or die. 

            As a result of Edna becoming aware of the injustices of her life, she becomes an extremely lost and depressed individual.  This is made very clear by details of the novel, including the moments of emotional breakdown that occur multiple times, her strange comments to friends and family about her lack of desire to live her life anymore and especially in her lack of connection to her children. By the end of the novel she is so disconnected to her past life in which she was forced to conform to the traditional female roles of upper class society that she acts in ways that no one around her can explain.  She commits actions that extremely frowned upon during her era and completely unacceptable such as committing adultery and moving out on her husband while still married.  What is most extreme is her loss of connection to her children.  She has no sense of the maternal instinct that all mothers have.  Though she definitely lacked the affection and feelings of connection that most mothers do at the beginning of the novel, all remnants of this disappear by the end.  The fact that she sees no reason in staying alive for the sake of her children shows this. Obviously committing suicide was the most extreme option that one could take when struggling with the situation that Edna was.  The fact that she chose this option has much to say about how truly lost she was.  Her experiences throughout the novel alienated her in such an extreme way, and her constant sense of loss and longing were so strong that she saw no other alternative to death.  A large meaning of the novel is to show the significance of Edna’s awakening, and show how dismal her life really was on account of her being trapped in the tragedy that is the domestic life.  The despair associated with this lifestyle is so perfectly received by the reader on account of Edna’s action of suicide.  Nothing is more significant in showing the deep wounds that a character may have than having them take their own life, and Edna shows this to certainly be the case. 

            A large theme associated with The Awakening is the lack of control that Edna has over her life due to her domestic position in the household.  Her choice to commit suicide demonstrated the ultimate control over her own life.  The fact that only she could decide whether she lived or died is a way that Edna took back all of the control that was stripped away from her throughout her marriage and upbringing.  The importance of her choice to take her life is made very clear by the unique writing style used at the end of the novel.  The scene in which Edna drowns is filled with imagery that no other part of the novel shares. As she begins to feel the pangs of panic, that she her attempt at her life may actually work, she sees many images of her life flash before her.  These images are extremely vivid and for Edna it is as if she is truly reliving these moments.  The fact that this imagery is very unique to this section of the story draws attention to this section of the story.  It is a definitive end to Edna’s life of uncertainty and discomfort.  Her extreme act demonstrated that to herself that she did have control over her life even when it seemed that every aspect of it was controlled by outside sources.  The scene of her death added a lot of gravity to this theme of control and defined Edna as a martyr for her own cause, and allowed her strong desire for true independence to be realized. 

            The Awakening is a novel in which the protagonist is lost and isn’t able to find meaning in her life.  Meaning for Edna however comes in a unique and ironic fashion.  Only through death is she able to achieve her independence and through this find meaning to her life.  This absolute yearning for independence is something that is emphasized on account of the manner in which she obtains it, through a death brought on by her own doing.