Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, is a novel in which Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of the story, characterizes herself as an individual against society. Through the first chapters her isolated characteristic and actions worth of criticism lead us to a breakdown of her moral integrity, which leads her to be a woman that not only her Creole Culture but also civilization no longer accepts. Thoughtout the novel Edna’s plan is to perfected her status as the individual against society.
In the story, her uncommon reserve toward her children placed her in abnormal standing. Her behavior, which is really neglecting them, but more instead of little involvement in their lives opposites the ideal mother figure of the age proposed by the society. Her friend, Madame Ratignolle, on the other hand, has the opposite relationship toward both her children and husband, and also had the dependent attitude which the Creole society that was not only encouraging but sometimes also required. But, that was something Edna was not able to grasp and Although she loved her children very much, she was more used to leaving them with the nanny or a friend rather than taking care of their needs herself. Therefore, proving she would give everything she had for her children, just not herself. In a time period where a woman was expected to have domestic dependence, Edna's rejection towards the obligation of being a mother and wife went agaisnt the rules of the world in which she lived in.
In the beginning of the novel Edna was performing the duties of her life, her heart was occupied with other thoughts. She ended falling in love with Robert Lebrun, the local lover who followed her around. She began to believe that her husband, was in love with the idea of a wife for him and mother for his children rather than Edna herself, it became easier for Edna to let go of her morals. When she started painting again, trying to express her inner passions, she began to feel alive again, and in her...