A Wakening To Selfhood And Remaining True To Self

In dealing with the protagonist Edna's awakening in Kate Chopin's The Awakening, many critics place too much emphasis on Edna's sensual or emotional aspect, with other aspects like her physical, spiritual and social aspects downplayed. Besides, sufficient attention is given to Edna's death which is supposed to result from her awakenings while scant attention is given to the factors which contribute to her complete and thorough awakenings. This paper aims to conduct a brief analysis of the factors which result in Edns's awakenings and also to present Edna's awakenings in an all-round perspective, namely, Edna's physical, spiritual and social awakenings as well as her emotional and sensual awakenings, which lead Edna both to self-actualization and urgency of remaining true to authentic individuality.The thesis is composed of three parts, the first part deals with Edna's distinct personal traits which serve as internal causes to predetermine Edna's awakenings: rebellious, independent, impulsive, introspective, romantic and passionate.The second part deals with the influences from the people and the environments. The self-effacing people and the two environments-the island and the city with Grande Isle representing freedom and New Orleans representing restriction, serve as external causes to catalyze Edna's awakenings.The third part primarily deals with the succession of Edna's awakenings, physical, spiritual, emotional, sensual and social.