Edna Pontellier: A Failure Of Individuation

The Awakening is a controversial novel. When published in 1899, it shocked critics and audiences alike for its depiction of the protagonist's sexual awakening which is quite ahead of time. Forgotten for many years, it is rediscovered and regarded as one of Kate Chopin's best-known works in the literary world of today. Critics are attracted to interpret it from various angles. Because of Chopin's excellent psychological realism, this novel is abundant in materials for psychoanalysis. Many critics employ psychological theories to interpret Edna's psychological development and the reason of her suicide. They analyze her schizoid character, narcissistic tendency, symptoms of depression, incompleteness of her psychological growth, influence of the archetypes on her psyche and many other matters. Although only a small number of critics start from Jungian perspective, and the idea of "individuation" is only briefly mentioned in a limited number of essays, the related opinions still give the author enlightenment, and finally lead her to take up "individuation" as the topic of this thesis.In The Awakening, we can find evidence that Edna's awakening in many aspects parallels the idea of individuation. This thesis traces Edna's process of individuation, analyzing the incompleteness of her self-discovery and the reason of her suicide. Through the analysis of Edna's dealing with the three important archetypes in the individuating process namely the persona, the shadow, the animus, it can be concluded that Edna fails on her way of individuation. She is defeated not only...