An Insight Into Chopin’s Perplexities Towards Feminism Through The Awakening And Death Of Edna In Awakening

By having an insight into the awakening and death of Edna in Awakening,I am trying to analyze the inner world of the writer-Chopin.Through comparing what Edna said and did during the process of her awakening and death with the life story of Chopin,the author of the essay is trying to find proofs to illustrate Edna’s perplexities towards feminism,despite the fact that Chopin has been widely regarded as a representative of feminism.Three perplexities might be detected through Chopin’s sculpture of Edna: First,there are her perplexities towards selfhood,namely the confusions between selfhood and social responsibilities,between selfhood and the roles of a mother;second,there come her perplexities towards marriage,mainly the confusions between marriage and love,marriage and sex,material pleasure and spiritual enjoyment;finally,there are her perplexities towards life and death: to live,what kind of life should she live? To die,how to illustrate her death? At first glance,it seems that Edna has been advancing all the way to her awakening,but examined carefully,it is not difficult to notice that Edna has to make great sacrifices in pursuing self-realization: from the luxurious house to the abandoned “pigeon house”,from the betrayal of her true love to the departure from her husband and sons,the struggling and suffering of feminists in the male-dominated world is nothing but too apparent.As to Edna’s death,many believe that it is a further advance to self-recognition,but I regard it as a compromise Edna has to adopt.To live? Why should a liberated soul seal itself once again? In that case,there would be no Edna,just a spiritless walking dead.To die,it is by no means a success,but the groan of a free soul,after a prolonged struggling and rebellion,find it is beyond any possibilities to realize what she really desires.Nothing is sadder than losing hope completely.It seems to be the fleshy body that has been destroyed,but in fact it is the destruction of a free spirit,a seeking soul.A woman,longing for liberty,yearning for true love,failing to find any comforting and supporting in real life,has no other choice but to drown herself in the dark cold ocean,hoping that the sea could wash up all the sadness and disappointment deep in her heart.What might be a better expression of the perplexities?...