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Anagha Rajagopalan

Mrs. Marchand

AP Literature and Composition

15 October 2018

Inevitable Moral Ambiguity: The Plight of the Victorian Woman

Dispelling societal norms in a rigid society comes with a price. Where does simple

parental duty become motherly confinement? Where does liberation become neglect and

indifference? In a restrictive society, the lines between right and wrong seem to blur. In Kate

Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, Victorian culture makes it difficult for women to pursue

independence while upholding virtuous moralities. Edna Pontellier yearns for freedom from her

burdensome lifestyle, yet she finds that she cannot live freely without tainting her character. The

Victorian woman struggles with the duality of her feminine liberation and moral obligations,

marring the purity of her morality.

As Edna undergoes her awakening, her oppression and objectification by her husband

ultimately produce a strong and capable woman. Chopin repeatedly defines Edna through her

awakened eyes. Her bright eyes represent realizations of her womanhood as well as a deeper

understanding of the world around her, juxtaposed with her husband’s need for eyeglasses.

Leonce’s poor vision symbolizes that he is blind to Edna’s need for freedom, a shortcoming

which he continually reinforces with his actions. Leonce views Edna as property, such as an

expensive vase, and snaps when she does not serve her purpose. For example, when Leonce

scolds Edna for her sunburn, it is not out of concern but out of anger that she had recklessly

tarnished his prized possession. Furthermore, he criticizes Edna for her impulsiveness and

indifference towards societal norms, in essence suffocating her growth. When Edna begins to
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shrug off her wifely duties, such as answering house calls, she shocks and angers Leonce. He

even resorts to seeking a doctor to analyze her mental health, as if she cannot take care of herself.

However, this hostility only exemplifies Edna’s inner strength, as Chopin illustrates that she is,

in fact, very capable. Despite the maltreatment she faces, Edna casts aside her husband’s

judgments and continues on her path to liberation, exemplifying her resilience. She bravely

challenges what is expected of her, as she expresses herself through painting, throws her own

dinner party without Leonce present, and even moves out of their house. Symbolized by a bird,

Edna flies from her husband and society, buying and moving into a “pigeon hole” of a home. In

the past, Leonce had consistently treated her as a possession, but in her new home she finds

comfort in the fact that everything is her own, and she is not dependent on anyone but herself.

Archetypal references to Edna as a bird suggest her strength to break free of her constraints. She

spreads her wings to rise above all judgment, flying away from her controlling husband. Edna

takes great strides to transcend her state of oppression, displaying her character as admirable and

even wholesome.

However, Edna’s liberation is accompanied by looming guilt, as her path to awakening

disintegrates her life, tainting her morality. Edna ultimately cheats on her husband several times,

and each affair happens near a flame. With Arobin, he enters to light a match and their affair

takes place by the fireplace; with Robert, he enters to light a lamp. The fires represent a burning

passion but also a burning of Edna’s past life. By engaging in these actions, Edna destroys the

life she had and her familial ties, making her immorality apparent even to a sympathetic

audience. She displays disloyalty to her family far before her affairs as well, from her tempting

beach visits with Robert on the Grand Isle to her dinner party, where she takes communion with

Arobin in an all-too-friendly manner. These actions, while not inherently wrong, display the first
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seed of immorality in the eyes of society, as Edna is eager to flirt with Robert and Arobin,

disregarding the potential impact on her family and status. When she realizes her mistakes, the

guilt of her actions along with her feeling of entrapment overwhelms her. She lives in a society

that perceives her liberation as a sin, and yet she cannot confirm without stifling her womanly

desires. In her final moments, Edna remorsefully thinks of her children, among many things, as

she drowns herself. She knows that they cannot have a happy Victorian lifestyle if she stays, as

she cannot continue to play the role of the mother-wife while repressing her desires for freedom.

Madame Ratignolle’s haunting words “think of the children” make her believe that she must

leave them behind in order to do what is best for them. Edna’s drowning is symbolically a

baptism, as she comes to terms with the harsh realities of life and the confines of society. Edna

realizes that her sacrifice of character had always been unavoidable, for even if she had not had

affairs, society would have perceived any movement towards her independence as a

transgression. This ultimately leaves death as her only escape from society’s restricting

judgments. Though Edna exemplifies virtuous qualities, the immoral actions she takes during her

awakening ultimately eclipse these traits in the eyes of society.

Edna’s moral ambiguity is a microcosm of the world around her, as female liberation and

pleasing society cannot coexist during the Victorian era. In this time period, a woman must play

along or destroy her life. If one yearns for independence, then moral disintegration, or at the

least, ambiguity, is but inevitable.