A False Perception

Racism has been a very big deal over the history of our modern society. The idea that skin color was somehow related with racial inferiority was a pretty dominant concept throughout the most recent part of our history. What is rather ironic is that this idea is based on no real scientific proof. As far as research goes, skin color is only skin deep, in a matter of speaking. There is no significant genetic variation between people from different races. Skin color is merely a gene, similar to any other, like the gene for hair color or eye color.

To divide an entire society based on skin color was as silly and superficial as it can get. However, it is still a wonder how this shallow perception of humanity was able to endure for so long. The answer lies primarily in the need to control society. In a world where newly born ideas like freedom were starting to appear, there was a need to establish some sort of control over society. How could an agricultural society, such as the new American South, survive without a stable work force? The solution was the use of slaves. However, justifying the lack of rights to some people in a country were ideas of freedom were proliferating would be a challenge. To solve this, a perception of racial inferiority was introduced. Consequently, the practice of slavery and discrimination was able to set its roots in the so called "free land" of America.

It’s frustrating to think that the hierarchy of a civilization would be defined on such trivial aspects as skin color. The idea that "white is right" was just a strategy to get on the top of the pyramid and become the controllers of power. Some people became so convinced on the white man's superiority that they even began to view themselves as the saviors of humanity, and defined it as "the white man's burden". To understand how shallow that perception is, is only half of the job. What's even more outrageous is that is utterly and scientifically wrong. There is no gene related with the white skin color that indicates any type of superiority, and at the same time, there is no gene related with any other skin color that would indicate any inferiority. In fact, there isn't even a subspecies of humans. Every single modern human on earth is a homo sapiens, nothing more, nothing less.

From Here To Eternity

The quest for immortality is one to which many humans dedicate their lives to. From the very beginnings of history, with celebrated characters such as Gilgamesh and Achilles, the desire to achieve immortality has been greatly discussed.
Afterward, a group of people during the early 1800's began a movement denominated Romanticism. The views and ways of this movement would be a strong pillar unto which our modern society would base its interpretation of our existence. Their primary goal would be to find the meaning of life through their soul and their feelings, as opposed to the dominant points of view during their time which defined life through religion or science.
As one would expect, this new perception of life became a great scandal across Europe, as defiant characters such as Percy Byshee Shelley published "blasphemous" articles and celebrities such as Lord Byron made the headlines with their scandalous lives. Other Romantics would resort to opium to produce the most mystical lines of poetry, selling their body for the sake of their spirit. It's precisely what the Romantic Movement was attempting to obtain. They wanted to achieve that perception of the world through their feelings and express the deepest desires of their soul in order to find that enigmatic meaning of life.
A particular member of the Romantics, John Keats, would stand out to pursue one of the greatest quests known to humanity. He set out to achieve immortality. Finding himself ill very early in his life, and refusing to accept the Church's dictations of life after death, he was standing alone in an abyss of nothingness awaiting his last breath. Desperate, he sought a way towards immortality, and finding it finally in the prevalence of art, he died regretting not achieving a masterpiece that would earn him a place in eternity. Fortunately, his quest had not been in vain, for his works became famous soon after his death, and his name was able to create a space for him in the realm of immortality. This great success was a victory to the cause of Romanticism. With Keats's name, as well as many other poets who were able to transcend through time, Romanticism gained a position of veracity as a medium of understanding the world that surrounds us. Additionally, it was able to set forth a new beginning in which originality and self determination are greatly valued, and the individuality of each person can determine his or her own eternity.

Brain Surgery

As the novel moves on into the next chapter, we find the speaker the speaker stunned badly after the accident. At first he is unsure of where he is or who he is. Confused and disoriented, he struggles to understand what's going on, but despite being surrounded by doctors and nurses, it seems as if he wasn't even there. His mind is detached from the outside, almost separate from his own body. Lying there in the hospital, he undergoes a strange procedure in which a machine is supposed to produce "the results of a prefrontal lobotomy...and the result is a complete change of personality" (236).

What is inevitable to ignore is how this procedure will change the speaker. If this operation is as effective as the doctor claims, wouldn't his mind change after it? According to the doctor “he will live as he has to live, and with absolute integrity. He'll experience no major conflict of motives, and what is even better society will suffer no traumata on his account" (236). What is he referring to by saying this? Could it be that a good citizen, a man of no burden to society is that which has no conflicts of motives? Apparently the best interest of society is to have a bunch of automatons, walking around life with no motives or opinion. A person like this is, to the burden of society, weightless, or even invisible.

After the operation, the speaker finds himself in a sort of glass container, observed vigilantly by the people outside. From his position, he is able to observe them as well, and metaphorically observes society. He is disturbed by what he sees, as he notices flaws and ugly details on his subjects, but then he thinks "we are all human" (239). This perhaps, could be a moment of understanding, as he looks at the flawed humanity, determined to accept it. It feels as if he wasn't human anymore. The doctors, indeed don't see him humanlike, only as a result from an experimental operation. This could be the beginning of the speaker's understanding of his invisibility. He can see that society in a detached way, but somehow, that society can't see him. In some way, he can't see himself either, since he isn't even able to remember his own name.

It’s still unclear if the speaker’s personality was changed, but he certainly started to view his world around him in a new way. Perhaps this is only the beginning of the speaker’s renovation, and he will eventually grow to understand that concept of invisibility.

Boiling Point

After being screamed at, insulted and even threatened by too many people, the speaker has finally had it. At last he loses control of his composure and strikes back at that stream of hostility that has been tormenting him from the moment he set foot on that factory. He was yelled at by Mr. Kimbro, he was mocked by Mr. Brockway and then he was verbally attacked by a union of the factory workers.
The speaker had never seen a union before, and despite meaning no harm or any contact with them, the members started harassing him, calling him a fink and threatening to kick him out. He didn't even know what "fink" meant, but it surely was a terrible insult. Apparently the union instantly labeled him a fink, which means strikebreaker, and they believed he had been he had been sent to avoid the success of any strike they could organize. The source of their hostility originated from the possibility that he could go and start "finking his finking ass off" (221).

Anyhow, the speaker is not aware of this terminology and becomes really upset by their behavior. What's even worse is when, ironically as it may sound, he is also attacked by Brockway when he finds out he had seen the union and threatens to kill him. This is where he reaches a boiling point.  How could it be possible that no matter what side he landed on, he would always be seen as the enemy? He was sick at been screamed an insulted at, and he finally found the anger to strike back. He viciously attacked Brockway and finally took a stand towards his own dignity. The speaker is a character with no party or allies, and nothing to hold on to but himself. Maybe that's why he isn't even given a name. This is why, when he is threatened, he can't hold on to anyone or anything, and he finally learned that he had to stand up for himself.
Too bad it all blew up on his face: literally.

Bossed Around

The speaker in Invisible Man is starting fresh with a new job. After finding out that his return to college is not part of Dr. Bledsoe’s plans, he decides he should take revenge. Taking quick action, he managed to get a job at the plant Mr. Emerson's son had suggested. He arrives to a paint factory in Long Island and is immediately plunged into a strange division of power. He is meets various kinds of people, all hierarchically superior to him. His first boss, Mr. Kimbro is a really temperamental man with an explosive temper and a fondness for dominance. He supervises his subordinates as they mix the paints which he will be in charge of shipping later. After an arduous day of working at the factory, in addition to severe scolding, the speaker is amazed to notice that Kimbro decides to ship the paint, despite the fact that it seemed to be faulty. The speaker later observes that perhaps “the quality of the paint is always determined by the man who ships it rather than those who mix it” (206). Still, despite this being true, it’s inevitable that if something goes wrong, the mixers will be the ones who will pay.

After Mr. Kimbro dismisses him, the speaker is sent to work for Luscious Brockway, the man who manages the plant’s boilers. This character is quite particular, because not only is he a black “engineer” working at the head of the factory’s most dangerous equipment, but he has managed to secure his job for many years, thanks to the “Old Man’s” (209) favor. According to his story, no one but him can manage the boilers as he does, and the Old Man is aware of it. Thanks to him, the factory makes the best paint in the United States. The speaker is amazed at how this old aggressive man could be trusted with such a job, and he realizes that the power he has lies in his special abilities that apparently no one else has. Anyway, his power over him as he works as his assistant makes him feel really humiliated. Still he was really annoyed that he would rank under that old creepy man. I still wonder how long he can stand to be bosses around by everybody, because apparently everyone ranks a step higher than he does, and in that hierarchical world he lives in, every second seems like a power struggle.

Keep Him Running

Life is really comfortable when you believe you have a heading. There is no calmer feeling than being sure that your life has a purpose and everything you do is somehow meant to help achieving that purpose. You feel self-assured and confident as you stride through life, knowing where the path is leading you. However, what happens when all of the sudden, you find that this path you were following has a dead end. You crash face first against a stone wall and you know it-s the end of the road. What do you do? How can it be possible that all your life, you had been headed towards that dead end?
This is precisely what happens to our poor narrator in The Invisible Man.  After suffering a major setback in his career, and being removed from his scholarship, he had gotten back to his feet and was looking for a way of getting back to college. Dr. Bledsoe, despite being extremely disappointed with his failure and therefore expelling him, had provided him with letters of recommendation to friends in the North, so he could get a job. The narrator took his chance and hurriedly set forth to getting a job. Everything had been working fine in his plan. He was decided to recover his pride and his place in the college, and nothing would get in his way. That is, of course, until he was a fronted with a terrible truth. Mr. Emerson's son, who was lucky enough to meet the narrator before delivering the letter to Mr. Emerson, revealed the letter's contents. After all he had worked for, all his efforts and dreams; it is sadly revealed that it had all been a scam. Dr. Bledsoe wasn't going to receive him back into the college. He had sent him away so that his "severance with the college [would] be executed as painlessly as possible" (191). It had all been a charade to keep him living on "vain hopes" (191), blissfully unaware of his fate.
As the narrator finishes reading the letter, he witnesses how his own world suddenly comes crashing down on him. Everything he had dreamed, everything he had fought for had been a lie. His role model, the immaculate Dr. Bledsoe, turned out to be his executor. It's like he had been living in a dream all this time, and he was suddenly awakened with a bucket of ice cold water thrown by a compassionate observer. Now he was a wake in the dark reality.
Consequently, the narrator's future is now torn to pieces. Now that he found his path was blocked, all he could do was turn back and move towards a new direction. His new direction, as he decides he would never be the same, would be killing Bledsoe. Perhaps this will be his new direction: a new plan that drives him forward, and gives his life meaning. The question is whether he can achieve it.

The Founder

Who is the Founder? Throughout the novel Ellison has made constant reference to a certain character called the Founder. Everything around the college campus seems to revolve around him, and everyone who can call himself important has something to do with this mysterious character.
Finally, Ellison decides to reveal to us the story of the Founder, and how he was able to achieve such a level of importance and prestige. Interestingly enough, the revealer is Reverend Homer A. Barbee, one of the Founder's close friends and the only black man in the group of visitors present that night.
Barbee's speech is a long moving homage to his deceased friend, describing his life and revering his achievements. Many times he makes allusions to the Bible, lightly comparing the Founder to Jesus when he miraculously survived a crazy cousin's attack as a baby, or to Moses when he led his people "across the black sea of prejudice, safely out of the land of ignorance, through the storms of fear and anger" (120). This strong metaphor of seas of prejudice and storms of anger reveals that the Founder's great accomplishment was leading his people, newly freed slaves, lost and clueless in that hostile land, towards a path of wisdom and success as free people. The Founder's goal, despite the obstacles and hardships he had to face, was to see the black man as a successful citizen in a society predominated by the white man. However, did he ever strive to achieve the taboo idea of social equality? Did he ever envision a society in which a black man would be able to live just like a white man?
He died out of health issues in the middle of a train ride. Perhaps this could be a symbol of his final goal. It could be possible that his death before his mission was complete. The whole job isn’t done yet, and maybe there’s still a long way before the Founder’s dreams are completely fulfilled.

In Search of Identity

As this novel slowly unravels, Ellison has decided to introduce the theme of identity, and many of the characters are subject to this pursuit of a personal identity.

During this first part of the narration, the narrator seems to be suffering a complicated fight within him. When he was young, he was strongly affected by his grandfather's dying words. He had always been known as a quiet, pleasing man, but before he died, he confessed himself to be a traitor, and commanded his successors to "keep up the good fight" (16) against the enemy. It seems that, though nobody wants to see it, the life of a black man during that time was a war. Whether he refers to war against discrimination and the oppression of the dominant white men can be inferred. The issue is that the dying man realized he had been a traitor to his own cause, and now wanted his descendants to avoid that. This moment is a great disturbance in the narrator's life. He lived his life as a role model in that hierarchical society, but his grandfather's words would haunt his actions. This dilemma would interfere with the understanding he had of himself, and would lead him to pursue his own identity. How could he live without becoming a traitor to his grandfather in the world which required his absolute conformity?

The encounter with Jim Trueblood would be an even greater disturbance, as he questions what is best for him. Apparently, Jim's actions were deeply hurtful to his family and all of his community, but it earned him a better treatment from the whites. This situation, apart from being Jim's personal dilemma, is a reflection of the narrator's problems as well. It leaves the lingering question of what his actions might bring upon himself.  If he hurts his people, then will the white men favor him and vice versa? The grandfather’s words echo behind this question. How can he avoid becoming a traitor?

Undetected

Invisibility is the condition this sullen narrator has suffered throughout his life. He's not literary invisible, of course, but rather ignored or neglected by an excluding society. This metaphor of being invisible describes the way he feels ignored, unimportant, and basically unseen by it. This is the way Ellison decided to begin his novel. The narrator, who is living rent free with free services, confesses that he only managed this when he was able to accept that he was invisible. Before, he used to live under the illusion that he was actually noticed by the rest of society, and he would live in accordance to this delusion. But now, he is proud to say that he has "illuminated the blackness of [his] invisibility-and vice versa" (13). He accepted his condition and even took advantage of it, using thousands of dollars worth of electricity for free with no risk of being detected, and has attempted to shine light over his own existence.

This novel proceeds with a flashback into the narrator's past, back when he was so immersed in the mirage he was blinded from his true reality. This is how he begins to reveal his story, and will likely lead us through the paths of his discovery, and the way he was able to open his eyes to the reality of his invisibility.

A Way Out

Suicide: such an uncomfortable topic to discuss and such a controversial way of suffering. There are always the questions that are left unanswered, and that terrible mixture of painful feelings that forever remain above the deceased's memory. That unfortunate person is gone, but the family is left behind with a bone-crushing burden over their souls. After the person is gone, there's nothing you can do but wonder everything that was left unnoticed. You try to remember, and try to pinpoint any time in their life in which a single hint might have foreshadowed this catastrophe. Was the person happy? What could have caused him to reach such a point of utter desperation, which was enough to let go of the dearest gift one was granted from the moment we took that first breath of air into our newly shaped lungs? Then you encounter the most uncomfortable question of all, what could have been done to avoid it?

This gloomy pondering over suicide was incited by the last moments of Chopin's novella. As a reader, I am completely shocked at the end that was chosen for the story. Who knew Edna would reach that breaking point? As a keen observer of Edna's process of awakening, Chopin provided us with more than enough insight on Edna's disturbed thoughts and feelings. From the very start of the novel we were able to see into her mind, and understand the change that had been stewing up within her. However, I never imagined that Edna would wind up as suicidal. The interesting part, though, is that we can trace back and gather the information that might have been unnoticed at first, but might now explain how the process of becoming awake led to killing herself.

The most important reason to be analyzed is Edna's love for Robert. As had been mentioned before, Edna's awakening is deeply connected with her love for Robert. After a long odyssey of secrets and hidden intentions, they were both able to declare their love. However, without any explanation, except for the words "Good by--because I love you" (214), he left. Who knows why he left? Perhaps he felt guilty, or knew that their love could never be, so he preferred to avoid it. Maybe he too committed suicide (that is a dark thought there). However, that really isn't what's important. After all, she knew that one day "he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence, leaving her alone" (212). Then, after all, Robert wasn't really the problem. In fact, none of the men in her life would be a problem to her at all, as she had decided that she would be nobody's to claim. She even told Robert that if he were to ask Mr. Pontellier for her, and he would miraculously yield her like if she was his possession she would laugh in their faces. She had declared herself free, and nobody would have any power over her. However, this powerful revolution is suddenly crushed down to earth when Adele's sick voice whispered to her "think of the children" (207). This terrible truth was a knockout for any of Edna's plans of freedom. How could she forget her children? Her two sons, small and defenseless, were the only barrier that Edna was not able to overcome. Could she live with herself, knowing that her rash actions of defiance would ruin the reputation of her children? After all, society's stern look would burn them, as everyone would know that their mother was a crazy woman who ran off with some guy, leaving her family to become an artist. Her children are the embodiment of her duties as a mother. Her soul was overpowered and overwhelmed by their mere presence, the established rule that she was condemned to follow. This is when she realizes that she will never be free. This alone was the reason that drove her to swim as far as she could go until her arms could swim no more, and the shore was too far behind her. Perhaps someone could have helped. A kind voice like Doctor Mandalet would have been able to drive her back to the path of obedience, but it was too late. She was already awake, and the truth of her eternal slavery was all too clear for her know.

As Edna slowly fades into her final fate, memories of her childhood come back to her. Perhaps these are recollections of moments in which she was still a young girl, with no boundaries or restrictions yet. This takes us back to the description of a memory in which she would walk through the blue grass of Kentucky, with no real motive settled. This may have been the time when she was closest to freedom. However, the image of an old dog chained to a tree is there, reminding her that the future was settled to chain her down to her duties as a woman, wife and mother. The memory of her father is also there, with the sound of cavalry boots which far back attempted to create a rebellion, which was also frowned upon by society. The last words of the passage are a memory of "the hum of bees and the musky odor of pinks filled the air" (214). This last image evokes the sense of nature, and those last moments of realization of death. It gives a sense of peace, as if there was no real reason to worry now, and as hard as it may seem to imagine, at last Edna is free.
In the end, as desperate as Edna seemed, and as irrational as killing herself might have been, Edna was able to set her soul free. She had declared that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, only the essential. This turned out to be precisely what she did. She was willing to give her life for them (apparently death was better than social disapproval), but she reserved her soul to her own freedom. It's still too sad that the only way she was able to finally be the only owner of herself was to take her own life.

Trace

Exploring Revelations

Wake-Up Call

What is it about Mademoiselle Reisz that's so intriguing? Why does Edna suddenly feel that desperate need to see her all of the sudden? Who would want to see Mademoiselle Reisz anyway? Everybody from the corner grocer to the elegant Mrs. Ratignolle agree she is "the most disagreeable and unpopular woman" (114) they have ever met. However, this doesn't stop Edna from looking incessantly for the little woman. After a long day of searching, she finally manages to target her house.

As it can be recalled from an earlier part of the novella, Mademoiselle Reisz is the mean old lady with a gift for the piano who made Edna cry during one of her performances. (Don't get me wrong, Reisz didn't punch Edna or laugh at her dress, as mean as anybody might think she is). This cry was provoked by the awakening feeling her music was able to stir in Edna's spirit. The effect Reisz's performance had on Edna is probably reflected on her changed attitude from this moment onward. This change, starting from her swimming accomplishment, all the way to outspoken defiance towards her husband, is steadily emerging. Even outsiders like Victor and Madame Lebrun are able to notice a change in her. Victor even comments that "she doesn't seem like the same woman" (118). Perhaps this is what has led Edna to pursue Mademoiselle Reisz. Whatever that little woman did to cause those stirring feeling within her, she wants more.

Edna's visit brought on a storm of feelings. For one part, the encounter is somewhat awkward, as the relationship between these two contrasting characters isn't clearly settled. Whether they sympathize, or not isn't really defined and Edna even admits, "I don't know whether I like you or not" (120). Then, Reisz reveals a precious treasure: a letter from Robert that mentions Edna. After a heated quarrel between them, Mademoiselle Reisz gives in to Edna's plea. She gives her the letter and even plays more music for her. The combination between a letter from her beloved and Reisz's music turns out to be explosive. She leaves, immersed in a river of tears "sobbing, just as she had wept one midnight at Grand Isle when strange, new voices awoke in her" (123), and asks to come again.

It seems that Edna is starting to recognize these feelings that have been growing inside her. The hunger she has to evoke them and nurture them is rapidly developing. Somehow, she knows that these voices, newly awakened within her, need to grow louder until she is finally able to open her eyes.

Marital Problems

Edna Pontellier is going insane! At least that’s what her husband is concluding from her sudden irrational behavior. At first it started with a small defiance. She just didn’t feel like doing her reception duties one Tuesday. That’s all right. One day isn’t anything worth worrying about. However, Edna’s disobedience quickly starts growing, and soon she cancels all her receptions and dedicates herself to painting. All household chores are forgotten and the entire staff is involved in her sudden artisitic outburst.

This, in Mr. Pontellier’s opinion, is an absolute disgrace. All through their marriage he had been a very courteous man “so long as he met a certain tacit submissiveness in his wife” (110). But Edna’s blatant insolence has gone way beyond his tolerance. What happened to Edna that has led her to this unacceptable conduct?

The reason behind it could be her obvious unhappiness with her marriage. One night, after receiving the reprimands of her discontented husband, she went into a hysterical frenzy, which included vase breaking and wedding ring stomping. What could be a clearer sign of her hate towards her marriage? However, it’s not a hate towards her marriage specifically, but to all marriages. It seems Edna was not built for married life. After spending and afternoon with the Ratignolles, which happen to be the perfect “fusion of two human beings into one” (108), she realized she didn’t envy their relationship. She didn’t feel the slightest appeal towards the “domestic harmony” (109) the Ratignolles enjoyed, and she even felt pity for Madame Ratignolle's “colorless existence….and blind contentment…in which she would never have the taste of life’s delirium” (109). It seems that the thing Edna’s heart desires is to feel adventure, or experience a romance that breaks the borders of mundane life and colorless marriage. Her spirit isn't meant to be chained to the position of submissive wife, and somehow she has to find a way to free herself from those restrains.

Departure and Confession

As this novel slowly unravels the mysterious development of Edna Pontellier's complex character, an unexpected twist is added to her fate. Robert has suddenly decided to leave for Mexico. As shocking as it is to everybody, the most surprised is poor Edna, who never suspected that her dear Robert would so abruptly decide to leave her, without even bothering to inform her previously. As it had been previously discussed, Edna has shown an evident weakness towards Robert, and despite the fact that she is married, it seems that their "friendship" could be a little closer than appropriate.

Anybody could wonder what Mr. Pontellier might think about this, but his perspective on the issue is yet to be presented. His character seems to be standing on the background, as is his status of husband in Edna's mind.

The interesting part of this is that everybody seems to be aware of the situation. When Robert announces his news, everybody turns to Edna, aware that she will be the most affected by Robert's departure. "Do you miss your friend greatly?"(91), is the question everybody asks her. The truth is that she really does. She was greatly shocked with the news, and when he came over to say good-bye, she was very upset with him. After he left, all she could do was cry, realizing that once again, she was being left behind. She didn't care about the past, and the future was too mysterious for her to ponder about. All she cared for was the present, which was there "to torture her...with the biting conviction that she had lost that which she had held, that she had been denied that which her impassioned, newly awakened being demanded" (90).  This realization, more than a confession of love, is a testament of Edna's developing being, which was stirred into awakening by her passion for Robert.

Left with the bitter taste of resentment and loss, Edna Pontellier is finally aware of her love for Robert. The question that is yet to be answered is does this love have a future? So many obstacles lie between Edna and her precious Robert. Aside from his absence, there's also the problem of the marriage (though this doesn't seem to worry Edna at all), and the possibility that Robert doesn't feel the same way towards her. The answers to these problems will hopefully be revealed as the summer ends and the Pontelliers go back to New Orleans.

R is for Robert or Rebellion

As this novella continues, there seems to be a growing strength within Edna. First of all there's the obvious change in her, manifested through her actions of accomplishment, such as finally learning how to swim. However, that night, after she triumphantly paddled in the water, wanting to "swim far out, where no woman had swum before" (60), there was a change in the course of the story. This change is none other than the growing importance of Robert in Edna's life.
Robert is beginning to spend a lot more time with Edna than it had been presented at the beginning of the story. He had been mentioned earlier, but his character had been merely an innocent name until Madame Ratignolle called out to our attention. She takes him a side and seriously asks him, "Do me a favor Robert...leave Mrs. Pontellier alone" (45), as she is worried that he might be trying to woo Mrs. Pontellier. To us, his intentions aren't at all clear yet, but Madame Ratignolle's warning could imply the possibility of a romance happening between them.
Edna's reaction to this possibility, though to her it hasn't been explicitly presented, seems to suit her well. The more time she spends with her "friend" Robert, the more it seems to nurture that feeling of awakening that has been mentioned constantly throughout the novella. During that time between the night of Saturday and all of Sunday, Robert and Edna were constantly together, and through this time, Edna starts showing signs of strength that contrast sharply with the first descriptions of her. At first she was described as a very delicate and poised woman, which made her stand out form the crowd (37). But now, she seems to describe herself frequently with the word "strong". It seems as she is starting to perceive that growing fire inside of her and it's starting to be reflected in the perception she has on herself.
However, despite the positive effects that Robert might cause on Edna, there's still a problem. Their relationship could never happen, because, if anybody remembers, Edna is Mrs. Pontellier (a.k.a she is married). Perhaps this could add an extra spice to the process of awakening, and possibly rebellion that Edna will go through.

Edna Exposed

Edna Pontellier is a very particular character, and as Kate Chopin might have hoped, the one entitled to be the heroin of this novella.
Edna does not seem to fulfill the expected role of mother or housewife. Her main focus is certainly not her children, which seem to stand in the background of her priorities. Unlike the other mothers, Edna doesn't run behind them, looking out for whatever danger, real or imaginary, might haunt them. She even admits that her love for them is uneven. Sometimes she adored them and "she would sometimes forget them"(43). It appears to be that she lacks the responsibility that the role of a mother requires.
Edna's mind is focused on a subject that is far away from her present duties of respectable housewife. Her thoughts wander towards her childhood, when she was free of any type of compromise or responsibility. There is a memory in her mind in which she walks through a green meadow, "idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided" (41). Perhaps this memory contains her bottled yearning for freedom, which she gave up when she got married.
Love is a second aspect Edna is missing. When she was a young girl, her heart throbbed for a romance and a love story. This feeling was a very important part during her maiden years, and it would seem that her dream might have been to live a romantic adventure and marry for love. However, as Fate would decide it, she ended up marrying Leonce Pontellier by what she declares was "purely an accident" (43). Out of sympathy and partly rebellion, Edna decided to take Mr. Pontellier as her husband. This decision appears to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life, as it plunged her into a relationship where she is confused and uncomfortable. What reason moved her to resign to love and turn down her childhood dreams? Perhaps this question is the cause of her nightly weeping, and the reason behind her slow but certain awakening. There is "a certain light beginning to dawn dimly within her" (34), and this illumination could be a turning point in Edna's life.

Fumes of Feminism

The story of Edna Pontellier begins ironically from her husband's perspective. The very first pages of the novella are centered on Mr. Pontellier, and Mrs. Pontellier is presented later. This way of introducing the story is a way of introducing the forthcoming issues that might be dealt with throughout the story. The importance of the man seems to overshadow the real issue of the plot, which turns out to be Edna.

During these first chapters, Edna Pontellier's life is shortly presented, displaying her overpowering husband and her silent obliging attitude. Despite her obvious dissatisfaction with her husband, she is "forced to admit that she [knows] none better" (24). She seems to be enjoying a very comfortable life, drowned in fine presents and bonbons from her husband, and one would think her marriage is running smoothly. However, she is overwhelmed with “an indescribable feeling of oppression” (22), which goes far beyond her tactless husband or the way he seems to replace love with expensive merchandise. There is a strange feeling budding up inside her, in “some unfamiliar part of her consciousness” (22), which wonders how fate led her on to where she is today. This smoldering fire inside her being might have chances of bursting, but for now, it quietly sits outside in the night, all alone with no real motive.