THE AWAKENING

During the book "The Awakening" there was many times that I was all over the place with confusion. First off I for one believe if she did not want children she did not have to have them. It seemed to me a lot of the other woman that she was around did not have children either. I will say others did have children, but not all. Another thing that really confused me is that she did not want to be with her husband anymore and she wanted to be with Robert, yet she was all over Arobin kissing him and what not.

Starting off with the children situation, she did not want to have children and she made that pretty obvious in the book. Although she never spent time with them or cared for them as a mother should she did not want to be a mother because well I think it was to much responsibility for herself and she wanted to be more independent and having children just does not make you independent because there is a young being who is looking up to you for guidance and support. At the end of the book before she goes and kills herself she makes a statement that really makes me see the person she really is "she thought of leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could have possess her, body and soul".(pg 109) To me when she says this line she is saying I do not want to be tied down and having a husband and children are not what I want there is no other way to live in this society unless I just kill myself and make it look like a tragic accident. I guess I did not live back in this day so I do not know the real struggles but even in today's society people want to have sex and then when they get pregnant freak out because that is not what they wanted in life. I think you should know the consequences of every situation before doing the things you want to do.

Now for how Edna is married but does not want to be married and wants to be with Robert, but Robert went to Mexico and ends up kind of flirting with Arobin. This is just a huge mess, but I think the reason that Edna was all close to Arobin was because Robert was not there and she wanted some sort of affection. I believe the only way she could receive this affection was through Arobin, because the second Robert gets back in the picture Arobin is out of the picture while her husband is still her husband he just does not really matter. There is one huge question that I ponder in the back of the book there is a paragraph titled "flirtation and increasing fastness of manner" in this paragraph there is a little part that caught my attention "no man cares to marry a free lance. Let her catch her fish, land him safely, and then, as a young married woman, let her go in and win as a married flirt. She will gain a fashionable position and a detestable reputation" (pg 124). If anyone has the real meaning of this quote please let me know because I am still a little confused by it.

Over all I thought this book was good, I did not like that she committed suicide in the end. Nor did I like how we do not find out what the husbands and kids thought or who found her and how, I always wish books would elaborate a little more on the extreme details, but I guess most authors want you to make up your own ending to the story.