The Loneliness essays

The Loneliness essays In Kate Chopins novel The Awakening, she tells the story of a confused woman trying to find her place in the world. This woman, Edna, would fit perfectly into 21st century America, but on the eve of the 20th century she was a fish out of water. She did not want to be thought of as her husbands property, or just someones mother, she wanted to be an individual and make her own decisions. Going against the norm of the time caused Edna to isolate herself and alienate her family. She would have never started this journey if she had known that it would have led to her isolation. Because of her devotion to this voyage, Edna ultimately drowned in an ocean of intense loneliness, which caused her to neglect her responsibilities and in the end led to her demise. Ednas problems started when she was young. Without a mother and with an absence of love from her father, she didnt get the love she needed, and in turn did not have a foundation by which to judge love. The absence of this foundation always left her feeling as if something was missing from every relationship. As a young girl, she fell in love with a cavalry officer who was visiting the family farm. In her inexperience, she did not understand that a grown man would not fall in love with a child, therefore he became her first crush. She continued to fall for men she could not have; a man engaged to her neighbor, a tragedian. These were men she could easily love without the worry of them breaking her heart. She never learned what true love was, an unconditional love that not only takes, but also willingly gives in return. Not finding this love from her father, she settled for the next best thing, security. In trying to upset her father and gain necessary refuge, she hastily married Leonce Pontellier. He fell in love with her and she tolerated being around him. Edna liked that Leonce had money and was willing to spend it on ...