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Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, focuses on the revolt of the main character, Edna Pontellier, against her role and position in society. As Edna awakens to her body, her senses, and her role as a woman in late nineteenth century America, she begins to challenge societal "laws" and traditions. Not only does she neglect her obligations to friends and family, but also she ignores society's expectations of her as a woman of wealth and stature. Edna senses the forces that ultimately drive her to the sea after a disagreement with her husband, Leonce, early in the novel. When Leonce demands that Edna come in from outside to retire, Edna begins to understand that he regards her as an object of possession. Though Edna refuses to appease her husband "an indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish." Edna, however, does not yet realize she is awakening. "A certain light [will begin] to dawn dimly within her,--the light which, showing the way, forbids it." Madame Reisz's musical performance in Chapter 9 triggers Edna's first true awakening. Her intense physical reaction to the sound of the keys of the piano, including trembling, choking, and crying, are paralleled by the arousal of passion within Edna's soul. Chopin suggests that this "was the first time [Edna] was ready, perhaps the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding truth." Later this same evening, Edna soars beyond the limits fear imposes upon her in an attempt to capture a sense of independence as she swims far out into the sea alone.
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