Thursday, January 14, 2016

What is your reaction to the end of the novel? Do you agree or disagree with the reasons for Edna's final action?

Your question concerning Chopin's The
Awakening
is an ethical or moral or religious or personal question, rather
than a literary question.


The work of art is what it is. 
It is an author's attempt at a revelation of human existence.  And suicide, almost by
definition, is committed by people who feel that they are in a hopeless position.  They
feel hopeless.  They feel that there is no other viable option available to
them.


There really isn't any agreeing or disagreeing,
then. At least not in the literary sense.  The work is what it is.  Edna's reasons are
her reasons, not anyone else's.  Agreeing or disagreeing is judging Edna, rather than
experiencing her fictional life and allowing oneself to be exposed to ideas and
experiences not one's own.  Characters in sophisticated literature should be understood
and experienced, not judged on moral grounds with one's own particular set of values. 
Edna is not a case study--she is a character in a fictional work of
art.


And that is an issue worth considering.  Does Edna
have to die to complete the work of art?  Is her suicide necessary to complete the work
of art?  Would the work be compromised if she doesn't commit suicide?  I suggest the
answers to those questions are the answers you should be looking
for. 


And I suggest that the ending is a beautiful ending. 
It is the natural result of the narrative.  It is what had to be.  You can argue that
the work as a whole is a bit didactic (designed to teach or make a point).  But as it
stands, the ending is the natural conclusion to what comes before
it.

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