Edna's Awakening At the end of the 19th century, Kate Chopin presented The Awakening to a society contained within the walls of sexual constraints. It shocked readers with its open and honest view upon female marital betrayal. The book ended up being banned for its daring and uncovered subject, untouched by the traditional Victorian romances that people were accustomed to. In the book itself, Edna Pontellier was awakened by self discovery in a series of …showed first 75 words of 1143 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1143 total…left her alone with only the sea left to console her. Society had pushed her into a corner filled with expectations of tradition and imagery. "She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world." Self-realization kept Edna Pontellier out of the expectations from society and led her to a world where she alone would truly be able to find herself.