The article “The Awakening: an authoritative text, biographical and historical contexts, criticism” kicks off by giving the novel The Awakening appreciation for being among the few fiction publications that front a female protagonist. The author then goes ahead to explain how the gender of the main character causes her to experience a mixture of both delight and fear in the face of isolation and solitude. In the ensuing paragraphs, Margo Culley furnishes the readers with the reasons for Edna Pontellier’s loneliness.
First, Culley attributes Edna’s state of being to the constant departure of the most important people in her life mainly her husband, Robert, her children, and her two best friends (248). The author also explains how Edna attempts to reduce her solitude by fantasizing with the images of Robert, “When she feels most alone, she summons Robbert to her as she had summoned the Romantic figures before him” (Culley and Chopin 250).
Through analyzing the various studies carried by scholars who have reviewed the novel, The Awakening, Culley explains that Edna had numerous happy moments even in her solitude. She can develop a clear understanding of the powers within herself in the sense that she swears to never belong to another person but herself (Culley and Chopin 251).
In general, Culley tries to justify why and how the theme of solitude presents in the novel the Awakening by Kate Chopin. To this end, he details how Edna Pontellier-the main character has devised ways of dealing with loneliness. Culley concludes that even though the novel ends tragically with the death of the protagonist, she defends the position of the woman in society. This is especially perceived in how she can courageously deal with solitude.
Works Cited
Culley, Margo and Kate Chopin. The Awakening: an authoritative text, biographical and historical contexts, criticism. New York, London: Norton. 1994. Print.