Theme: Identity

Identity is an important theme expressed throughout the novel. It plays a part from the first few chapters of the novel to the very last chapter. Edna had to decide who she wanted to be, and if that's what she wanted to pursue. You can see in the first few chapters, when she shows up to the house with Robert, that she is already starting to focus on her own happiness. She was not happy with her marriage, which was common in these times, but if she didn’t want to be a wife to this sexist man, why did she have to be? Edna knew that she had the power to make her own choices, even if they came with extreme consequences. “Even as a child she has lived her own small life all within herself. At a very early period she has apprehended instinctively the dual life­­ that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions,” (18). She wanted to be her own person, with control over her own life, so that’s what she did. Mr. Pontellier talks about her like she is an alien because of the way she identifies herself. He says, “She is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the Unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously,” (26). He even agrees that she is not defined by society, but by herself and that she is unpredictable.

E-DNA

E-DNA, or Environmental DNA, is when an animal leaves a certain area; their DNA is still left behind. This allows the detection of a species regardless of its gender or life stage. For example, a bird that lives in the north always leaves behind part of its DNA when it migrates south for the winter. E-DNA is very much like Edna Pontellier in that she left behind her children and husband when she decided to kill herself. Edna is the bird and her family is her DNA. “She thought of Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul,” (Chopin 156) Edna killing herself is selfish to her children and husband. She didn’t see them as family; she saw them as a chore. If she really loved them, she would have tried harder. Now all they are is her DNA left behind.

Environmental DNA

On my last post I had stated that Edna wanted to feel like a bird, free and rebellious with nothing and no one holding you back. Also in my last post I stated that Edna felt so free and alive in the ocean, almost bird-like, and Edna said , "How easy it is!' she thought. "It is nothing," she said aloud." (74 Chopin). The ocean causes her to feel rebellious and like a bird and the ocean is her comfort blanket. For Edna, the ocean holds all of her secrets and all of her dreams. Edna doesn't want to be trapped inside a world held captive by her husband and children, she wants a world where she can swim in the ocean and live alone and in peace. "She went on and on. She remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that seized her at the fear of being unable to regain the shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on." (Chopin 176). Edna swimming farther out and out into the ocean symbolizes her freedom. Finally Edna can live the life she's wanted to. Since Robert is not there for her anymore she decides her life is worth living in the sea. From her perspective, it is not her committing suicide but living her life how it is meant to be lived.