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her society. Though her world had become illuminated and all the shadows of ulterior existence had been stripped from her; she could not be happy. She could clearly perceive the societal cage that entrapped her. This awareness made her despondent because she could see freedom from between the bars that held her, but she could not see any way of escape from her social prison. "There are periods of despondency and suffering which take possession of me. But I don't want anything but my own way. That is wanting a good deal, of course, when you have to trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices of others" (555). The constant grappling for freedom from her cage devoured Edna's precarious strength. "It seemed to her as if life were passing by, leaving its promise broken and unfulfilled" (525). She was left hopeless; the future held no tempting allure. She was empty and alone. "She felt no interest in anything about her" (509).

The despondency and suffering overtook her soul. She did not want to belong to anyone; yet she lost herself to hopelessness. She was not strong enough to withstand the lonely life which she was destined to live. She felt like Leonce and the children were attempting to drag her into a life-long period of slavery by their constant demands upon her life. "But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul" (558). She realized that her situation would not change with time. She might leave Leonce and give herself to another, but in the end, he too would leave her terribly alone. She felt that she had nothing to look forward to. "There was no one thing in the world that she desired" (557). There was no hope in her heart. Her despondency came with the power to see her life as it really wassomebody else's. It would not lift from her heart. She could not escape the loneliness and despair, because she could not escape her awakening. She could not forget what she had come to realize about her society. Edna could never return to the blissful ignorance of her womanly role. She would always be aware that she was not a free individual, but instead a pretty possession for a man. This realization of her awakening caused her to allow the ocean to wash Leonce and the children, the Ratignolles, and all the other social conformity out of her life. She let the waves hungrily consume her existence. Now no one would possess her.

Learn more about this author, Erin K. Wiedemer.
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