A Solitary Soul

Edna Pointellier is a woman who has followed the rules of her sociery all her life. She "was an unthinking child in those days, just following a misleading impulse without question," just as those around her wished her to be (Chopin 21-22). When she realises that she is not her own person, she begins a quest to find herself, and in this quest, is alienated from her society. This estrangement only serves to point out the disparity of the female spirit during the Victorian Era and the need for freedom.

Like most women of this era, Edna is unable to make decisions for herself without arising suspicion. Her only true act of defiance is choosing to marry Leonce Pontellier, but even he turns out to be a disappointment who closes, "the portals forever behind her unpun the realm of romance and dreams" and earns her anger fro...