Edna Pontellier's suicide Suicide has been defined as "the act of self-destruction by a person of sound mind and capable of measuring his own moral responsibility" (Webster 1705). Determining one's moral responsibility is what all humanity struggles with and strives to achieve. Many forces act toward the suppression of this self-discovery, causing a breakdown and, ultimately, complete collapse of conventional conceptions of the self. Then the question that arises becomes whether or not Edna's suicide is an act of tragic affirmation or pathetic defeat. Most of the analyzes of the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, explain the new awareness and the struggle against the social forces that repress it. However, they ignore Edna's weaknesses that prevented her from achieving the personal autonomy she glimpsed during her "awakened" periods. Kate Chopin chooses to have Edna take a "final swim" as evidence of her utter defeat as a thorough study of limitations. that prevent any woman from reaching the ultimate goal of self-realization. Simply put, Edna's awakening leads to her suicide. Newly aware of the meanings her life might take on, the awakened part of herself presents Edna with the command to act. When Edna is unable to rationalize her old and new selves, she abandons her seaside life as an escape from domestic conformity and solitary freedom. Edna did not experience her awakening on Grand Isle, but rather an “awakening” of childhood passion that allowed for “impulsive,” “aimless,” and “unguided” decisions (Chopin38). Although Edna believes her awakening occurred on Grand Isle that night in the p... middle of paper... a failure. "Her suicide gives her the power, the dignity, the self-possession of a tragic heroine. Her suicide is the culmination of her development from the bewilderment that accompanied her first emancipation to the clarity with which she understands her own nature and chance of his life. as he decides to finish." (Wolkenfeld 242) From Edna's perspective, she commits suicide because she feels like a possession of her husband, her children, and her society. Although suicide is usually seen as a form of defeat, he sees his case as a dignified act. Edna chooses suicide as a way to escape to a better place. Choosing todies is Edna's way of triumphing over the things she feels imprisoned by in her life. Despite everything, Edna was a very strong character, but in the end she lets herself be conquered..