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Kavita Makadia Period 6 January 24, 2000 An Awakening Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening relates the emotion-driven story of Edna Pontellier. Her story is a happy one. Not because of some typical fairy tale ending where they all live happily ever after, but in that she accomplished her goal in life. She never "sacrificed herself for her children." (p. 115) Edna Pontellier remained an individual. The music that was brought to her by Mademoiselle Reisz stirred up a …

…completely liberating her soul. Edna Pontellier underwent a spiritual awakening. It was achieved through the endless physical sleep of death. In the case of The Awakening, the title itself relates the central idea of the novel. Edna’s spiritual awakening is significant because everything else in the work is working towards that goal. Edna cannot have anything she desires in this world, and therefore removed herself from it in a final "awakening" of her soul.