Many who have read The Awakening by Kate Chopin generally assume that Edna’s final action was one of suicide. Conversely, in the article “Surviving Edna: A Reading of the Ending of The Awakening” the author, Robert Treu attempts to dispute this claim. Treu argues that this general assumption is argumentative and insists that there are other ways to decipher the ending of novel.
Treu states, “To insist there is only one acceptable inference to be taken from the ending of The Awakening is to deny much of the genre’s historical importance” (Treu, 258). The article states that Chopin never once wrote that Edna commits suicide; contrarily she was very obscure in the last chapter, leaving the ending very open to interpretation. The idea of Edna’s death is not necessarily the most likely outcome of the novel. Some may come to the plausible conclusion of Edna finding strength in the heat of the panic and racing back to shore. To those who infer that she did meet her eminent demise in the water, just because she drowned does not make it a suicide. “Most teachers will remember how frequently university students argue that Edna’s death is not consciously intended. They see it rather as something between an accident and a suicide.” (Treu, 258). Treu talks much about Chopin’s use of “heteroglossia” which is when there are two or more voices in a text. These voices are usually those of the narrator and a character. It seems as if Chopin uses the voices of a preponderant amount of her characters in her novel. Treu insisted that these voices are different ideas by Chopin. Treu then begins describing how the drowning was a positive choice and Edna is simply “giving” herself to the sea. Edna’s death was just the result of her stricken conscience because of her neglect of the children or it is Edna’s final act of rebellion toward society. Another point that Treu argues is that Edna’s actions are not necessarily suicidal, but conversely, Edna came into a state of “cold consciousness” and that she was reborn. “In the end, we have mistaken the author for her creation by assigning to her work inferences that provide a sense of closure she did not necessarily intend to give us.” (Treu 264).
I am honestly not sure what kind of stand Robert Treu is actually taking. If I had not read the synopsis about the article beforehand I would not have known that the author was debating against the fact that Edna committed suicide. Treu consistently stated contrary statements and many times in the article he would say statements that closely resembled, Edna didn’t commit suicide, she just killed herself. If I had to state whether I agreed with Treu I would have to say that I do not because he did not make his stand clear.
