Edna Pontellier: Contradictions between the way others see her and the way she sees herself in The Awakening.Edna Pontellier is caught in the...

Society sees institutions and the external, whereas Edna
sees only the individual.

Society sees a woman as a
product, a stage, a means to an end, whereas Edna sees herself as an active agent in the
world.

Society sees a woman as defined by what she has
(marriage, children, property, friends, clothes), not by who she is (beliefs,
dreams).

Society sees marriage as a socio-economic
institution (it opens doors to money and friends), whereas Edna sees it as a cage to
limit the individual.

Society sees children as the reason
for mothers to live, but Edna sees them as individuals unto themselves, not solely
reliant upon the mother.

Society sees the ocean as a means
of passage only (what goes on above), whereas Edna sees only the depths beneath it
(death by drowning).