The Awakening: Personal Growth and DeathThe Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; despite society's expectations of him. The book follows Edna Pontellier as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy fulfilling the role that society has created for her. She didn't believe she could break from this pattern due to societal pressures. As a result, she ends up committing suicide. However, readers should not sympathize with her for committing suicide. Edna Pontellier was about to wake up. She realized during the book that she was unhappy with her position in life. It was obvious that she had never really been completely unaware of it. However, because his own summary of it all was a kind of blissful ignorance. Especially in the years of her life before her newly emerged independence, THE READER SEES HOW she was never satisfied with the way her life turned out. For example, she admits to having married Mr. Pontellier out of convenience rather than love. EDNA knew he loved her, but she didn't love him. It wasn't that she didn't know what love was, because she had been infatuated before and believed it was love. She consciously chose to marry Mr. Pontellier even though she did not love him. When she falls in love with Robert, she regrets her decision to marry Mr. Pontellier. HOWEVER, readers should not sympathize, because she was the one who set her own trap. She didn't love her husband when she married him, but SHE never once ADMITS that it was a bad decision. She attributes all the problems in her marriage to the way society has defined the roles of men and women. She accepts no blame, like hers. The only other example of married life in the book is that of Mr. and Mrs. Ratignolle, who describe the traditional roles of married men and women of the time. Mr. Pontellier also seems to be a typical society man. Edna, ON THE HOWEVER, WAS NOT A TYPICAL SOCIETY WOMAN. Mr. Pontellier knew it but obviously he had not always done it. This shows IS APPARENT in the complete lack of constructive communication between the two. If she could have communicated with her husband, they might have been able to resolve their issues, which could have made Edna MORE SATISFIED with her life..