In Jonathan Culler’s, Literary Theory, he talks about the new notion of the individual that came with the rise of the novel in the beginning of the eighteenth century. Culler says “the individual is a person whose identity and worth are thought to come from feelings and personal qualities rather than from his or her place in the social hierarchy” (Culler, 110). Culler is claiming that self worth is constructed not by society, but by an independent construction of self. Edna is the epitome of self liberation… the novel seems to depict a desperate struggle to escape what she should have been according to society’s standards, and instead find out who she really is. I believe The Awakening by Kate Chopin supports Culler’s stance. In beginning of…show more content… Leonce is confused by Edna's rejection of her pre-determined social role and is frustrated that she has begun to ignore her wifely obligations as his wife. Instead of attending to her duties she prefers to go on long strolls and contemplate her artwork. Mr. Ponterllier suspects his wife’s behavior is simply a result of some illness that she has fallen prey to. When Doctor Mandelet has dinner with the Pontelliers he observers Edna, “There was no repression in her glance or gesture" (Chopin, 67). Edna displays confident and individualistic mannerisms which the doctor can tell she feels “excited and in manner radiant” (Chopin, 66), by her distinction from most respectable women in Creole society. Later during the dinner the doctor tells a tale of a female patient who eventually came to her senses after pursuing multiple stray affections similar to Edna’s. “The story did not seem to especially impress Edna” (Chopin, 67). Edna responds to with a fictional story of her own about a woman who disappears forever into the islands with her lover. By countering the doctor’s story with one of her own, Edna shows that she refuses to be identified as the normal Creole woman who will go back to going to her pre-determined role given by social hierarchy. She feels no individual worth in that. She instead identifies and herself…show more content… I would beg to differ. I saw this as a final display of rebellion, and also as a courageous act to protect her children from the scrutiny they could possibly garner if she were to continue to carry on the life she wanted to lead. “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me” (Chopin, 42). If Edna were to have returned to her traditional and conformist life, which revolved around her marriage with Léonce, just for the sake of her children it would have been an act of defiance to the individuality and essence of her being. By killing herself, she avoids self-defiance while still preserving her children’s