Throughout the novel “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontellier tries to escape her motherly responsibilities. Edna is very unlike most of other mothers, in general, and in the novel there is a large contrast between Edna and her friend Adele, who is the perfect mother and woman in that time period. A quote that stood out to me in the novel and that I think perfectly represents Edna as a mother is the quote where she describes her children “as antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul’s slavery for the rest of her days” (384). This quote is at the end of the novel, right before Edna decides to commit suicide, implying that a large portion of the reason that Edna did this was to escape her children and her motherly responsibilities. Hearing this quote from anyone other than Edna would have greatly shocked me, but because the audience can tell throughout the entire novel that Edna does not like being a mother, it is not quite as surprising. Edna seems to think that committing suicide is the best option for her children, and so maybe her last act could be seen as her being a good mother, but I’m not so sure about that.
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Great American Novels 2020 
It’s really interesting to contrast her with Ma from Grapes of Wrath. It’s really hard for me to like Edna, even though I love The Awakening.
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This is sad for Edna but it also is a reality for some mothers which is really sad. I think in many novels and films we tend to come across characters who do bad things but we want to like them but it is extremely hard too.
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I agree with you that Edna is not a very good mother. She thinks of her children/family as a weight that drags her down and prevents her from living her life. In some ways that is probably true in her situation. However, it is crazy to see how different it is from today’s world where woman often have a career and children.
Comparing her to Ma from The Grapes of Wrath, Edna is the complete opposite. To Ma, her family is everything and she always puts the family first. On the other hand, Edna couldn’t careless about her children and she is much more selfish. It is very sad that she thinks committing suicide will be better for her children.
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I agree that committing suicide is probably not the best way to be viewed as a “good mother” I see it more as Edna “taking the easy way out” and abandoning her family which is something I do not believe should be glorified.
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