Importance of The Awakening CharactersThe Awakening was a very exciting and motivating story. It contains some of the key motivational themes that started the women's movement. It was amazing to see how women were not only oppressed, but how they had become so accustomed to it that they were almost unconscious of it. The only woman, Edna Pontellier, who dared to express her own feelings, was considered mentally ill. The pressure was so great that ultimately the only way for her to feel truly free was to commit suicide. In this article, I will focus on the central characters in Edna's life and her relationships with them. Léonce Pontellier, the character playing Edna's husband, was a very traditional man in his thinking. He was self-centered and honestly didn't see flaws in his own way. He truly believed that Edna was the most important person in his life. However, we notice throughout the story that his behavior was in direct contrast to this statement. Edna is only important to him in how she affects him and the effect of her actions on his life. If we look at chapter three, Léonce comes home in the middle of the night, waking up his wife who is sleeping soundly. He immediately begins to tell her the details of his day. When she is unable to fully respond, because she is half asleep, he gets angry. He declares that she is the only object of his existence and he is annoyed that she is so little interested in his concerns. If she was indeed the only object of his existence, he would have been more considerate than waking her up in the middle of the night, because he wanted to talk. Also look at chapter 32, when Léonce learns that Edna has moved away. .... middle of paper ...... I will never have tasted the delirium of life. Could this mean that until you take risks, float on the edge and stop being satisfied, you are not truly experiencing or appreciating the "craziness" of life? Miss Reisz is more similar to Edna. Like Edna, Miss. Reisz was a free spirit who disagreed with the oppression of women during this era. She was considered weird and mentally disturbed. Something was definitely wrong with a woman who didn't care what others thought and chose her own path in life. Miss Reisz inspired Edna to be true to herself and challenge the norms. It was entirely appropriate that the final scene took place by the sea, for it was in the sea that Edna experienced her first taste of freedom (see chapter ten). Edna finally took responsibility for herself by deciding her own destiny, instead of allowing others to choose it for her..