Essay on Ednas Suicide in Grand Isle: A Failure or Triumph

There are different ways through which Ednas death can be shown. First, it can be seen as a defeat in that she failed to survive in the highly patriarchal society despite her several attempts to compete with the men during her time and make changes to the social fabric. Such proves that the pressures that were against her were too much and this led to her demise in the process of striving for self-agency and autonomy within the society (Bai 845). On the other hand, her demise can as well be seen as the triumph in that is can be used to show the way she made a triumphant exit from the society with the view of finding peace in the next world. This shows that Edna found out ways of exiting the oppressive world and that she is victorious for finding her peace at last. It is of great importance to appreciate the ambiguous interpretations that used to explain Ednas suicide and bring out a credible conclusion into the matter.

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Despite the various views regarding Ednas death, it is factual that the suicide is a show of defeat. First, it is an act of cowardice for a person to commit suicide, this is because those who commit suicide are people that are hopeless in life and that have no alternatives to tackle their lifes challenges. It is in this relation that it is justified to categorize Ednas suicide as a failure (Bai 846). Another failure in the case of her suicide is evident in that she commits suicide with the view of seeking consolation from mother figure because the society cannot provide what she requires. The suicide is therefore a proof that she wanted to make changes in the society to be more accepting for the women but her motives failed, there is no mother figure that she gets after committing suicide.

Third, the plans the Edna had in the society to change the society fails after she commits suicide, and this shows the fall of the goals she had in the society. Edna Pontellier refuses not to be reborn in the society and becomes un-born by dying. Moreover, the failure of Edna in committing suicide is evident in the manner in which she fails to mature and accept the fact that the social structure is bigger or stronger than her and that she cannot change the social structure of the society (Bai 849). Failure to mature and acknowledge is another way of showing her failure and her committing suicide seals the fact that she is a failure in the society that cannot mature up while there were other women that acknowledged the negative effects of the patriarchal social system, changed and survived. It is a matter of great importance to acknowledge defeat and conform to the societal setups.

Finally, the idea of committing suicide makes Edna to assume the position of an object as opposed and not human being and this is seen as disgracing herself. Moreover, the fact that her father, Mr. Pontellier was a strong supporter of male supremacy means that Edna was offered several opportunities to change her stance and accept male dominance in the society. However, her dismissal of the views of her father depicts her as a failure that cannot learn from the social fabric and make informed decisions (Bai 847). Ednas suicide therefore elicits defeat in the society and the failure to make the required changes in her social settings. Edna saw subordination of the women as objectification and this is a misleading thought and her committing suicide ended all the efforts she had made trying to change the society.

Work Cited

Bai, Limin. "The re-understanding of Edna Pontellier's death." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 4.4 (2014): 845 - 851.