A Solitary Soul: A Psychoanalytical Reading of Edna’s Identification in The Awakening
Scientific Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, (2025), Vol.7, No.3, pp.52-55
Published: March 11, 2025
DOI: 10.54691/rqdwph39
Abstract
This thesis attempts to interpret the failed self-identification of Edna, the protagonist in The Awakening by applying the Lacanian theories of the Mirror Stage and the identification of subjectivity. By dissecting Edna’s identity formation into two stages: no clear self-identification and refusal to identify with typical female subject Adele, this thesis tries to demonstrate the ego of Edna is still an innocent and immature child and her death is an inevitable but brave choice in the patriarchal society.
Keywords:
Edna; identity; the Imaginary Order; subjectivity.
APA Citation:
Siya Liu (2025). A Solitary Soul: A Psychoanalytical Reading of Edna’s Identification in The Awakening. Scientific Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(3), 52-55. https://doi.org/10.54691/rqdwph39
References
- Brightwell, Gerri. “Charting the Nebula: Gender, Language and Power in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.” Women and Language Vol.18 (1995) No.2, p.37-41.
- Ringe, Donald A. “Romantic Imagery in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.” American Literature Vol.43(1972), No.4, p.580-588.
- Schweitzer, Ivy. “Maternal Discourse and the Romance of Self-Possession in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.” Vol.17(1990), No.1, p.158-186.
- Taylor, Walter. & Fineman, Jo Ann B. “Kate Chopin: Pre-Freudian Freudian.” Southern Literature Journal Vol. 29 (1996), p.35-45.
- Yeager, Patricia S. “‘A language Which Nobody Understood’: Emancipatory Strategies in The Awakening.” Novel: A Forum Vol.20 (1987), No.3, p.197-219.