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Dangerous Desires

There are many important paths that we must follow on our journey through life. We follow the path without questioning its intent. The path informs us when we should learn to talk, to walk, to marry, and to have children. We are told that we should never stray from it, because if we do, society will make it certain that we are bound for damnation.
In the novel The Awakening, the main character, Edna Pontellier, has followed this path without so much as a fuss. All that changes when Edna is awakened from a life long slumber, which she found repetitious, monotonous, and futile. She discovers that she is incomplete being just a wife and a mother. She needs to fill the void that has been empty for so long. She finds herself looking aimlessly beyond the path toward a destination of new feelings, adventures, and awakenings her quest for true love. Edna stands under this symbol of love; she is faced with a dilemma. Should she kiss, (or in this case, marry), whether or not it is love? On the other hand, should she pass by the opportunity and prepare herself for the hurricane winds of a disappointed and disapproving society?
Edna chooses to do what society wanted her to do she got married and left her fantasies and dreams in the depths of the shadows.
"The acme of bliss, which would have been a marriage with the tragedian, was not for her in this world. As the devoted wife of a man who worshiped her, she felt she would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams." (P. 548)
After marriage, hidden around the curvatures of the path, were the expectations of motherhood and being a devoted mother, after all "if it was not a mother's place to look after children, who’s on earth was it?" (P. 538) The appearance of Edna's life looked perfect she was the envy of many women who declared, "Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world. Mrs. Pontellier was...