Insanely Surprising

After reading the article, "Women and psychiatry", I was startled at the severity of male chauvinism in the 19th century. The society was determined by fixed roles for males, who had to be the fathers of the household, and the females whose "place was in the home". If women did not match these classifications, they were taken away to an asylum, and treated with psychoanalysis and tranquilizers. This seems completely outrageous to me, and many feminist and normal woman in the 19th century protested against these acts. 

This makes me think that maybe Edna, from The Awakening, might be starting a path that might lead Mr. Pontellier to take her to an asylum, "It sometimes entered Mr. Pontellier's mind to wonder if his wife were not growing a little unbalanced mentally. He could see plainly that she was not herself."(75). It would not surprise me at this point of the book if he did do this, since she had a drastic change of attitude towards herself and her usual lifestyle. She does not accept the role of  a "loving mother and a dutiful housewife", as described in the article. On the contrary, she is moving away from these stereotypical roles and "grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before."(36) She has also started speaking up to Mr. Pontellier, which was something uncommon in those times. 

Edna also talks about her discontent and has had several outbreaks. She did not find color in her life until she met Robert, who brought back meaning to her existence.  When he left, she started missing him, but became rebellious and started to do new activities and exploring new grounds. It was clear that she was discontented with her life, like when she heard Mademoiselle Reisz play the piano and "saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her."(33-34) 

The article mentions tranquilizers like diazepam and other drugs that were given to "stabilize" insane woman. Some became addicted, which feminists believed to be a cause of discontent in woman's lives. Edna is a perfect example of this dissatisfaction. 

Edna was desperate to find her way. Currently, she is still doing so. I wonder if she is taking these medications, or had to be treated in an asylum before. At the beginning of the book, they say that she is ill, and has to take her medication. Could this "illness" be linked to some sort of earlier outbreak that lead others to think she was insane?