In The Awakening, we embark upon a character, Edna Pontillier, who needed change and she felt it strong enough to act on it when she met Robert. Life was incomplete for her. Instead of continuing down the same loathsome path, she opened herself up to self-criticism. Her focus was on shedding the facade that she had become accustomed to adorning. Edna made me realize that to truly be free, the unecessary must be cast aside in order for one's true self to shine through. Chopin's resolution is not to put fortha feeling of dismay, but depict an appropriate finale to this woman's journey of self-discovery.