Edna's decision to end her life marks the culmination of her journey towards self-discovery and self-realization. She had spent most of her life conforming to social conventions, suppressing her desires, and abandoning her dreams in order to fulfill her roles as a wife and mother. However, as the story unfolds, Edna undergoes a profound transformation, awakening to her own passions, desires, and sense of self-worth.
Feeling frustrated by the lack of fulfillment she finds in her marriage and traditional domestic life, Edna seeks fulfillment in her art and engages in romantic relationships outside her marriage. However, the response from others, especially from her husband Léonce, is met with judgment, criticism, and a lack of understanding. Society deems her actions as inappropriate, undermining her autonomy and agency.
Faced with the social isolation and alienation that result from her defiance of societal norms, Edna realizes the impossibility of living a life authentic to her true self within the confines of conventional society. She perceives suicide as the only means of reclaiming her freedom, escaping social constraints, and asserting her right to determine her own destiny.
Edna's suicide is a deliberate act, emphasizing the agency and power she exerts in controlling the circumstances of her own death. By choosing to end her life, she rejects the limited existence that society had imposed on her and instead embraces the boundless realm of the ocean, transcending the barriers that had restricted her.
Through Edna's suicide, Kate Chopin conveys a powerful message about the individual's right to self-expression, self-fulfillment, and personal liberty. It challenges traditional gender roles, societal expectations, and the stifling nature of social conventions that suffocate women's individuality and desires. Edna's final act becomes a symbol of liberation, an assertion of her identity, and a poignant expression of her longing for a life unburdened by society's constraints.