So far, Edna Pontellier has done her best to live up to the expectations handed down to her since childhood. She has realized that she is not capable of following the rules expected of the patriarchal society. She gradually begins to resist and no longer obey her husband. When Mr. Pontellier began giving her orders, things she would normally have obeyed, she began to resist the idea of ​​being her own wife. Edna felt like a failure. She “not marrying a man interested in an egalitarian marriage made her believe that it would be easier to simply conform” (Kampenberg). Since then, Edna has gained enough determination to be able to not comply with her husband's wishes. She had found herself like all the women of Grade Isle, following the roles of patriarchal society. Edna has sympathy for these women and the ability they have to destroy their images. Edna finds herself defying her husband, as she did in the past with her father by marrying a Catholic man he did not approve of. Edna turns out to be more real than she pretended. Mr. Pontellier was upset by her actions but followed the doctor's advice, "letting her do what she wanted" (Chopin 119). It would be the awakening that would open her eyes, that would give her the feeling of having control over herself. Carley Rees Bogard says that "her first effort to assert herself, her first act of rebellion, was to refuse to make love to her husband for whom she had never felt any desire." However, “there has been too much emphasis on his sexual experience and not enough attention on his other efforts to become a whole person…” (Bogard). Edna begins to show that she believes in...... middle of paper......utities. Edna cries every night because of the depression she has experienced in her life: “She couldn't have said why she was crying. Such experiences were not uncommon in his married life” (Chopin 14). Edna has always been preoccupied with the role of the patriarchal woman, but now she finds it difficult to play the role of an accommodating woman. Works CitedWork CitedBeer, Janet. Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Studies in Short Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. Print. Chopin, Kate. Awakening. New York: Avon, 1972. Print. Kampenberg, Kristin. "Edna's Failure to Find Her Female Role in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." (2006): n. page. Internet. February 16, 2014.Ray, Suranjita. “Understanding patriarchy.” (nd): n. page. Internet. February 16, 2014.Tierney, Helen. Encyclopedia of Women's Studies. Flight. 2. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. Print.