The circumstances surrounding Edna’s death at the end of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening have long been a topic of debate among literary scholars and readers. The ending of the novel is left open to interpretation since the text does not explicitly state Edna died. However, the most widely believed notion is that Edna committed suicide. This is likely the end of Edna’s life because throughout the novel Edna becomes more despondent and depressed. This theme beings in early in the novel when “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness filled her whole being with a vague anguish.” (Chopin 9)
Following this event, Edna grows increasingly more detached from her husband, kids, housework, and other social obligations. After her husband leaves for a long business trip, she gets worse. Dissatisfied by her duties as a wife and mother, Edna sends her children away for the summer and even moves into a smaller home. She also has small affairs with two different men. Although there are small moments of feverish like joy, one can clearly interpret that Edna was mentally ill, displaying classic signs of Bipolar Disorder or Manic-Depression. Even though no clinical diagnosis is given, additional support for this belief is present in the work when she is approached by Doctor Mandelet. He urges her to make an appointment with him to seek treatment so she can discuss her feelings. She, however, refuses to take his advice.
Enda is dealing with a constant internal struggle with her identity throughout the novel. The realization that she will never be content with her life, as a wife and mother, in a depressive phase of her illness is what ultimately led Edna into the water, to end her struggle and end her life.