Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, written in 1857 and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, written in 1899, both show the life of two women who unconsciously look forward to accomplishing their dreams but not knowing what it is they are seeking. Edna and Emma, the protagonists of Madame Bovary and The Awakening respectively, are faced with a conflict between external domination and their own free will, which eventually leads them to take their lives. They feel immensely dissatisfied with the lives they had and find suicide to be the only alternative. They differ in their attitudes toward their children, husbands, and lovers. They also have different approaches concerning themselves, their affairs, and society. Although they both commit suicide for similar reasons, they undergo different death scene. In their destruction it shows how their behavior and mood is different. Kate Chopin overall, shows a different point of view to Edna's purpose in society, where Gustave Flaubert in Madame Bovary, Emma's image is described as an unstable person who wants illusion to become real. The two books have the theme of imprisonment and free will; yet differ vastly with respect to the desires of the main characters.
             Edna and Emma have different attitudes toward their children. Edna do not want children at all; she didn't seem to give them love and nurture as mothers usually do. She also seems as if she doesn't care about them or their health. For example, ___" 'It's a girl,' said Charles. She turns away her head and fainted."(Flaubert) __________. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of the novel, places herself as the individual against society from the beginning of the novel. Throughout initial chapters, her erratic characteristics and actions lead to a breakdown of her moral integrity. These behaviors permit her eventually to become a woman that not only her Creole culture, but civilization in general no longer acce...