The reason for which Edna Pontellier did what she did at the end of the
novel has ,in many peoples perspectives, many different meanings and reasons.
People may think one reason why she chose to end her life the way she did was
because of the fact that Robert, the man she was in love with, left her. Others may
think that it was because she was ashamed of the things she had done and thought
that it might catch up with her. There are many other reasons she might have done
what she did , though i do not think it was any of those.
Watching the movie may have given the idea that she was simply tired
of not being able to get what she wanted in pertaining to the love of Robert. It is
very easy to draw that conclusion because of the fact that they present her to us
,after the scene in which he has left, at the beach in Grand Isle. She walks along the
shore not saying a word not knowing what she might be thinking. She walks into
one of the bath houses and finds her bathing suit, puts it on, walks outside, takes it
off, goes into the water and swims out into the ocean realizing she has no intention
of returning. The idea of placing that scene right after the leaving of Robert would
make perfect sense that she killed herself because of the lost love.
There is more to the meaning to the ending of the novel than just the
abandonment of Robert. In the novel you read at the end not only that Robert
leaves and then that she kills herself but they give input into what is running through
Edna's head. The thoughts in which she thinks of are mentioned and in that you
realize how much deeper this death is than just the loss of a loved one. In the novel
it explains how Edna finally understood the meaning of her own words spoken to
Adele at one point in time. The words "she would give up the unessential, but she
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