Oh boy! I’m upset with the ending.
Realistically I guess Edna couldn’t have ended up with Robert unless they were always hiding their affair, and we know she’s not happy with her marriage, but suicide?? Oh Edna :(( I think what drove her to it the most was because of what Madame Ratignolle said to her, “remember the children,” and since we already know Edna would not give herself for them, she must have felt utterly trapped by her position–and Robert’s disappearance worsened her condition. I wonder if before she went on that swim Edna considered pressing for a divorce, but then again that would have caused more issues to arise in the future regarding her social standing and her children, so I can see how claustrophobic she must have felt.
Edna’s suicide is reminiscent of the beginning of the book where she does not know how to swim, except we know that she learned–and for a while, she enjoyed it–so that implies that at some point in the last few pages where she went farther than necessary, she stopped and willingly drowned. All of her worries regarding her relationships with her family, friends, and the man she loves must have felt overwhelming and added a strain on her mental health to the point where she just wanted to let them all go in a manner of her own choosing. At least her passing was through her own decision, which is all she wanted anyway: Control over her own life.
Side note, out of curiosity I watched the film Grand Isle (1991) directed by Mary Lambert which is an adaptation of the novel and although it didn’t give off the same “coming of age/mid-life crisis” vibe on its own like the narration and prose in the novel did, it was cool to see the characters moving and speaking and interacting with each other. They really nailed Mademoiselle Reisz and Robert, but I wanted to see more of Edna second guessing herself and her behavior. I also don’t think there was a scene of her crying on Grand Isle at midnight, which was pivotal to her awakening, so there was already something missing from the production. Some of the cutscenes were abrupt but the soundtrack was absolutely beautiful. Overall, I enjoyed experiencing both texts!
Leave a Reply