Edna Pontellier

She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again.  Edna heard her father's voice and her sister Margaret's.  She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree.  The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch.  There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air.

-the awakening, kate chopin

got tattooed by a licensed minister. hit a car while backing out of a parking spot. arabic man inside dunkin donuts tried to shame me by shaking his head at me. decided to do the right thing and fled the scene. (i still maintain that i am a great driver). went to p.o.p.e and was surrounded by sexy scruffy men. i almost drove into a guardrail on 76 dui-ing. started slapping myself from that point on to stay awake (and alive). had the chill, drama-free time we set out to have.

so the line i got tattooed is the last line of the novel, and it describes the final moment of edna's life. she  ends her life by stripping down naked and swimming out into the ocean to let herself drown. the 'musky odor of pinks' (as well as the ocean) is an allusion to a mother's womb, symbolizing rebirth. i just love the ending because only by killing herself edna was able to set her true self free from the confines of her life, thus being reborn in a way. it might be hard to fully appreciate the ending without reading the whole book, but yes, this is my favorite book, edna pontellier is my favorite fictional character, and i am so extremely pleased with my quote.

the end.