Kate Chopin perfectly integrates the plot with the setting of her novel The Awakening. Various locations make Edna Pontellier a daring transgressor of outdated social conventions and enable her dynamic growth. Edna becomes accustomed to the lax customs of Grande Isle and gradually moves to a more independent state. La Chênière Caminada represents for Edna a refuge from all family obligations. However, the strict schedules and structures of New Orleans prevent Edna from continuing safely as she did in Grand Isle or Chênière, and she begins to actively rebel against the Creole way of life. Distinct environments shape Edna's personality, each eliciting different emotions and moods from her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The relaxed atmosphere of Grande Isle allows Edna the freedom to develop her opinions and desires regarding her current life. Edna experiences life without her husband, Léonce, and her children binding her, and begins “to loosen a little the mantle of reserve that has always enveloped [her]” (14). When society does not impose roles on Edna, she gains the ability to truly evaluate her life. Edna nervously realizes that the absence of her children “frees her from a responsibility that she had blindly assumed and for which fate had not prepared her” (18). Edna quickly demonstrates rudimentary stubbornness, demonstrated by her refusal to join Léonce inside for a night. She refuses to obey her husband for the sole purpose of asserting her independence, but her simple act demonstrates her growing confidence and defiance. Furthermore, Léonce's absence allows Edna to gradually neglect Creole ideals and accept Robert LeBrun as a romantic companion. At first, she rejects Robert's advances, believing that there was "no reason for her to submit to them" (11). However, after her confrontation with Léonce, Edna recognizes the futility of continuing a relationship that she knows is lifeless. Edna reveals her acceptance of Robert by inviting him to the Chênière, because “she had never had him come before…She had never seemed to want him” (33). Fittingly, Edna's physical departure from Grand Isle accompanies her emotional departure from her husband. Edna travels to Chênière Caminada, a remote island that serves as a refuge from the stifling Creole way of life. Normally, the usual duties of a mother-wife dictate Edna's schedule; now, Robert tells Edna: “We will go wherever you want… We will need… no one” (35). Robert offers Edna total freedom and does not expect her to conform to the image of the woman-mother. Likewise, as Edna physically escapes from the continent, she also escapes spiritually. Edna feels “as if she [was] being carried away by an anchor that held her firmly, whose chains were loosening” (34). In the home of a resident of La Chênière, the luxury of resting “in a strange and picturesque bed” soothes Edna, as the simple cottage presents a soothing contrast to her structured home life (36). Edna falls into a deep, peaceful sleep, then experiences one of the many awakenings referred to in the novel's title. Waking up, Edna remarks to Robert that “the whole island seems changed. A new race of beings must have arisen” (37). Edna's sleep allows her to become more and more aware of her desires. Edna can finally “realize that she herself—her current self—was in some way different from the other self” (40). This revelation prompts Edna to consider shedding "this external conforming existence" and begin to,.