The Awakening Chapter 31-39 Dialectical Journal

“I always feel so sorry for women who don’t like to walk; they miss so much-so many rare little glimpses of life; and we women learn so little of life on the whole” (Chopin 144).	In this quote, Edna is comparing her love for walking to her love of freedom and desire to escape the restraints of society.  She does this by discussing a topic that majority of women tend not to like, but she particularly enjoys, and adds in unique descriptions that very accurately describe both aspects; taking walks and living freely.  Also, the topic of walking alone represents Edna’s awakening because in the society, women were expected to always be accompanied by men, and not walk for enjoyment.  However, Edna embraces every aspect of the activity.
"The years that are gone seem like dreams - if one might go on sleeping and dreaming - but to wake up and find - oh! well! perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life" (Chopin 151).	In this quote, Edna is talking to Doctor Mandelet indirectly about her awakening. By bringing up sleep and dreaming versus being awake in this quote, Chopin is comparing Edna's awakening to being awake, and all the time before this in her life as her sleeping or dreaming about life, not actually living it.  Also, in the second half of the quote, Edna is overcome with this realization about her life and how she has been living it up to this point, and how unhappy she is.  The significance of this is that Edna finds herself no longer scared of being shut out from society, but rather scared of being stuck in the oppressed society for the rest of her life, unable to do what she really wants to do.
“She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again” (Chopin 157).	This quote is in the last few lines of the book, while Edna is out in the water for her death.  In the whole book leading up to this point has been Edna’s increasing desire to escape from and not have to deal with the life that she is currently living.  She has gotten to the point where she feels that this is her only choice left for her life.  Another reoccurring factor that has been foreshadowed throughout the book has been the involvement of water, which has now lead up to her death by water.