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The Awakening, by Kate Chopin <Sho-pan>, a la Shmoop.

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Everybody makes mistakes. And sometimes, they’re a good way to learn stuff, like not to put

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the car into reverse when you’re on the freeway…

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…and the importance of putting down your coffee cup before checking your watch.

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Then there’s the self-sabotage. The haircut you gave yourself before school picture day.

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Or the study session you blew off so you could unlock the next level of Call of Duty.

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Sure, the outcome wasn’t great, but it was definitely a product of your decision.

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Usually, we emerge from our misadventures unscathed, and ready to screw up another day.

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Ain't life grand? In Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, feisty

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heroine Edna is having a rough time adjusting to life as an independent woman.

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She finally managed to ditch her husband and score a hottie bad boy. She’s even starting

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to make a name for herself as a painter.

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But then her "hear me roar" philosophy scares away the man she really wants…

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…and she starts getting visits from the Guilt Fairy.

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Edna's next move is to make a grand exit by drowning in the ocean.

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Sure, she's a drama queen, but is this really the ending she intended? Was Edna's drowning

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a suicide… or an accident? There are some pretty substantial arguments

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for the "oopsie" theory.

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Edna isn't exactly in a “safety first” mindset at this point. She's heartbroken and

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freaking out about the future…not the best time for a little dip!

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Sure, Edna’s a pretty moody gal, but she's got a lot to look forward to. She's finding

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buyers for her paintings, and she has a pretty sweet bachelorette pad.

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She's even making plans to bring home a couple rebound boyfriends. Why would Edna deliberately

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end it all when she is finally achieving her goals?

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Or, maybe Edna’s swan song is really an attempt to push the envelope.

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Her friend Mademoiselle Reisz <Rice> tells her that, to succeed, she must become a "courageous

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soul that dares and defies." In other words, art isn’t for wimps.

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So how does Edna raise the shock factor after having two affairs and sort of leaving her

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husband? Well, nothing says “I’m a risk-taker” quite like skinny-dipping in broad daylight.

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The problem is, Edna is no Michael Phelps. She might be setting a personal record by

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swimming farther than she has before…

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…but by the end of the book, it’s “Ocean:1, Edna: 0.”

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But what if Edna really did go on a suicide swim? She doesn’t have 99 problems, but

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she’s got a few really big ones.

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The early 1900s weren’t exactly about bra-burning and free love…

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…and Edna’s behavior may have serious consequences.

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If the news of her affairs ever went… viral, Edna’s husband could easily make sure she

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never saw her children again.

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There are also risks to her social life. Edna’s best friend, Adele, tells Edna to dump her

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man-candy, or she’ll be flying solo for the next girl’s night out.

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Even Edna’s crush is too chicken to handle a steamy affair... he'd rather make an honest

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woman of her.

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Edna has to choose between free life as an outcast and caged life as a man’s property,

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and maybe that’s a decision she doesn’t want to make.

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So what’s the verdict in this episode of CSI: New Orleans:

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Accident…

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…or suicide? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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