A Soul Beyond All Others

In the socratic seminar questions for The Awakening, question number six contains a quote from Mademoiselles Reisz, in which she tells Edna that in order to succeed, "the artist must possess the courageous soul, the brave soul. The soul that dares and defies." I feel that not only does this apply to Edna, but is a generally true statement in regards to society in general, both literally and figuratively.

Edna always had a knack for painting and drawing, but could never quite get anything completely right. As the novel progressed, she became better and better with her art. Also as the novel progressed, she began to break from her social confinements. She did not obey her husband, she broke social rules, she did not care about what others thought of her or what they might say about her. She didn't keep up with callers, she went out when she pleased, she moved from her large extravegant house to a much smaller one, a "pidgeon house" if you will. Her art skill improves as her will becomes stronger and more defiant. Her will is a direct correlation to her soul and its courage to break its restraints. Could we have seen art from her after her death (a concept hard to grasp, I understand, but bear with me), as in if her death only moved her onto another world, her death (arguementatively) being a form of freedom and escape and her soul moving on bravely to a new world, then I believe the art would have been radiant.

Artists cannot have any success without first putting aside the desires of society and letting their art reflect the freedom, defiance, and daring nature of their soul. Figuratively, I feel that this is a general statement, saying that life, symbolized by art in this quote, can only be successfully lived through satisfying one's own desires and wishes. Life is only successful in the hands of those 'artists' who possess souls daring, defiant, brave, and courageous enough to do what they wish.