The Awakening as an allegory of existentialism Kate Chopin's The Awakening, as the title suggests, is precisely this - the story of a young woman's awakening to life. Even though it is a work of fiction, Edna's character undergoes such a radical change that the psychological depth of the work cannot be ignored. The story could almost be seen as a case study. To psychologically analyze work, it is important to decide which psychological framework to use. I chose critic Cynthia Wolff who uses a Freudian framework for analysis. Wolff believes that Edna's problems are the result of oral conflicts, while I see the play more as an allegory of existentialism, and Edna's problems are the result of a lack of Being. Cynthia Wolff introduces the reader to the Freudian structure by highlighting how Edna's cyclical life relates to eating and sleeping. Wolff states, “If one were to trace the course of Edna's life during this period, the most reliable indices of the passage of time would be her meals and her periods of sleep” (Wolff 231). Since these are the most basic needs, one can quickly recognize the “infantile pattern of life” (Wolff 231) in Edna. Wolff goes on to explain that Edna does not recognize her desire for Robert to have sexual intercourse because "Edna's libidinal energies have been arrested at the pre-genital level" (Wolff 232). In Freudian terms this means that Edna's relationship with the world around her is on an oral level. This level is characteristic of very young children whose only concern is food and who try to put everything they can reach into their mouths. "Taking in" the world in this way is the child's attempt to understand and become one with the world by internalizing it. The oral deer... in the center of the card... her. Since this would not have been tolerated by the society of the time, her children would have suffered due to their mother's behavior. Since she cannot stay in a world that does not allow her to Be, she chooses to give up what has become a non-essential life for her. Note 1 The hyphens in Being-in-the-world serve to show that a Being and the world are interdependent on each other and therefore inseparable. Works Cited Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from the underground. New York: Dover, 1992.Heidegger, Martin. Fundamental writings. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.May, Rollo. Existence. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1958. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Essays on Existentialism. Secaucus: Carrol Publishing Group, 1997. Wolff, Cynthia. "Thanatos and Eros." The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Ed. Margo Culley. New York: Norton, 1994. 231-41.