Edna is famous for chafing against what society expects of her. I thought of her when I read this week that a 18 year old girl was suing her parents.
Here's the article:
CNN Article and Video Here
So what do you think? How is the Rachel in this story like Edna? How are the two different?
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ReplyDeleteI accidentally answered the question on the assignments board, and not the one put here.Here is my actual response.
DeleteWhat I think: She is soiled, crazy, and maybe something more.
Rachel v. Edna: They are in their own ways crazy. While Edna was never one for raising her children, she completely forgot about them as she pursued her personal wants. Rachel in the same way tried to break off her connection with her parents, although she tried to cut off a block from her parent's cheese. That is actually the main difference: Edna left it all behind and tried to live on her own while paying the bills with her skills. Rachael had the full opportunity to do this, as she could get a scholarship, and had a part-time job.
Christopher~
DeleteI agree with your statement that both of these characters are spoiled and deranged. It is very interesting to discuss the differences between these two characters. As you stated, Edna left it all behind and sought out her own independence, while Rachel had many a opportunity, but she chose to reject her parental authority. Both characters reveal a selfish and prideful heart that is very disheartening to the reader.
I too agree with your response, both Edna and Rachel need self discipline and a little more consideration towards her family. It is funny how these characters are so similar but, they have one thing that isn't common and is very important, which is the family's support. Edna decided to leave and become independent with no worries. Rachel tried becoming independent and realized that she couldn't on her own, so decided to put a lawsuit on her own parents. Rachel did this knowing that her parents lover her,support her, and want the best for her. They were both blinded with selfishness, arrogance, and pride.
DeleteBoth Edna and Rachel illustrate a deceptive and selfish response. These characters are being enabled by their current surrounds and make excuses to justify their case. Both are creating a sorrowful 'story' and are being ignorant to their own sin, enabling them to pursue their own prideful lusts. The two differ in their surrounding support (Leonce and Rachel's parents). While Leonce cares very little about Edna's actions, Rachel's parents care very much about her and are in hope that she will return to their home with a repentant spirit.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have to say about the two girls' differences. Rachel's parents will always love her know matter what she does because they are her parents, and they want what is best for her. Edna does not have a family member like this. Her husband cares more about work than her, Her love affair likes her, but most likely will not love her eternally, and her father will not be at Edna's side through this incident, or even at all.
DeleteEdna and Rachel are similar because they have their own version of their story inside their heads. This story may not be what is really happening in real life; it is just a story to try to gain sympathy or sorrow. No matter what others think or say to them, both girls will continue to go about and do or go where they want. We see this in Rachel's case and in Edna's story. Rachel and Edna are different because Rachel still has a family that cares for her and wants the best for her. Edna does not have a family that gives her eternal love and care. In fact, Leonce does not care much for his wife and her actions at all.
ReplyDeleteYour description of their world views being a "story" is apt. The view that they have is only one sided and narrow minded. They see and portray what they want shown.
DeleteI personally haven't come to the immediate conclusion that Rachel's parents are loving and caring, it may very much be that they are in fact loving parents and Rachel is simply claiming mistreatment for her agenda, but I believe that if a person claims emotional abuse, no matter how their parents act, we shouldn't dismiss their claims based on that.
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ReplyDeleteRachel seems to be a very spoiled and selfish young lady. She has a very similar attitude to Edna in the story "Awakening". They both have to have things their way or no way. For example, Rachel lawsuit her parents to pay for her college tuition. I'm sure her parents would have been more than happy to pay for it if it wasn't because she had a bad attitude and didn't want to obey at home and decided to leave. They are similar because, they both want to go their own ways without any worries but, they don't realize that they still need help from others to continue on. Rachel and Edna are different because, Rachel actually has a family that cares for her unconditionally but, Edna has a family who barely cares of what she does. Edna's husband doesn't really care what happens to his wife or what she will do next.
ReplyDeleteRachel, apparent in the case article, is a selfish and spoiled girl who does not realize the weight of her actions. She has a loving home, but she has no regard for her family's feelings or rules. Edna has a similar attitude. Both Edna and Rachel want things to be their way or the highway, they want to live life how they see fit, not how the world tells them too. They are contrast though, because Rachel has a healthy support system at home with two loving parents and siblings. Edna has a family, but her husband sees her as an accessory, not as a wife and does not care what she does so long as she puts up pretenses.
ReplyDeleteRachel's actions are disgusting. You are right in saying that Rachel has "a healthy support system" that contrasts with Edna's family. This fact makes Rachel's actions appear all the worse than Edna's. However, actions should not be blamed on a person's environment (or family in this case). In any case, a person chooses to act in the way they do, and blaming the family is not a worthy excuse. So, I cannot say that because Edna lacks a "healthy support system" she is justified in her actions.
DeleteWell said, I like how you put that. True that Edna doesn't have a good support system and that is not cared for (especially by her husband) the way that she should, but from the direction that the story is headed, is she still in the right to act the way that she does? I agree with what Diego said. I think there should be a balance, being a complete doormat like she was is definitely not the answer, but I don't think completely becoming self-absorbed is either; there should be middle ground in there somewhere.
DeleteI agree with you Rachel has no idea what it is like to lack in something and takes everything for granted. Edna was striving for something to make her happier.
DeleteRachel and Edna are similar in the way they act- they both are focused primarily on themselves and want things done their way. Rachel is stubborn and seemingly manipulative. It seems she just did not want to listen to any rules, and thus left the house. She believes she should be privileged enough to abandon her parents, but still have their support. Edna similarly abandons the opinions of others, as well as her husband, though she does not have a family wishing for her back.
ReplyDeleteBoth Rachel and Edna want their independence, but they go about it in different ways. While Edna finds herself a new house and leaves her familiar obligations in doing so, Rachel leaves her family and turns against them, trying to force on them her selfish desires. Edna, chooses to not be close to her family, both in location and in relationship, like Rachel; but pursues her selfishness without turning against her family and demanding that they support her. While Rachel defies her responsibility to her family and still demands from them, Edna maintains some responsibility toward her family (visits her children, communicates with her husband) and does not demand from them. Even though both Edna and Rachel are selfish and driven for independence, Edna is more responsible and more independent than Rachel.
ReplyDeleteI think that, although both Edna and Rachel are searching for more independence, they are not very similar. Rachel was trying to be independent by forcing her parents to bend to her wishes, and when they would not she enacted and almost forced dependence. By the sound of the article she willingly left home to stand on her own two feet, but when that proved difficult wanted to be supported, if she truly wanted to be separate from them she (now being 18 as well) could simply postpone her collage plans a few years and start working to support herself instead of demanding their financial aid by wanting nothing to do with them. Edna is distancing herself emotionally and becoming increasingly self absorbed, this "awakening" that is portrayed as a freedom in the story is really to obsession of herself with want she desires. A level of this I believe is good and healthy, you must make take care of yourself - but when you become so consumed that there is little else on you mind but your mood today there is always trouble near to follow. While Rachel strikes out for independence Edna is simply becoming disinterested with everything in her life that does not satisfy a inner emptiness.
ReplyDeleteBoth Edna and Rachel are searching for independence. There is a huge difference in time and situation though. Edna moves to a new house because she has a feeling that this isn't what she is meant to do if it were she would be happier. Rachel is just a teenager that doesn't know the reality of life. She moved out realized she couldn't make it on her own so now she is forcing her parents to support her decision instead of just admitting that she was wrong. Edna did not force her family to support her only maybe to just respect her decisions.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Another difference is when they realize they cannot make it on their own, and realized that what they are doing they cannot continue to do.Edna tried to minimize the suffering of others, even by a small bit, by drowning herself. Rachael instead decided to stubbornly sick to her path, and try to rationalize her decision by burning her figurative bridges as painfully as possible.
DeleteI agree that the main difference is how they search for independence, Edna doesn't ask her family to support her she's fine making it on her own, but Rachel feels her parents owe her.
DeleteI agree with your main idea, but disagree with your point about Rachel not knowing "the reality of life"; it is possible for her to know what she is talking about. There is definitely more to Rachel's story than what is being released to the public and I think we, as students, should remember that in our responses.
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ReplyDeleteI believe Edna and Rachel have similar qualities, they both seek independence from the people close to them. When it comes to Rachel's situation, I don't believe that her home life is that cut and dry.
ReplyDeleteBoth Rachel and her attorney have stated that her home situation is abusive and unhealthy. We don't know what her household is like, a lot of people are quick to condemn her as "spoiled" and maybe that's the case, but her claims of emotional abuse should NOT automatically dismissed because she's privileged and young.
Asking for them to support her on top of that though, seems a bit far fetched, I understand if she wishes to live away from her parents for personal reasons,but asking them to pay for her is over the line.
So I think the main difference between Edna and Rachel is that when Edna breaks free she doesn't want anything from the people she's breaking free from, Rachel however, believes her parents should still support her even though she wants to be dependent from them.
I feel the same about her parents paying for her. If she wants to be independent, that obviously means she can't rely on her parents. You can't have both here.
DeleteLooking from both sides, I find Rachel to be more at a fault, due to the evidence of abuse seemingly ruled "unproven." But, then again, we don't know all the facts.
Rachel and Edna are similar in their approach to individuality and independence. Both of them have histories of sticking up for themselves and both of them stuck to their guns.
ReplyDeleteHowever, through Rachel's situation if her allegations to being verbally abused and threatened turned out to be true than the ruling would most likely come out differently, but because people seem to think she is spoiled and snobby, she is immediately counted off as being a liar. When watching the video, the judge said something along the lines of "Next we'll be letting 13-year-old's sue their parents for an X-Box" and not only is that disrespectful towards the situation, but it also compares something as CRUCIAL as a solid education to something as virtually useless as a gaming console. Overall I think the situation is very twisted and convoluted and there is undoubtedly more to the story.
Originally, I find it hard to compare between Rachel and Edna, because Edna was a character that the author seemed to fully understand, and thus allow us to understand, while on the other hand, I don't understand Rachel's entire situation. But, if you're implying that we look at Rachel by simply the news article, well...
ReplyDeleteSimilarities are easily seen by the initial situation, in which both Edna and Rachel are both trying to seemingly find independence from their dependent situations, from which the people they originally depended on are against it. Both desire to escape their restraints, and both seem to be spurred on by an inner desire of sorts. Both are also spurred by love - or lust, subjectively.
What may be different is the fact that Rachel seems to hold an individual ego from the start -as if she was subjected to a Victorian-style social putdown by all sides. She likely contains outlets through her schoolmates, peers, and boyfriend-, while Edna is just discovering the idea of thinking for herself. Edna finds herself different from her husband and peers due to her belief in a different Christian branch, while Rachel seems to be Catholic like her peers, considering her original terms was to stay in school with them.
Also, both seem to have a penchant for drama, if the way Edna seems to have turned her infatuation to Robert into a heat-firing "passion," while Rachel seems to have her entire situation blown up to frontline news.
Again, this is just a comparison of Edna and the general impression of Rachel I'm getting. If you're on her side, show me an article with a different side of the story. I honestly can't take this abuse allegations seriously, because it looks like Rachel has been getting into the crux of her rebellious stage. And it seems to be ruled unproven. Honestly, her face looks like mine when I used to get on hissy-fits with my mum. Luckily, we're over that.