In the story “The Awakening” Edna Pontelier the main character of the novel was on a journey to find herself. She did not like the situation. SHe felt as if she was being held back and enslaved by the people around her.
One summer Edna takes a trip down to New Orleans and falls in love with a man named robert and had a summer romance with him. By this point the reader knew she had a husband and 2 children therefore she was having an affair trying to escape her old life.
I believe this whole book was based off Edna trying to find herself and escape the ‘chains’ that have been holding her back. In her eyes that was her family so that's what she tries to get away from and believes Robert was her ‘ticket’