The concept of death can be interpreted in various ways. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, use death to depict an inner theme of their novels. Each novel has a character that dies in a unique way that symbolizes a particular theory. The suicide of Edna, and the ill death of Kurtz, signifies the notion that if human beings choose to seclude themselves from civilization or the methods of society then they shall ultimately end in isolation.

Edna, the main character in The Awakening, results in taking her own life. Edna lives in a time period where certain things are expected of her as a woman, a wife and as a mother in society. An exemplar of a outstanding female in her society is one, "who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it as holy privilege to efface themselves as...