Even though Edna's awakening causes her to suffer from the wisdom and self-awareness it offers her, the year of joy and understanding that accompanies this suffering is worth more to Edna than a lifetime of semi-conscious submission that defined her former existence. According to Edna, living with self-awareness, possessed and controlled solely by one's own soul, offers a much richer existence than a life lived according to the restrictive "illusions" imposed by human expectations..