Jenny Wu - Option 1

What does Edna mean when she says  "I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself" (Ch. XVI)?

Here, Edna distinguishes between the two sides of herself, and declares her holistic, actualized self as her highest priority. There are two things to note about this statement: 1) that she says this in a dialogue with Madame Ratignolle that is comparably her devalued self and 2) that she demarcates the value by the measure of what she would give up for her children. These asides shape the meaning of her declaration. Earlier in the dialogue, Edna describes what she would give up as the "unessential," meaning things she could be without. The only thing she excludes from that statement is "[her]self." Therefore, we should consider what Edna clearly does not deem as imperatives: her husband, her marriage, her social status, her home, and the proximity of her children. These are the things that Edna relinquishes or squanders as the novel progresses. All that Madame Ratignolle stands for because she does not have the things that Edna clings to so fiercely: her art, her passions, her emotions, her individual identity. These are the things Edna establishes as she shapes herself.  When Edna says, "I would give my life for my children," she does not mean to imply that her children are worth her life, but that her life is not worth keeping.