Edna experiences a loss when Robert leaves for Mexico, which triggers her "death drive" according to Freudian theory. This compels her to repeat actions that remind her of Robert in an attempt to gain control over her trauma and return to a state of peace. However, when Robert ultimately rejects Edna, she loses her freedom and chooses to end her own life as a way to cope with the loss and defeat expectations of society, fulfilling her "death drive" to regain control through death.