Sara Fox - 4/28/2021
Mrs. Shelley-Barnes Reduction Template
Title: The Awakening
Author: Kate Chopin
Published: 1899
Genre: Bildungsroman, Kunstleroman
Writing Style:Concise, deliberate
POV: 3rd person omniscent
Setting/Atmosphere: New Orleans, Grand Isle (island in the Gulf of Mexico
where wealthy families summered)
Characters:
Edna Pontellier: From Kentucky, married to a Creole, has two children, marries out of
rebellion, lives a fairly normal domestic life for several years, one summer begins to
undergo a sexual and personal “awakening”, is in love with Robert, moody, becomes
intimate with a third man and is confused with all of her desires, impulsive, drowns herself
Leoncé Pontellier: Edna’s husband, wants Edna to be a more devoted housewife, thinks
she doesn’t care about her children enough, not especially demanding of her, immersed in
his business interests, spends little time with Edna, covers up for her antics
Mademoiselle Reisz: Little old lady, wears lots of black, talented pianist, friend of both
Robert and Edna, becomes especially close with Edna in New Orleans, reads her Robert’s
letters
Adéle Ratignolle: Motherly lady, confidante of Edna during the summer, sees Edna’s nature
is different from that of many Creole women, very friendly, musically inclined, has many
children
Robert Lebrun: Edna’s love interest, he falls in love with her during a summer on Grand
Isle, typically flirts with women playfully during the summer without any true intent, Edna is
different, goes to Mexico allegedly to seek better financial fortunes, it is suspected he
actually just can’t bear to be near Edna and not be able to have her, returns and is distant
from Edna, they finally meet up and confess their love, but he leaves and appears to reach
the conclusion that he cannot really be with her
Alcée Arobin: Flirtatious young man of high society in New Orleans, has a reputation as a
womanizer, eagerly pursues Edna, she gives in a little to his physical advances but does not
love him.
Mr. Ratignolle: Adéle’s husband. Pontellier children: Two young boys, have a nanny, spend
a lot of time with their grandparent in the country, enjoy life on the farm more than in the
city. Lady in black: Very religious, summers on Grand Isle, appears to be supervising the two
lovers, frequently seen around them.
Two lovers: summering on Grand Isle, not named, spend a lot of time quietly whispering to
each other, sneaking away. Farival twins: young twin girls, very modest, their parents have
already committed them to be nuns, play the piano.
Mariequita: young, pretty Spanish girl, lives near Grand Isle, knows Robert, frequently
jealous. Madam Antoine: friendly lady, lives on a neighboring isle, hosts Edna and Robert.
Victor Lebrun: Robert’s rebellious brother, allegedly the favorite of their mother, likes to
mess around, stays with his mother in the city occasionally
Doctor Mandelet: Semi-retired doctor, family friend of the Pontelliers, wise about human
nature
The Colonel: Edna’s father, former military man, somewhat gruff, him and Edna get along
decently well. Janet: Edna’s younger sister, getting married during the book, described as a
bit of a “vixen”, slightly rebellious
Significance of Title:
“The Awakening” represents Edna’s sexual awakening, and also the awakening of her
personal desires and individuality throughout the book.
Plot:
The story begins on Grand Isle, a place full of summer homes for wealthy French Creoles from New Orleans, Leoncé Pontellier is reading
the paper, sees his wife, Edna, walking towards him with Robert Lebrun, is annoyed with his wife for being out in the sun too much, invited
Robert to go to play billiards with him, Robert turns him down, Leoncé goes to play, Robert and Edna talk about their plans for the summer,
Edna reflects on her childhood in Kentucky, Leoncé returns late from the club, he checks on his children, he tells his wife one of them
appears to have a fever, Edna is unconcerned and says he was fine when she went to bed, Leoncé is irritated and thinks Edna is not
attentive enough as a mother, Edna checks on the boys and returns to bed, Leoncé falls asleep but Edna remains awake, reflecting on how
she feels oppressed in her current lifestyle, the next day Leoncé leaves on a business trip, he sends Edna presents from his trip, and all the
other women remark on what a good husband Leoncé is, Robert, Adéle, and Edna are sitting out talking, Robert recollects how he
used to semi-comically court Adéle, however Robert’s interactions with Edna are more serious and less playful, Edna is sketching
Adéle, she finishes and while Adéle likes it, Edna thinks it doesn’t look like Adéle at all and crumples it up, Edna returns home, Adéle has a
brief fainting spell which Edna suspects is faked, Robert coerces Edna to go for a swim with him, Edna listens to the mythical sound of the
sea, Edna reflects on how she is a very private person, however, during the summer with Adéle she begins to loosen up, Adéle and Edna
walk down to the beach arm in arm, they go to Edna’s bathhouse and sit and talk, Edna relates how the ocean reminds her of the sea of
grass in her childhood home, Kentucky, two lovers sit under the children’s umbrella, the lady in black is sitting out and reading, Adéle is
affectionate towards Edna, Edna is confused by this, none of the women in her family were particularly loving towards her, she
thinks about her sudden, rebellious marriage to Leoncé, Edna thinks about the inconsistency of her own affection towards her children,
Robert appears with Adéle and Edna’s children in tow, he walks Adéle back to her house, on the walk back Adéle warns Robert not to be too
serious in his courting of Edna, Adéle fears Edna won’t understand and will take him seriously, Robert is offended and ask why Edna
shouldn’t, Adéle tells him that he will ruin his good reputation if he overtly tries to seduce a married woman. Several weeks later, Madame
Lebrun throws a party at her home, the Farival twins and Adéle play the piano, Robert goes to fetch Mademoiselle Reisz to ask her to play
for Edna, Mademoiselle Reisz’s playing brings Edna to tears, she is very emotional, Mademoiselle Reisz says that Edna is the only person
worth playing for, Robert suggests that the party go for a nighttime swim, Edna is confused by the way Robert is sometimes very attached
to her, and other times quite distant, Edna is hesitant about going into the water because she does not know how to swim, many people
have tried to teach her but she struggles, however she suddenly feels compelled to do it and goes into the water, she swims out a bit and
feels thrilled, after a little while she turns and looks back, the shore seems quite far, she feels a bit afraid and starts to swim back, once
back on the land she immediately dresses and heads for home despite the entreaties of the other guests and her husband to get her to
stay, Robert goes after Edna, she asks him if he thinks she is afraid to walk home alone, he reassures her that he know she is not afraid, but
he doesn’t know why he ran after her, he tells her a story, when they get to Edna’s house, she collapses into a hammock, Robert decides to
stay with her until her husband returns from the beach, they stay there quietly until they hear the party returning from the beach, then
Robert says goodbye and leaves. Leoncé arrives and tries to get Edna to go inside to bed, Edna refuses and feels her newfound
freedom, Leoncé stays outside with her, smoking cigars and drinking wine, he offers wine to Edna but she refuses, when Edna finally
gets tired and goes inside, it is just before dawn, Leoncé stays out a little bit longer, Edna awakes after a few hours of sleep, most people
are asleep but some are awake and preparing to take a boat to another island for Sunday mass, Edna goes to fetch Robert to ask him to go
to mass with her, they go on the boat, Robert sees Mariequita, he talks to her for a bit, then returns to talking to Edna, they discuss plans
for the summer, during the middle of the church service, Edna starts to feel unwell, they go outside, he takes her to the cottage of Madame
Antoine, she sleeps for a long time, she eats when she awakes, Robert and Edna talk to Madame Antoine as dusk falls, Edna and Robert
return home, Adéle tells Edna her youngest son—Etienne—refuses to go to bed, Edna soothes him to sleep, Edna is informed that once
Leoncé was aware that Edna was safe and just resting, he left for the club on business, Edna is sad when Robert leaves for home. One
evening at dinner, Edna learns that Robert intends to go to Mexico that evening, Edna is shocked, she spent all morning with Robert and he
didn’t mention it, he tells her he just decided that afternoon, Edna returns home, Madame Lebrun asks her and Adéle to come stay with her
until Robert leaves, Edna refuses, Robert stops by before he leaves and promises to write, after he leaves she frequently visits Madame
Lebrun, she is saddened to learn that Robert has sent a letter to Madame Lebrun but not her, it seems natural to everyone else around that
Edna misses Robert, Edna meets Mademoiselle Reisz on the beach just before the end of the summer, they talk about Robert,
Mademoiselle Reisz informs Edna that Victor is Madame Lebrun’s favorite, she gives Edna her address in New Orleans and tells her to visit.
Leoncé and Edna’s home in New Orleans is very lavish, Leoncé frequently brings home new elaborate decor, Edna typically receives
visitors every Tuesday, one Tuesday Leoncé comes home to find Edna in a housedress, he asks her about it, she tells him she didn’t
see visitors that day, Leoncé is upset, he worries that Edna shirking her social duties could affect his economic prospects, he thinks the
meal the chef has prepared is subpar and leaves to take his dinner at the club, Edna goes upstairs, throws off her ring, and shatters a vase,
Edna goes to visit Adéle the next day and takes her sketches, Adéle praises Edna’s handiwork, Edna eats dinner with Adéle and her
husband, sees a view of ideal domesticity and realizes she doesn’t desire it at all, Edna completely stops taking callers on Tuesdays, Leoncé
is greatly irritated by her shirking of her social and domestic duties, he is concerned that she is mentally unwell, Edna goes to visit
Mademoiselle Reisz, at the address she was given she finds a new family, Mademoiselle Reisz has moved, Edna goes to see Madame Lebrun
to see if she knows where Mademoiselle Reisz lives now, Victor answers the door, they have a brief discussion about his escapades at night
in the city, Madame Lebrun arrives, Victor recounts the contents of Robert’s letters from Mexico, Edna is sad that she has received no
letters, and that there were no messages to her in the other letters, Madame Lebrun gives Edna Mademoiselle Reisz’ new address,
Mademoiselle Reisz is pleased to see Edna, she tells Edna she got a letter from Robert, the letter is almost entirely about Edna, Edna wants
to see it but Mademoiselle Reisz refuses, plays a song for Edna that Robert wanted her to hear, and allows her to read the letter, Edna is
very emotional, Mademoiselle Reisz tells her she can return at any time, Leoncé talks to Doctor Mandelet about his concerns about Edna,
the doctor asks about who she is associating with, Leoncé says she’s hardly associating with anyone at all, the doctor suggests that she go
to her sister’s wedding, Leoncé says that Edna has made it very clear she isn’t going, Edna’s father comes to visit to pick out a wedding gift
and new outfit, she takes him to Adéle’s musical party, Edna is attentive to her father, Doctor Mandelet comes over for dinner, he
doesn’t notice anything especially wrong with Edna, she seems excited about the day she spent at the racetrack with her father,
Edna and the Colonel argue over her refusal to attend Janet’s wedding, Leoncé says he will attend to make up for Edna’s absence, the
Colonel tries to get Leoncé to be more assertive and controlling over Edna, Edna becomes much more affectionate towards Leoncé before
he leaves on his trip, the children are also leaving to go stay with Leoncé’s mother on a farm in the country, after Leoncé and the children
leaves, Edna’s mood fluctuate, one day, Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp invite Edna to go to the racetrack with them, they have gone
together before, they have a good time, Alcée walks Edna home after dinner with the High Camps and invites her to go with him again
sometime, they go again another day, just Alcée and Edna, Alcée is very bold and flirtatious, at Edna’s home afterwards, he is quite forward
with her, she send him away, feels no disloyalty to her husband, but instead feels disloyal to Robert, Alcée writes Edna an elaborate letter
of apology, Edna is flippant and regrets taking him so seriously, she frequently visits Mademoiselle Reisz, one day she decides to move to a
smaller house down the block, she allows Edna to read Robert’s letters, Edna is shocked to find out that Robert will soon be returning
to New Orleans, later in the evening Alcée visits Edna, they talk for awhile and later kiss, when Alcée leaves Edna is sad, she realizes
she didn’t kiss him at all out of love, Alcée arrives on a later day, finds Edna preparing to move to the smaller house, she will host a dinner
celebration to celebrate her move, the dinner celebration is exclusive and elaborate, many of her high society friends attend, and
Mademoiselle Reisz, Mrs. Highcamp and Victor mess around, Edna is frustrated with them, Alcée stays behind after everyone leaves and
accompanies her to the small house, Leoncé sends a letter disapproving of Edna’s move, he arranges a remodel to make sure that the
move does not appear to publicly represent financial difficulties for the family, Edna enjoys a visit to her children at the farm, Adéle comes
to talk to Edna about her concerns about Edna living alone and seeing Alcée, Edna goes to visit Mademoiselle Reisz, Mademoiselle is not
home, a caller knocks on the door, it is Robert, he has been home for a few days, Edna is shocked to see him, asks him why he didn’t write,
he gives a weak excuse, they return to her home, he sees a photograph of Alcée and asks about it, Edna changes the subject, they talk
about his time in Mexico, during dinner they are reserved, after dinner they talk a little, Alcée arrives and provokes Robert, after Robert
leaves, Alcée asks Edna to go out for a drive, Edna refuses, the next day she gets letters from Alcée, her children, and Leoncé, she answers
all but Alcée, she wants Robert to visit but he does not, she rarely goes out, one day she accepts Alcée’s invitation to the lake, one day she
unexpectedly meets Robert at a small cafe, they talk for awhile, they go to Edna’s home, they kiss and confess their love for one another,
Robert speaks of wanting to marry Edna, she replies that she is not Leoncé’s possession, Robert seems shocked, Edna’s servant interrupts
to tell Edna that Adéle is in labor and wants Edna, Edna promises Robert that she will return shortly, Edna feels uncomfortable during
Adéle’s childbirth, Doctor Mandelet walks Edna home and offers to be her confidante if she ever needs one, when she gets home she finds
Robert has left, leaving a note that says “goodby because I love you”, Edna visits Grand Isle in the offseason, goes down to the beach and
puts on her swimsuit, then she takes it off, goes into the ocean naked and drowns herself.
Quotes:
“A characteristic which distinguished them and which impressed Mrs. Pontellier most forcibly was their entire absence of
prudery. Their freedom of expression was at first incomprehensible to her, though she had no difficulty reconciling it with a
lofty chastity which in the Creole woman seems to be inborn and unmistakable” (p. 9) This quote reinforces the
pervasiveness of gender roles at the time, even in a society of Creoles where everyone was incredibly open and free to talk
about anything, women are still expected to maintain their inherent chastity and demureness, and even in a society that is
liberated, they are still expected to be the most repressed
“She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum
before.” (p. 27). This quote reflects Edna’s attitude and actions throughout the novel, during the novel she is undergoing an
“awakening” of sorts, she is discovering herself as an individual and realizing her own strengths, when she learns to swim it
is similar to how she learns that, even as a woman, she has independent desires and autonomy, and at first, she thinks she
is much stronger than she is and can swim much farther, and wants to be the best of the woman, so it is with her discovery
of herself, at first she is incredibly rebellious, and only later realizes that even her individualistic actions have consequences
to
“‘I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself.’”
(p. 47, Edna). Edna is trying to explain to Adéle the difference between giving up her life for her children and giving up
herself, this quote illustrates the difference to Edna of her personality and her individuality and the things that make her
herself, and how while those things are intangible, they matter greatly to her, even more so than her life. Adéle does not
really grasp this distinction.
Themes:
Solitude: Edna is a very solitary person, when she is alone throughout the book she typically has profound thoughts and
realizations, during times of change within herself she frequently refuses visitors and doesn’t leave her home, characters
who are nearly always in the company of others are often portrayed as lacking depth as individuals
Self expression: Edna expresses herself verbally, becoming less and less restrained throughout the book, she openly
professes her feelings and her growing ability to do this is central to the book, she also expresses herself through her art,
and other characters—Mademoiselle Reisz especially—express themselves through music
Gender roles: Throughout the novel, Edna encounters and defies gender roles, woman are described in terms of how well
they perform their roles as mothers, Edna’s husband is primarily concerned with her performance at her wifely duties, he
only begins to worry about her mental state when he sees her shirking her household duties, Adéle is promoted as the ideal
domestic woman, with her many children and almost exclusively domestic life, even Robert seems shocked when Edna
declares that she is not her husband’s property, gender roles are portrayed as integral to even the open and elite Creole
society.
Motifs:
Music: music is portrayed as a vessel for self-expression and also a way of expressing
emotion, music accompanies emotional revelations in the book, Edna reacts strongly to good
music, Edna is also portrayed as one of the most emotionally aware and emotionally intense
characters in the book. Houses: Every house in the book is associated with a different
frame/mood of the story, the large house that Edna lives in in New Orleans is seen as
oppressive, a large, ominous force in her life that is forcing her to conform, her time in the
house is marked by Leoncé’s disapproval, when she become more liberated personally she
moves into the “pigeon house”, the pigeon house is smaller symbolizing how Edna has come
to value her own personal achievements and individual feelings over her perceived or actual
economic status, the “things” in her old house reminded her only of Leoncé, Madame
Antoine’s house on a separate island where she rested is not only geographically
disconnected, but it also symbolizes an emotional disconnect, when Edna is there with
Robert they are not attached to the demands of their daily lives, they are mentally distant
from how thing regularly are, it is also when they begin to become truly close. Clothing:
Different clothing represents the different roles of women, women’s clothes especially are
described—but men’s much less frequently—to emphasize the importance placed on
women’s appearance, connecting to the theme of gender roles, Edna’s housedress is a
symbol of her throwing away her social duties, at the end Edna throws away her clothes to
symbolize her throwing away the oppressive forces in her life.
Symbols:
Parrot in the cage: symbolizes Edna, in a symbolic cage of her domestic life. Book: being
passed around the Creoles, Edna felt it should be hidden, but it was openly talked about by
the Creoles, symbolic of the lack of shame in Creole society
The sea: the sea symbolizes Edna’s desire for freedom, the “sea” of grass in her childhood
and adolescence that she yearned to escape and eventually rebelliously married off to
escape, and the sea by the ocean that she later drowned herself in to escape life.
HI: The Awakening is a tale of a young woman who chases
after a sexual and personal awakening, but upon realizing
the extent of her individuality also realizes her life’s
burden and her dissatisfaction with life.
Sara Fox - 4/28/2021