THE AWAKENING BY KATE CHOPIN

QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

a.How is Edna an outsider at Grand Isle?
Edna is an outsider at Grand Isle because unlike the other guests, she is not a
member of the Creole community despite her marriage to a Creole man. In Chapter
IV, Edna notes that Creole women seem freer about intimate issues than she is used
to, while at the same time maintaining a “lofty chastity” or fidelity and purity. Edna’s
discomfort around this duality leads Adèle Ratignolle to warn Robert that Edna might
take his flirtations seriously.
b.Why does Robert Lebrun leave for Mexico?

Officially, Robert Lebrun leaves for Mexico because he hears about a business opportunity
there, and he wants to earn more money. However, we later learn that he departs suddenly
because of his growing feelings for Edna. Robert doesn’t think Edna feels the same way
about him. In addition, he doesn’t want to break up Edna's marriage, as we see from his
hesitancy to begin an affair with her even when she confesses her feelings.

c..Is Edna in love with Alcée Arobin?

Edna is not in love with Alcée Arobin, but he allows her to explore her newfound
sensuality. At the end of Chapter XXV, when Alcée begs Edna to continue their
friendship, Edna realizes that even though she feels nothing for Alcée, she enjoys how
his romantic attention makes her feel. In the aftermath of their first kiss, Edna regrets her
first experience of the excitement of desire had no love in it.
d. Why does Adèle Ratignolle stop visiting Edna in New Orleans?

Adèle stops visiting Edna because of Edna’s association with Alcée Arobin. Arobin’s habit of
seducing married women is so notorious in New Orleans society that Doctor Mandelet
identifies Edna having an affair with him as a worst-case scenario, highlighting Alcée’s ability
to damage other reputations by association. In the eyes of society, Edna’s time alone with
Alcée brands her as immoral. Therefore, Adèle can no longer keep Edna’s company without
facing social consequences.
e. Why does Edna move into the “pigeon house”?

Edna moves into the pigeon house as an expression of her autonomy and independence.
Because Mr. Pontellier’s money funds their married lifestyle, Edna realizes that she cannot
fully express her autonomy in their home because she is beholden to his wishes there. Edna
pays for the small house with her own money and employs only a few servants with whom
she feels close, which means she can truly be the mistress of her own house.

f. Why Does Edna Commit Suicide?

One potential reading of Edna’s suicide is that she considers it her only means of
escaping her life as a wife and mother. At this point in the story, Robert has rejected
Edna, refusing to embroil them both in the inevitable scandal that would come from
Edna leaving Léonce. Worse than the heartbreak, Edna realizes that Robert does
not truly understand her. Her initial attraction to Robert comes from him treating her
like a human being, but he nevertheless assumes he knows what’s best for her. This
painful moment breaks Edna’s illusion that she could be in love with a man who saw
her as truly an equal individual. To make matters worse, Edna realizes that even if
she has an affair or leaves Léonce for Robert, she cannot escape her responsibilities
to her children. As she approaches the beach, she imagines her children as
“antagonists,” the direct opposition to her happiness. For all her rebellions against
society and attempts to discover herself as a person, she realizes that motherhood is
not something as easily avoided or escaped as men. Her only choice, therefore, is
suicide. This final escape shows her choosing to end her life over allowing others to
choose how she lives it, a final expression of autonomy.

However, we can also read Edna’s swim as a moment of transcendence. Over the
course of the novel, Edna wears fewer and fewer layers of clothing, symbolizing her
casting off the role society has placed upon her. Before entering the water, she now
stands naked, and the narrator describes her as a “new-born creature,” suggesting
rebirth. More evidence for this reading comes from examining the description of
Edna’s first swim in Chapter X, which prefigures her suicide. In this swim, Edna
pushes herself farther and farther away from shore as if “reaching out for the
unlimited in which to lose herself.” Although the phrase “lose herself” carries the
connotation of death, the word “unlimited” mitigates any hopelessness because it
suggests power and freedom. In this earlier chapter, Edna stops and panics only
when she sees how separated from the others on shore, representative of society,
she has become. In her final swim, Edna actively wants to leave the shore,
metaphorically escaping society.

Finally, we can read Edna’s last swim as a futile act of defiance. As she swims out
into sea, she specifically thinks of the ways she rejects the prescriptive ideas of who
she should be. The narrator comments that Edna slowly tires over the course of her
swim, which suggests that instead of trying to commit suicide, she is trying actively to
continue swimming. The juxtaposition between Edna’s frustration and her
diminishing energy creates an image of a woman trying to push against the current
of society, wearing herself out in the process. In the second-to-last paragraph, the
narrator observes, “The shore was far behind her, and her strength was gone.” The
shore, in this case, represents the rest of society. Caught in the waves, Edna can
neither press onward in her rebellion nor return to the life she has left. Her last
thoughts are of her childhood, of her traditional and overbearing father and her sister
who has recently married, signifying the impossibility of truly escaping the dictates of
patriarchal society.

g. What Does the Ending Mean?

At the end of the novel, Edna returns to Grand Isle, and after stripping down to her
swimsuit, she walks into the sea. She begins to swim until she loses her strength
and presumably drowns. This scene symbolizes Edna leaving society behind, just as
when she swims in Chapter X she looks back to the shore to see all her companions
left behind. Although Chopin leaves Edna’s intentions behind her suicidal swim
ambiguous, we know that Edna’s swim can only end in death because swimming out
to the horizon is impossible. Her death leads us to question whether going against
the dictates of society should be as sure a death sentence as swimming against the
sea. In addition, the ambiguity of Edna’s intentions forces us to focus less on Edna’s
individual choices that lead her to swim out and more on the injustice that has led to
her doom. In this way, Chopin reveals how patriarchal society and motherhood
thoroughly entrap women without resorting to overt moralizing.

QUES.In what ways are the contradictory or the paradoxical significant

aspects of at least two of the works you have studied?

or

QUES. Consider why writers create characters who do not conform to

norms in at least two of the works you have studied.

or

QUES..To what extent does the implication of self expression represent

effectiveness of ,solitude as the consequence of independence ?

For Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of The Awakening, independence and solitude
are almost inseparable. The expectations of tradition coupled with the limitations of
law gave women of the late 1800s very few opportunities for individual expression,
not to mention independence. Expected to perform their domestic duties and care for
the health and happiness of their families, Victorian women were prevented from
seeking the satisfaction of their own wants and needs. During her gradual
awakening, Edna discovers her own identity and acknowledges her emotional and
sexual desires. Initially, Edna experiences her independence as no more than an
emotion. When she swims for the first time, she discovers her own strength, and
through her pursuit of her painting she is reminded of the pleasure of individual
creation. Yet when Edna begins to verbalize her feelings of independence, she soon
meets resistance from the constraints—most notably, her husband—that weigh on
her active life. And when she makes the decision to abandon her former lifestyle,
Edna realizes that independent ideas cannot always translate into a simultaneously
self-sufficient and socially acceptable existence.

Ultimately, the passion that Robert feels for Edna is not strong enough to join the
lovers in a true union of minds, since although Robert’s passion is strong enough to
make him feel torn between his love and his sense of moral rectitude, it is not strong
enough to make him decide in favor of his love. The note Robert leaves for Edna
makes clear to Edna the fact that she is ultimately alone in her awakening. Once
Robert refuses to trespass the boundaries of societal convention, Edna
acknowledges the profundity of her solitude.

The Implications of Self-Expression,Edna’s discovery of ways to express herself

leads to the revelation of her long-repressed emotions. During her awakening, Edna
learns at least three new “languages.” First, she learns the mode of expression of the
Creole women on Grand Isle. Despite their chastity, these women speak freely and
share their emotions openly. Their frankness initially shocks Edna, but she soon
finds it liberating. Edna learns that she can face her emotions and sexuality directly,
without fear. Once her Creole friends show her that it is okay to speak and think
about one’s own feelings, Edna begins to acknowledge, name, define, and articulate
her emotions.

Edna also learns to express herself through art. This lesson occurs in Chapter IX,
when Edna hears Mademoiselle Reisz perform on the piano. Whereas previously
music had called up images to her mind, the mademoiselle’s piano playing stirs her
in a deeper way: “she saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair.
But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing
it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body.” As the music ceases to conjure
up images in Edna’s mind, it becomes for Edna a sort of call to something within
herself. Additionally, Mademoiselle Reisz has felt that she and Edna have been
communicating through the music: noting Edna’s “agitation,” she says that Edna is
“the only one” at the party who is “worth playing for.” Once Edna is aware of music’s
power to express emotion, she begins to paint as she has never painted before.
Painting ceases to be a diversion and becomes instead a form of true expression.

From Robert and Alcée, Edna learns how to express the love and passion she has
kept secret for so long. As with her other processes of language-learning, Edna finds
that once she learns the “vocabulary” with which to express her needs and desires,
she is better able to define them for herself. A pattern emerges—Edna can learn a
language from a person but then surpass her teacher’s use of her newfound form of
expression. For example, while Adèle teaches her that they can be open with one
another, Edna soon wants to apply this frankness to all areas of her life. And
although Robert helps to teach her the language of sexuality, she wants to speak
this language loudly, as it were, while Robert still feels social pressure to whisper.

As Edna’s ability to express herself grows, the number of people who can
understand her newfound languages shrinks. Ultimately, Edna’s suicide is linked to a
dearth of people who can truly understand and empathize with her. Especially after
Robert’s rejection of her in Chapter XXXVIII, Edna is convinced definitively of her
essential solitude because the language of convention Robert speaks has become
incomprehensible to Edna. Although Robert has taught her the language of
sexuality, Edna has become too fluent. In this dilemma, Edna mirrors the parrot in
Chapter I, which speaks French and “a little Spanish” but “also a language which
nobody understood, unless it was the mocking-bird. . . .” The mockingbird, which
merely whistles inarticulate “fluty notes” with “maddening persistence,” resembles
Edna’s friends who seem to understand Edna but do not speak back.

Marriage :The Awakening portrays marriage as a trap and a false promise of

happiness for unwitting women. In Chapter VII, the narrator describes Edna’s
marriage to Léonce as “purely an accident,” indicating that she was thrown toward
Léonce by circumstance. In the narrator’s description of Edna and Léonce’s
courtship, the narrator mentions Edna falling for various men before she meets
Léonce, but at no point does she consider the implications of being a wife, that is,
building a household with someone and having children. In this sense, Edna wants
love, but because society ties love to marriage, by falling in love she becomes
saddled with a lifestyle she has not fully bargained for. As Edna becomes conscious
of herself as an individual, she begins seeing Adèle, who is happy in her marriage,
as living in “blind contentment,” happy only because she doesn’t know to ask for
more. The marriages within The Awakening depict wives who must subvert their
identities and desires in favor of their husbands. For example, Léonce’s first concern
when Edna refuses to take visitors is that she may have snubbed one of his
business associate’s wives. Edna taking visitors, therefore, is not meant to offer her
a social outlet or social advancement, but rather functions as an extension of
Léonce’s business. This pattern continues in Adèle’s marriage to Monsieur
Ratignolle, whom Creole society considers the ideal couple. Although the narrator
states that Adèle and her husband are two halves of a whole, Adèle hangs on
Monsieur Ratignolle’s every word, supporting his ideas instead of contributing her
own. Monsieur Ratignolle attends Edna’s party on behalf of both himself and Adèle,
as if her presence is not necessary. Therefore, although their marriage may be
happy, it is a happiness dependent on Adèle shrinking herself, living for her husband
and children without consideration of her own needs.

EXPRESSION THROUGH ART :Edna also learns to express herself through art.
This lesson occurs in Chapter IX, when Edna hears Mademoiselle Reisz perform on
the piano. Whereas previously music had called up images to her mind, the
mademoiselle’s piano playing stirs her in a deeper way: “she saw no pictures of
solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were
aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves daily beat upon her
splendid body.” As the music ceases to conjure up images in Edna’s mind, it
becomes for Edna a sort of call to something within herself. Additionally,
Mademoiselle Reisz has felt that she and Edna have been communicating through
the music: noting Edna’s “agitation,” she says that Edna is “the only one” at the party
who is “worth playing for.” Once Edna is aware of music’s power to express emotion,
she begins to paint as she has never painted before. Painting ceases to be a
diversion and becomes instead a form of true expression.

EXPRESSION THROUGH LOVE :From Robert and Alcée, Edna learns how to
express the love and passion she has kept secret for so long. As with her other
processes of language-learning, Edna finds that once she learns the “vocabulary”
with which to express her needs and desires, she is better able to define them for
herself. A pattern emerges—Edna can learn a language from a person but then
surpass her teacher’s use of her newfound form of expression. For example, while
Adèle teaches her that they can be open with one another, Edna soon wants to
apply this frankness to all areas of her life. And although Robert helps to teach her
the language of sexuality, she wants to speak this language loudly, as it were, while
Robert still feels social pressure to whisper.

EXPRESSION IN A DILEMMA:As Edna’s ability to express herself grows, the

number of people who can understand her newfound languages shrinks. Ultimately,
Edna’s suicide is linked to a dearth of people who can truly understand and
empathize with her. Especially after Robert’s rejection of her in Chapter XXXVIII,
Edna is convinced definitively of her essential solitude because the language of
convention Robert speaks has become incomprehensible to Edna. Although Robert
has taught her the language of sexuality, Edna has become too fluent. In this
dilemma, Edna mirrors the parrot in Chapter I, which speaks French and “a little
Spanish” but “also a language which nobody understood, unless it was the
mocking-
bird. . . .” The mockingbird, which merely whistles inarticulate “fluty notes” with
“maddening persistence,” resembles Edna’s friends who seem to understand Edna
but do not speak back.

The Implications of Self-Expression, Edna’s discovery of ways to express herself

leads to the revelation of her long-repressed emotions. During her awakening, Edna
learns at least three new “languages.” First, she learns the mode of expression of the
Creole women on Grand Isle. Despite their chastity, these women speak freely and
share their emotions openly. Their frankness initially shocks Edna, but she soon
finds it liberating. Edna learns that she can face her emotions and sexuality directly,
without fear. Once her Creole friends show her that it is okay to speak and think
about one’s own feelings, Edna begins to acknowledge, name, define, and articulate
her emotions.

REFERENCE TO CONTEXT :Who said these words quotes from the text

“You are burnt beyond recognition,” he added, looking at his wife as one looks
at a valuable piece of property which has suffered damage.”

In the book’s opening chapter, Léonce Pontellier’s words serve to introduce his wife
Edna by what he considers to be her essential identity, one of his pristine
possessions. In keeping with the typical values of his society, he does not see Edna
as her own person but only as a reflection on him. His description of her as “burnt
beyond recognition” demonstrates that her value derives from her appearance. His
critique also heightens the importance of the change that Edna is on the cusp of
undergoing, as she moves from being a possession of her husband to taking an
independent identity.

“But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who
of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and
without over-confidence.”

In Chapter X, the narrator recounts that after numerous efforts, Edna finally learns to
swim. Her success is compared to that of a young child learning to walk, highlighting
that Edna is not a static character. Rather, Edna is at the beginning of an entirely
new developmental stage. Just as learning to walk opens the entire world to a child,
Edna’s new ability to control her own body empowers her, giving her the confidence
to move more independently in her world. She demonstrates this strength
immediately, swimming dangerously far from the beach but regaining land under her
own power.

“That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new
conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not
yet suspect.”

During her time at Grand Isle, Edna begins to look at the world and her own place
within it differently. The narrator explains that at this moment in Edna’s awakening,
she does not yet realize that the change comes from within herself, but she still
accepts she exists in a new reality. Unlike other people around her, beholden to
customs and societal norms, Edna has the courage to try to recreate the world
around her in a way more pleasing to her sensibilities. In acknowledging and even
pursuing a new standard, Edna shows her capability to transform her identity.

“I suppose this is what you would call unwomanly; but I have got into a habit
of expressing myself. It doesn’t matter to me, and you may think me
unwomanly if you like.”

Upon her reunion with Robert, Edna makes him uncomfortable when she asks why
he ignored her, but she feels no misgivings about speaking so plainly. In her
awakened state, she has not just shed her identity as wife but also rejected societal
norms dictating appropriate behavior and speech for women. She will do as she
pleases without regard to what others might think. In making this choice, Edna has
transcended being a wife—thus an extension of her husband—to becoming a wholly
realized person who acts upon her own needs, wants, and inclinations.

"To-day it is Arobin; to-morow it will be some one else. It makes no difference to me,
it doesn’t matter about Léonce Pontellier—but Raoul and Etienne!”

At the end of the book, Edna reflects on her future actions and how they will impact
her children. She decides that occupying the role of mother and wife is
unacceptable, but she also understands that her behavior has consequences. While
she doesn’t care about the damage to her own status should she take a lover, or for
Léonce’s reputation as a deceived husband, she knows that her children will suffer
by their connection to her. Thus, Edna heeds Adèle’s plea to “remember the
children” and sacrifices her life but not her essential self. She dies in possession of
her own body and soul.

WHO SAID TO WHOM…QUOTES ON MARRIAGE

“He thought it was very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of
his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him and
Valued so little his conversation”

This scene toward the beginning of the book demonstrates the imbalance in the
Pontellier marriage. Léonce returns late at night but expects Edna to wake up and
chat with him. Léonce wants everything on his terms, demanding responsiveness to
his every need, while still claiming that Edna is what matters most to him. In truth,
Edna represents just a small portion of Léonce’s life. In his masculine roles, Léonce
has many outside interests, such as work, the club, and travel, while Edna’s world is
circumscribed by family. Marriage for Edna, like other women of her era, had limited
opportunities.

“The little glimpse of domestic harmony which had been offered her, gave her no
regret, no longing. It was not a condition of life which fitted her, and she could see in
it but an appalling and hopeless ennui.”
Edna has been visiting the Ratignolles, who enjoy a marriage marked by mutual
affection and engagement, drastically different from the Pontelliers’ marriage. For
Edna, this domestic situation has no appeal. In fact, after sharing a meal with the
Ratignolles, she only feels depressed by the blandness of their lives. This scene
signifies the emptiness that haunts Edna. As revealed by the narrator, her marriage
to Léonce will never satisfy her, and she turns to Robert as a source of fulfillment.
She will come to learn, however, that the actual constraints of Victorian marriage are
the cause of the problem, not the specific partner.

“It’s a pity Mr. Pontellier doesn’t say home more in the evenings. I think you would be
more—well, if you don’t mind my saying it—more united, if he did.”

One evening at a musical soirée at the Ratignolle’s home, Adèle shares her
belief that Edna and Léonce would have a closer relationship if they spent more
time together. As it is, both Pontelliers pursue their own preferred social outings
and share few interests or activities. Clearly Adèle has drawn her own
conclusions about the Pontelliers’ indifferent marriage and attempts to impose
her formula for a happy marriage on them: shared experiences and
conversations.

SHORT QUESTION & ANSWERS TO LINK THE THEME OR

NARRATIVE

3.What is the name of the island on which the Pontelliers and other wealthy
Creole families spend their summer vacation? …THE GRAND ISLE
What instrument does Mademoiselle Reisz play?THE PIANO
4.What is the home Edna moves into in New Orleans called?

……THE PIGEON HOUSE

5. Where does Edna go with Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp when
Léonce is out of town on business?

…THE RACE TRACK

6. To what country does Robert Lebrun move?
MEXICO

7. What does Victor Lebrun do to upset Edna at her dinner

party? HE SINGS A SONG THAT REMINDS HER OF ROBERT.

8. What does Edna say she will not give up for her
children? HERSELF

9. When Edna visits Adèle Ratignolle during her friend’s difficult childbirth,
what does Adèle tell her just before she leaves?
TO THINK OF HER CHILDREN .

10. Why did Edna’s father and sister oppose her marriage to Léonce
Pontellier
BECAUSE HE WAS A CHRISTIAN

11. What is Edna expected to do every Tuesday afternoon at her home in

New Orleans?.....RECEIVE GUESTS

12. What is the phrase that Madame Lebrun’s parrot

repeats? Allez vous-en! Sapristi!”

13. What do the Farival twins’ parents intend them to do as

adults? ENTER A CONVENT
14. In what war did Edna’s father, the Colonel, fight?
THE CIVIL WAR

15. What event does Edna refuse to attend, despite her father’s
pleadings? VICTOR LEBRUN

16. Which of the following characters represents the Victorian ideal of

the “mother-woman? ADÈLE RATIGNOLLE

17. With whom does Léonce Pontellier share his concerns about Edna’s
behavior? DOCTOR MANDELET

18. What object does Robert bring back from his trip that makes
Edna jealous? A TOBACCO POUCH

19. What foreign language do the characters of the novel often interject
 into their dialogue? FRENCH

20. What skill does Edna learn while vacationing at Grand

Isle? HOW TO SWIM
21. In what decade is the novel most likely set?...THE 1890s

To whom does Robert write letters while he is away?. ∙

∙ 22.
.Madame moiselle Reisz.
∙ 23

23

∙ 23.23
∙