Edna's Awakening Chapter 3 Analysis

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Recommended: What is the central theme of the awakening

The purpose of chapter three is to detail the relationship between a man and wife and to show what causes Edna’s “awakening”, which Chopin achieves through her stylistic techniques which include diction, rhetorical questions, and imagery.
One of the purposes of the chapter is to show the relationship between a husband and wife. In the chapter, Edna’s husband returns home one night while his family is asleep, and expects her to be interested in his day. “He was in an excellent humor, in high spirits, and very talkative.” Chopin describes Leonce this way in order to show that he expects his wife to reflect his mood when he comes home. Due to this description, the audience can assume that he intends to talk to Edna, who is awakened by his entrance …show more content…

As her husband comes home from work, he see’s that one of their children is sick and blames Edna for not being able to take proper care of their family. This interaction cause Edna to get upset. “She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her peignoir.” Chopin uses these emotions that flow from the character to demonstrate the toll that society is taking on Edna as she tries to be the best wife that she is able to do. “Blowing out the candle, which her husband had left burning, she slipped her bare feet into a pair of satin mules at the foot of the bed and went out on the porch, where she sat down in the wicker chair and began to rock gently to and fro.” Edna’s action of leaving the room where her husband is sleeping represents the first step in her awakening as she leaves her husband to sleep somewhere else. Chopin uses the candle as a symbol that represents Edna’s devotion towards her husbands, and when she blows it out, it means that she wants to become independant. “It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. A single faint light gleamed out from the hallway of the house.” This imagery that Chopin uses is meant to show how alone Edna feels inside as she represents the light inside her house when compared to the darkness of the outside world. Chopin also shows the oppression of women in this scene as they are the light that is stuck …show more content…

The purpose of the chapter is to tell about the relationship and roles of men and women and to show the event that caused Edna’s awakening and inner struggle with herself, all of which Chopin accomplishes through different viewpoints, imagery and similes to show a deeper meaning of the chapter which is that Edna awakens due to the unbalanced relationship between husband and

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