Edna's Marriage Quotes

"She won’t go to the marriage. She says a wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth. Nice thing for a woman to say to her husband!" (Chopin 89, chapter 22 (different version of book))

In this quote, we see Mr. Pontellier's reaction to his wife’s opinion of marriage. This quote reiterates that Edna views marriages and relationships in an extremely negative light, since she has lived for so long in the Creole society. Leonce is becoming more and more aware of how unhappy Edna is and is starting to realize that he may be the cause of it. . He senses her unhappiness in her own marriage and is actually asking for help when he says this quote. However the doctor supposedly knows his fellow Creole well enough to know that this big,

Throughout the entirety of her childhood, she saw her mother treated in the "traditional" way, harshly, unfairly, and without any freedoms. She herself was encouraged to one day follow in the “traditional” way of the women who came before her. The idea that this funfair treatment eventually caused her mother’s death create very strong opinions in Edna’s head about this extremely unfair conduct of husbands concerning their wives. Her father’s suggestions also lead to Mr. Pontellier treating his wife more strictly. This quote could be considered foreshadowing, but it is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy. In telling his son-in-law to act similarly to himself with concern to managing a wife, Colonel causes him to do so. This quote also ties in to the concept of gendered roles in society. Mr. Pontellier is commonly seen concerned with his business, and poker. The idea that a wife should be managed and treated like an employee is interesting. As Victorian times began coming to a close, the middle class began to grow, industry became more dominant, and capital became more prominent. While much of the talk of the women is focused on the domestic, the men’s is centered in commerce, thus marriage itself is merely a part of the larger world of trade, economics, and business

It was a flaming torch that kindled desire." She finally experiences a passionate sexual encounter, something she has been missing up to this point in her life. She feels pleasure due to the sensual kiss. This kiss represents a connection to the passion of lovers throughout history. She finally experiences a true physical connection with someone. Her passionate affections have always been for men that were forbidden to her. This carnal kiss strongly contrasts her attraction to Léonce. The attraction to the man she married was based more on "his absolute devotion" to her. She did find this flattering but it wasn’t enough to keep her loyalty. This attraction did not evoke love or lust within her. Only now, with Arobin's kiss, does she experience the surge of powerful sexual chemistry that "appeal[ed] to the animalism that stirred impatiently within her" (Chapter 26). However, the experience of the kiss was solely carnal. It’s appeal is thus limited because it was not augmented by any feelings of love or romance. There are no emotional connections. Edna regrets that it was lust and "not love which