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,

strong, Creole man would ever need help controlling his own wife. By openly telling other people about Mrs. Pontellier's sentiments against wedlock, Mr. Pontellier is trying to open up to the town that his wife is rebelling against traditional expectations. Also, this quote shows another facet of Edna's personality. She has become so stubborn in her opposition to the concept of matrimony that she will not even go to or support a marriage of her "own people". This quote also emphatically portrays the progression of Edna's journey into freedom and her awakening. It highlights her character development, as she no longer attempts to hide her newfound, independent self from the society that seeks to constrain her and rather voices her views to her husband indirectly by implying that she regrets their own marriage.
In doing this, Edna finally rebels from her subservient role and speaking out against her husband. She is more open to her feelings and refuses to maintain her role as a submissive housewife. Not only is she coming to terms with her unhappiness, but she is also becoming strong enough to tell it to the very person who is the cause of it. This is like when Hester Prynne began to stop caring so much about what society thought and began to do things her own way. However, when Hester began to be her own woman, she helped the society she lived in and became a sort of angel for them. Edna tears at the fabric of her respective society, and is divisive than Hester, who united the people.

"’Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it.’" The Colonel was perhaps unaware that he had coerced his own wife into her grave” (Chopin 121, chapter 24 (another version of book))

In this quote, we see a glimpse of the manner in which Edna was raised.

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

generally.

"It was the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded. It was a flaming torch that kindled desire.." (Chopin 149, chapter 27 (different version of book))

Although Edna actually has a true love for Robert, she appreciates Arobin's skillful seduction and attentive manner, "the touch of his fingers through her hair." The chemistry between them is so potent that even her lack of an emotional connection with him doesn't take away from the intensity of the passionate kiss, "the first kiss of her life to which her nature had really responded.

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

had held this cup of life to her lips." I think this is a partial contrast to Hester Prynne’s affair with Arthur Dimmesdale, in which the love affair involved actual love as well as lust. This shows a very dramatic shift in the ideas of writers’ the frame of mind as their styles changed from Romanticism to Naturalism. Lust and passion became more linked to freedom while love still remained relevant.