Madame Edna Pontellier In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

Elizabeth Kurtz

AP Literature

Mrs. Schroder

12/21/17

The Awakening

Edna Pontellier, from the novella The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, serves as a clear example of a character whose mind is being pulled in two seperate directions. One side of Edna feels pulled to the classical women in America at this time. On the other hand, she wishes to remain free from her womanly restraints. We discover that she does not want to feel tied down with any man, not only her husband, Leonce Pontellier. Edna faces internal and external challenges figuring out which woman she wants to be, the one of the times or the one who possesses freedom from societal norms.

Throughout the novella, people refer to Edna as not the mother woman. When interacting with

These behaviors serve as the opposite of women/mothers such as Madame Adele Ratignolle. The typical woman of this time, would be more like Adele, caring towards her family and taking on the role of a “good housewife”. She would have followed the “conventions” of the time whereas Edna did not. Many women felt like their sole purpose was to care for their children and husband. The typical women “were women who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels” (Chopin). Edna was unlike these women because she did not idolize or worship anyone. She was willing to do many things for her children but she plainly stated that she would never give up who she was for her children. She would die for her children but never give up her identity, personality, and beliefs. Edna was also never described as a beautiful woman, “she was rather handsome than beautiful” (Chopin). Edna thrives to be more like Mademoiselle Reisz who is not concerned with beauty and standards, but dedicated herself to music and art. The novel also refers to Edna as her husband’s property, as women usually were at the time. The quote from chapter one; “looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal

She does not want to feel tied down to a husband and children. She gradually becomes more and more distanced from being a wife and mother. She begins spending time with Robert Lebrun which begins as just a friendship with no strings attached but continually escalates. Although Robert chooses a different woman to flirt with each year at Grand Isle, and it never escalates to a full on relationship, Robert and Edna do begin to have true feelings for each other. When the summer ends and the Pontellier family returns to their home in New Orleans, Edna gives up on the callers and often just leaves the home to explore without leaving an excuse. She changes so drastically that Leonce even asks Doctor Mandelet to check her out because he thinks she has lost her mind. Doctor Mandelet presumes she has joined a women’s movement but he also speculates she may be having an affair. He does not mention the affair because he feels a true Creole man would have a better, stronger hold on his woman. Eventually, when Leonce is absent on business, Edna becomes fed up with living in a lavish home that she did not provide for herself that she decides to move out. She no longer wants to remain dependent on Leonce’s money and wants to provide for herself. Upon moving out of her house and leaving her family, she begins to spend more time with Alcee Arobin and Robert Lebrun. She has always felt feelings for Robert, but even when