Chapter I:

Summary:

The novel opens with Léonce Pontellier sitting on the porch of his seaside summer home in Grand Isle, near New Orleans. He and his wife Edna are renting a cottage from Madame Lebrun. Edna and Madame Lebrun's son Robert join Mr. Pontellier, having spent the afternoon swimming together. Edna and Robert try to relate an amusing experience to Mr. Pontellier, but he is not part of the joke and fails to share in their mirth.

Analysis

In the very first chapter, Chopin hints at the impending divide between Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier. Away from his city-based business, Mr. Pontellier is presented as somewhat out of place at the ocean cottage. He is irritated by Madame Lebrun's pet birds, tries to assauge his boredom by reading a day-old newspaper, doesn't engage in fun activities with his wife or Robert, and prefers to spend his time playing billiards at the hotel. He chooses not to participate in the daily activities that his wife and Robert so thoroughly enjoy, but he does so with a complete lack of concern. Mr. Pontellier doesn't seem to care that much about what his wife does, and this attitude only intensifies as the novel progresses.

The rift between Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier is closely tied to setting. In this chapter, we are introduced to the ocean setting that soon acquires a symbolic meaning in Mrs. Pontellier's mind--that of romance, sexual desire, indolence, and most importantly, Robert Lebrun. The ocean is constantly hazy, suffused with deep colors, and interminably hot; it stands in direct contrast to the cold city, which represents the world of rules and constraints, work and responsibility. At the beach, everyone behaves differently‹slower, calmer, and with less regard to social convention. As the novel progresses and Mrs. Pontellier moves back to the city, she will struggle to reconcile the unique vision of freedom offered to her at the beach with the demands made of her by society.

Stuck in the world of business, Mr. Pontellier not only fails to appreciate the beach, but also treats his wife as a possession, as something else that he can acquire. When she rejoins him a little sunburned, he looks "at his wife as one looks at a piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." He does not think of his wife as an equal and cannot (or will not) participate in her world; both problems will lead eventually to marital infidelity.

As this first chapter suggests, Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier will become increasingly irrelevant to each other, as Mrs. Pontellier becomes intoxicated by Robert and the sensuous ocean atmosphere, while Mr. Pontellier loses himself in the male sphere of business and social obligations.

Chapter II:

Summary:

The narrator describes Mrs. Pontellier and Robert, both of whom are young, happy, and good-looking. They both have the same color of brown hair. The two talk excitedly with each other about nothing in particular and are just happy to be together. Robert mentions future plans to go to Mexico, and Mrs. Pontellier describes her childhood in Kentucky. Robert has come to Grand Isle for every summer that he can remember, and only recently has his mother begun to rent out the summer cottages as her main source of income. Mrs. Pontellier has no specific ethnic heritage, although she does have a trace of French blood. Mrs. Pontellier goes to bed and is a little unhappy that her husband has not yet returned from playing billiards. Robert plays with the Pontellier's children for a while.

Analysis:

Mrs. Pontellier and Robert are carefree, young, and innocent. They have no ulterior motives in being together and are just pleased to have found someone as engaging and responsive as the other. Their relationship stands in striking contrast to that of Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier; it is one of mutual respect and interest. Robert and Mrs. Pontellier treat each other as real, exciting people, rather than as mere possessions.

However, they do have one major difference between them. While Robert and all the other people at the ocean community are French Creole and grew up in Louisiana, Mrs. Pontellier grew up in the Protestant South. Although all her neighbors are welcoming towards her, Mrs. Pontellier is nevertheless an outsider, and she is not entirely familiar with Creole customs and social conventions. Her cultural background will cause her to react to certain situations a little differently than her neighbors would in the same situation.

Chapter III:

Summary:

Returning from the hotel late at night, Mr. Pontellier wakes up his wife and wants to relate the fun he has just engaged in. He becomes resentful when his tired wife shows little interest, and he checks on their two sons, thinks that one of them has a fever, and returns to scold Mrs. Pontellier for not being a good enough mother. After her husband falls asleep, Mrs. Pontellier goes outside and begins to sob. However, she feels no particular resentment towards her husband, just an overwhelming sadness, and the next morning all is forgotten. Mr. Pontellier is excited to return to the city and while there, sends her a huge box of delicacies.

Analysis:

This chapter makes explicit the divide between Mr. Pontellier's male world of activity, work, and social responsibility and Mrs. Pontellier's female sphere of domesticity and passive dependence. Mr. Pontellier returns from his night of drinking and gaming and lays on the bedside table the tokens of successful masculinity: bank notes, silver coin, keys, knife, and handkerchief. Similarly, the "anecdotes and bits of news and gossip" are artifacts which represent the outside, male world, but they have no relevance to Mrs. Pontellier, who simply wants to go to sleep.

Frustrated that his wife shows little interest in his sphere of work, Mr. Pontellier then proceeds to attack her for being unsuccessful‹unmotherly‹in her own. In doing so, he implies that as a woman, she must necessarily limit herself to domestic duties, and at the same time, that she herself lacks certain maternal traits to do the job well. His attitude indicates a desire to control his wife, rather than any real concern for the heath of his sons.

Despite Mr. Pontellier's insensitive remarks, Mrs. Pontellier continues to think of him as a good husband. However, she bases her opinion on his success in the outside world of business and on his ability to provide them with money and luxuriously objects. Paradoxically, it is his preoccupation with this realm of worldly success that prevents Mr. Pontellier from treating her as a real, equal human being and that leads to Mrs. Pontellier's growing unhappiness.

Chapter IV:

Summary:

Mr. Pontellier cannot explain exactly what made him angry at his wife that one night. He senses that it has something more to do with her attitude than with her actual behavior. For example, whenever his children injure themselves, instead of immediately rushing to Mrs. Pontellier for comfort, they pick themselves and go on as before. The children seem, in Mr. Pontellier's eyes, almost abnormally independent, and treat their quadroon nurse as a nuisance.

The problem seems to be that Mrs. Pontellier is not a mother-woman: she is not one of the "women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it as holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels." The narrator describes as the perfect example of a mother-woman a neighbor named Adéle Ratignolle, who represents the epitome of idealized femininity. She is voluptuously and romantically beautiful, sews elaborate clothes for her children, and is constantly pregnant.

In this chapter, Edna. Pontellier dutifully visits her friend to learn how to sew winter undergarments for her children, but is bored despite Robert's presence. Robert accidentally hints that Madame Ratignolle might be pregnant again, and Mrs. Pontellier begins to reflect about how her Creole neighbors are so much more upfront and unrestrained than she is used to. They treat each other as extensions of one big family and feel free in discussing matters of a sexual nature, although in reality they behave very chastely. In contrast, Mrs. Pontellier frequently becomes embarrassed by her friends' topics of conversations and books.

Analysis

The beginning of this chapter is written in free indirect discourse: the omniscient narrator looks into Mr. Pontellier's head and writes from his point of view, while still maintaining a seemingly neutral tone. Thus, when the narrator asserts that Mrs. Pontellier is not a mother-woman, the reader should treat the statement as Mr. Pontellier's judgement and should look to see what other interpretations are possible.

Mrs. Pontellier does not devote all her energy to her husband and her children, and in Mr. Pontellier's eyes, this makes her an imperfect wife and mother. Their children are able to take care of themselves on a minute-by-minute basis, which indicates to him that she is occupying herself with other concerns and that constant child surveillance is not a wholly fulfilling occupation for her. In other words, Mrs. Pontellier wants more than to be a mother.

Although this passage is spoken from Mr. Pontellier's point of view, the narrator fails to validate Mr. Pontellier's opinion. The description of Madame Ratignolle, for example, suggests that perfect woman-mothers do not really exist‹that they are idealizations of femininity that no mere woman can actually live up to. Madame Ratignolle is described in unrealistically glowing terms, much like that used in Petrarchan love sonnets: "the spun-gold hair that comb nor confining pin could restrain; the blue eyes that were like nothing but sapphires; two lips that pouted, that were so red one could only think of cherries or some other delicious crimson fruit in looking at them." No woman can really look like this, and the imaginary, mythic quality of the description implies that no woman can actually be the perfect woman-mother‹devoted to husband and children and nothing else‹that Mr. Pontellier (and others like him) so desires.

The second half of the chapter describes Mrs. Pontellier's unfamiliarity with Creole culture, a theme that will be further developed in the following chapter. Even though her neighbors are extremely friendly to her, Mrs. Pontellier can never be one of them. Not only does she fail to understand their unspoken rules and conventions, but she has not been exposed to the same carefree, sensuous summer environment that they grew up in. In other words, setting plays as important a role in rendering Mrs. Pontellier an outsider as does social upbringing.

This passage not only establishes Mrs. Pontellier as an outsider to Creole culture, but it also indicates how tied to convention she is at the beginning of the summer. Mrs. Pontellier is a respectable upper-middle class woman well acquainted with sexual and social norms, and she finds it difficult to break them at first. Though not completely immersed in her role as wife and mother, she does not completely reject her duties, and neither is she a wanton sexual renegade. She is simply a young woman faced with everyday choices, as will become clearer in the rest of the novel.

Chapter V:

Summary:

While Madame Ratignolle continues to sew, Mrs. Pontellier and Robert smile and speak to each other in an intimate, friendly matter. The narrator describes their relationship as one of unremarkable and one-sided adoration. Like he had for the past eleven years, Robert had devoted himself to a beautiful woman and followed her around like a puppy dog. He had trailed after Madame Ratignolle before, and the two laugh a little about how innocent his worship and professions of love are. He describes how passionate he was, and Mrs. Pontellier is glad that he does not adopt such an exaggerated tone with her.

Mrs. Pontellier decides to sketch Madame Ratignolle, who is looking particularly Madonna-like, and Robert comes to sit next to her. He tries to cuddle a little with her, but she repeatedly and unsuccessfully pushes him away. Mrs. Pontellier crumples up her drawing when it's finished, and her children come up to her to get some candy and soon run away again. Madame Ratignolle has a fainting spell and is revived by her friends, although Mrs. Pontellier wonders if Madame Ratignolle might have been faking. Madame Ratignolle walks back home, and her children run enthusiastically to meet her. Robert convinces Mrs. Pontellier to go swimming with him in the ocean.

Analysis:

The narrator establishes that Robert and Mrs. Pontellier's friendship, though close, is not unusual in the context of Creole society, and particularly in the context of Robert's past. Though Robert speaks openly of his passion for Madame Ratignolle and other summertime flames, he is not successful in his pursuits because he does not intend to be. He often follows married women around and never intends to seduce them, though he may do their bidding and speak loudly and dramatically of his undying love for them. This passage builds on the theme introduced in the previous chapter: that of the distinction in Creole society between sexual openness in conversation and rigid chastity in reality.

Madame Ratignolle does not take Robert even the slightest bit seriously. When the possibility of her husband becoming jealous comes up, she just laughs. For one thing, Creole men apparently never get jealous, and for another, Robert and Madame Ratignolle's relationship fits seamlessly into the Creole social order. In following married women around and making them feel beautiful and desirable, Robert is playing into the Creole myth of the woman-mother‹the perfect, idealized woman who has eyes only for her husband and children. In such a society, Robert cannot pose any significant threat to the husband of his "beloved."

As an outsider, Mrs. Pontellier does not fully understand the meaning of such relationships and does not know how much of Robert's adoration is specific to her and how much is said simply to amuse her. She prefers that Robert not adopt the same attitude towards her as he does towards Madame Ratignolle because she would not be able to correctly interpret it. When Robert tries to cuddle with her, she considers it an annoyance and pushes him away. Her decision to do so may or may not have been the correct response, but the point of the incident is that for Mrs. Pontellier, each interaction with Robert will be a new experience that she will have to interpret on her own.

In the second half of the chapter, Mrs. Pontellier is further contrasted with Madame Ratignolle, the perfect woman-mother. While Mrs. Pontellier's children only come to her for candy and show no desire to play with her, Madame Ratignolle's children run to her and hang on to her excitedly when she appears. Furthermore, Madame Ratignolle's fainting spell highlights her fragility and dependence on others and calls attention to her pregnancy. Madame Ratignolle is adored by her offspring and is the perfect symbol of fertility and motherhood. Mrs. Pontellier's decision to draw her reflects an awareness of the vitality, complacency, and calm that Madame Ratignolle represents.

Chapter VI:

Summary:

In this brief chapter, Mrs. Pontellier wonders why she first refused to go to the beach with Robert, then went anyway. The narrator describes a light beginning to dawn in Mrs. Pontellier, a light that makes her recognize that she has a place in the world, and hence, a responsibility to act within it. She is naturally very confused at first, and as she walks in the water, the sensuous ocean seduces her and embraces her with its sound.

Analysis:

This chapter is written in a mystical tone; it represents the beginning of Mrs. Pontellier's awakening. Mrs. Pontellier is not specifically being awakened to sexual desire, although sexual desire and Robert's presence certainly do play a role. In this passage, she is beginning to realize that she is an autonomous agent and that what she does affects other people in the world. At the same time, she is subject to the constraints of society and to the expectations of other people. The narrator implies that not every woman goes through the same kind of awakening that Edna is going through: most women lead sheltered lives focused around family and home. However, even though Edna experiences a great deal of confusion and turmoil, her awakening is a positive thing, opening her up to a world of possibility.

Edna's awakening occurs in the ocean, which is personified as having a seductive voice and an enveloping embrace. Water often has a symbolic meaning in literature: the baptism of Jesus and John (as well as numerous other people) occurred in the Jordan River, and Venus/Aphrodite emerged, fully-formed, from the ocean. Similarly, Edna undergoes a spiritual rebirth in the ocean; she emerges with a new wisdom and an enhanced perspective that will leave her changed forever. However, since the ocean is also described in such sensuous terms, we can expect that Edna's awakening will not be purely intellectual, but also sexual. The ocean is seducing her into new knowledge that she will later associate with the summer heat, the lapping waves, and Robert's company.

Chapter VII:

Summary:

Mrs. Pontellier is described as generally being reserved, and for the first time begins to share her thoughts with Madame Ratignolle, who she finds sensuously beautiful. One morning the two go down to the beach together, except for some needlework that Madame Ratignolle cannot leave behind, and they pass by lush beach vegetation. According to the narrator, Mrs. Pontellier is subtly beautiful and sophisticated; only at second glance does one notice her grace and poise. She is dressed in loose-fitting clothes with clean lines, while Madame Ratignolle is wearing an all-white outfit with a lot of ruffles and frills that protect her entirely from the sun.

It is a very hot, bright and windy day, and the two sit on the beach, looking out into the ocean. Mrs. Pontellier is reminded of herself as a child, on a hot, sunny day in Kentucky, walking "idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided" through a field of grass. She compares that day in Kentucky with how she feels now. Madame Ratignolle holds her hand, and surprised by the intimacy of the action, Mrs. Pontellier begins to describe her past and current emotional attachments to her friend. She was not close to her two sisters Janet and Margaret, and all her friends had been reserved like her. As a young girl she had crushes on unattainable men: a Confederate soldier who was friends with her father, an engaged man who knew her sister Margaret, and a famous tragedian, the love of her life.

She married her husband because he adored her, and because by marrying a Catholic, she could rebel against her family. She grew to love her husband in a friendly way and was fond of her children, although it made no great difference to her whether they were present or not. While Mrs. Pontellier is speaking to Madame Ratignolle, Robert joins them with their children, and the intimate conversation is broken up. Complaining of bodily pains, Madame Ratignolle asks Robert to escort her home.

Analysis

The first paragraph of this chapter is very significant: it describes Edna as outwardly conforming, yet inwardly questioning. Over the course of the novel, Edna will reject this specific outlook and will want to act only in ways that she considers consistent with her personality.

On an island where all the husbands are off working in the city, Edna and Madame Ratignolle's relationship indicates the closeness of female-female relationships. Edna is attracted to her friend's beautiful appearance; their ability to communicate and understand each other is described not as sympathy, but rather as love; and their interaction in this passage is highly eroticized. Edna's ability to share her feelings and thoughts with Adèle highlights her inability to do so with her husband or with anyone else. Her husband fails to emotionally connect with her, but also, Edna has been raised in a Presbyterian household in which sensuality and depth of emotion are not generally revealed. Possibly, Edna is able to talk with Madame Ratignolle only because her friend, as the incarnation of femininity and motherhood, knows how to respond to others and minister to their emotional needs.

In any case, for the first time Edna shares her innermost thoughts with another person and dwells for some time on the image of her walking through an enormous field in Kentucky. This image is significant because it links her present confusion and directionlessness with the feelings she had as a young, innocent child. Edna's awakening is a rebirth and a return to innocence, not a descent into moral depravity. Her future actions are thus not the actions of a cynical, jaded woman, but of an excited person seeing things clearly for the first time.

Chapter VIII:

Summary:

On her way back home, Madame Ratignolle asks Robert to cease following Mrs. Pontellier around, saying that his adoration may be misconstrued and that the other woman may not understand the love-game he is playing. Robert becomes offended and demands to be taken seriously, but soon changes the conversation by talking about Alcée Arobin, a noted philanderer. When they arrive at the Ratignolle house, Robert apologizes for his outburst and explains that he should be the one warned about not taking his own actions seriously.

After volunteering to make Madame Ratignolle some bouillon, Robert looks at the people on the beach. He sees two lovers, who reappear throughout the book, and goes to visit his mother, who is sewing. He asks where Mrs. Pontellier is and, at his mother's bidding, tries to call out the window to his younger brother Victor, who ignores him. Annoyed, Robert volunteers to beat some sense into Victor, and his mother laments that his father is dead‹her common complaint whenever anything goes wrong. When Madame Lebrun tells him that his plans to go to Vera Cruz are looking promising, Robert becomes very excited, only to suddenly lose interest and rush out of the room when he hears that Mrs. Pontellier is passing by.

Analysis:

In this chapter Madame Ratignolle makes a distinction between external appearances and reality. She worries that Edna will mistake what appears to be a romantic relationship between her and Robert for the real thing. For her, it would be natural for Robert and Edna not to take each other seriously and to act as if they were lovers, though everyone knows that they're not. In other words, their relationship is assumed to be innocent, even though, according to Creole custom, the man acts as if he is in love with the married woman. Robert becomes angry when Madame Ratignolle assumes that his behavior towards Edna is simply a show. Although he is unwilling to admit that he is in love with Edna, neither does he want his very real emotion trivialized as simply a formality. He expects his inner emotions to be expressed as actions, just as Edna will later as the novel progresses.

In contrast to his impulsive younger brother Victor, Robert is the responsible son in the Lebrun family. Whereas Victor ignores his brother's calls and rushes off wildly in this chapter, Robert is concerned about his business prospects and excited to hear that his mother has more news about Vera Cruz. However, though he places a lot of importance on his future employment, he rushes off at a moment's notice as soon as Mrs. Pontellier appears. His actions do not differ all that much from Victor's, even though Victor is characterized as the more impetuous of the two. It is important to note that Robert doesn't even bother to listen to his mother's answer about Vera Cruz and instead rushes off to join Edna.

Chapter IX:

Summary:

On a Saturday night a few weeks later, a lot of men‹husbands, fathers, and friends‹stay over at the island, and Madame Lebrun arranges a night of entertainment and festivity. First, some of the children spontaneously decide to perform for the audience: a pair of twins play the piano, there is a recitation, and a very prissy and proper little girl performs a skirt dance. Then, everyone decides to dance, and Madame Ratignolle, who keeps up her music in order to make her home seem more pleasant, accompanies on the piano.

After dancing with her husband, Robert, and Monsieur Ratignolle, Edna goes out on the porch to observe a beautiful view of the moon. Robert joins her and volunteers to get Mademoiselle Reisz to play the piano for her. Mademoiselle Reisz is an eccentric, grumpy, and rather ugly woman, and she asks Mrs. Pontellier to decide what she should play. A little embarrassed, Mrs. Pontellier tells Mademoiselle to play whatever she wants.

Mrs. Pontellier, who enjoys music, often listened to Madame Ratignolle practice the piano. The music would evoke very clear visual images in her mind that she associated with various emotions: hope, longing, despair, and most frequently, solitude. While listening to Mademoiselle Reisz play that night, she expects similar visual images to be conjured up, but instead, she experiences the emotions directly and intensely. Trembling with passion, Mrs. Pontellier begins to weep, and Mademoiselle Reisz, after playing her last Chopin prelude, tells her that she is the only one worth playing for. The others are similarly touched with emotion and want to go to bed, but Robert proposes going for a midnight swim.

Analysis:

In this chapter we are reminded to what extent the island is a female-dominated space. During the week the husbands are away on business in the city, and only on certain occasions, such as the party described in this passage, do men return to the island. While the wives are on vacation by the ocean, their husbands do not play a very prominent role, and in Edna's case, are almost entirely irrelevant. Women generally occupy themselves with their children and their domestic duties, and their husbands work to support the family.

Mademoiselle Reisz is unlike any of the high-society wives on the island, and she exists as a kind of warning to Edna and her counterparts. Unlike the other women, Mademoiselle Reisz has never married and lives alone, pursuing her musical interests. However, the price she pays for such independence is social isolation and a reputation for eccentricity. There is no middle ground: Mademoiselle Reisz can ignore social constraints only by completely thwarting them, driving people away from her, and living at the outskirts of social respectability.

However, when she plays the piano, she unleashes such emotions that Edna cries. Edna cries for a number of reasons: because she is a bundle of new, confusing, and intense emotions that she does not yet know what to do with, because she feels the first stirrings of her own artistic temperament, and because she is ready for the first time to completely open herself to the sensations of the outside world.

Chapter X:

Summary:

After Robert proposes a swim, everyone is ready to follow him, but he lingers at the rear of the crowd with the two lovers. The Pontelliers and Ratignolles walk ahead, and Mrs. Pontellier wonders why Robert sometimes chooses not to spend every waking minute with her. She misses him whenever he's not there.

The walk to the beach provides a lot of sensory stimulation: people are singing; the sea, earth, and flowers each give off a pungent smell; and the seascape appears calm and mystical. Mrs. Pontellier, who has been trying to learn how to swim the entire summer, suddenly and miraculously begins to swim through the ocean, much to the surprise of her companions. Feeling strong and exuberant, she swims out alone and suddenly panics. When she returns, she tells her husband she might have died, but he assures her that he was watching her the entire time. She decides to leave, and her friends are somewhat surprised by the abruptness of her departure.

Robert catches up with Mrs. Pontellier, who complains that she's just very tired and overwhelmed by emotion. Robert teases her, saying that since it's August 28, she has been inhabited by a spirit and may never again rejoin the land of the mortals. He feels like he understands exactly what she's feeling, but he doesn't know how to communicate to her except by offering her his arm. When they get back to the house, Mrs. Pontellier says that she wants to sit out in the hammock to wait for her husband. Robert helps her get settled and decides to sit and wait with her. They say nothing, but both feel unspoken desire. When he hears voices approaching, Robert leaves and says goodnight. Mrs. Pontellier pretends to be asleep and watches him leave.

Analysis

In this climactic chapter, the link between Edna's awakening and the ocean becomes even clearer. For the first time, Edna can swim: she is gaining control over her body and becoming aware of its full potential. She is discovering herself as a full human being, with sexual desires, intellectual capacities, and emotional needs. The ocean helps her to realize that her body is her own, and this moment of physical awakening accompanies and heightens her mental and emotional awakening.

However, Edna nearly swims too far. She panics when she realizes how far out she has gone, and she feels like she's going to drown. Afterwards, she abruptly leaves her friends. If Edna's learning how to swim is a metaphor for her awakening, then her sudden terror in the middle of the ocean represents how difficult Edna's journey to personal self-fulfillment will be. Edna may not be able to go as far as she thinks she initially can and may have to turn back. In addition, there is also the possibility that as a wife and mother, Edna will be traveling a solitary path that no other woman has traveled before, and her decision to do so may very well destroy her.

Even though Robert tells Edna that the reason she is feeling so overwrought is because a spirit has possessed her, he does understand what she is going through. Unlike her husband, Robert is there for her and may therefore be able to accompany Edna on her path to self-discovery. The narrator holds out such a possibility by describing both Edna's frustration at her husband after panicking in the ocean and Robert and Edna's first sensations of mutual desire.

Chapter XI:

Summary:

In this chapter Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier participate in a battle of wills. When Mr. Pontellier gets back from the beach, he asks his wife to come inside. She tells him not to wait for her, at which point he becomes irritable and more forcefully tells her to come inside. Mrs. Pontellier resolves not to go in and thinks about how, on another occasion, she would have just done what her husband asked, simply because of inertia. Feeling stubborn and strong, she realizes that she had never taken such a stand against her husband before.

Mr. Pontellier then decides to join her outside. He drinks glasses of wine and smokes a number of cigars. After awhile, Mrs. Pontellier feels like she is being awakened from a dream and realizes that she is quite fatigued. It is almost dawn. Finally getting up from the hammock, Mrs. Pontellier asks her husband if he's going to join her. He replies that he will, after he finishes his cigar.

Analysis:

This chapter builds on the climactic moment of the preceding chapter, as we immediately see the first signs that Edna has moved onto a new life path. When she refuses to go inside to bed when her husband calls her, she is acknowledging that she can make choices in her life, no matter how trivial. No longer will she blindly obey what her husband tells her to do; instead she will decide what she wants when she wants.

At the same time, Edna and her husband's stand-off is very childish and immature. They are fighting over the most banal matter, and neither of them is ready to concede that it really makes no difference whether or not Edna goes inside at that minute. In describing Edna's awakening, the narrator is not holding Edna up as a model of wisdom and virtue. Rather, the narrator is taking a very balanced, neutral, and non-judgmental tone and is showing how Edna's new self-assertion can easily be interpreted as being foolish and relatively insignificant. Edna is not making any great advances for humanity or discovering things people didn't know before; indeed, she may be asserting herself no more than a child would. What is remarkable about her, however, is that at that time and place, her awakening was rare and generally unheard of for a woman. Thus, while the narrator doesn't exalt the character that is being described, by presenting her honestly and straightforwardly, the narrator reveals the limitations and low expectations surrounding women of that time period.

Chapter XII:

Summary:

Asleep for only a few, troubled hours, Mrs. Pontellier wakes up early and without any forethought, goes over to Robert's house. Only a few other people are awake: the lovers, a lady in black, and Monsieur Farival. For the first time ever, Mrs. Pontellier summons Robert and asks him to join her on a boat to the Chênière. Robert doesn't say anything, but he is visibly pleased by Mrs. Pontellier's request. They have a standing breakfast and join the lovers, the lady in black, and Monsieur Farival on the boat.

A young, barefoot Spanish girl named Mariequita is on the boat, and she looks flirtatiously at Robert and bickers with the captain. Mrs. Pontellier is having a good time and watches Mariequita. Speaking in a dialect Mrs. Pontellier cannot understand, Mariequita asks Robert why Mrs. Pontellier is looking at her and if she's his girlfriend.

As the boat moves quickly through the ocean, Mrs. Pontellier feels like she has suddenly broken free of the constraints that generally bind her in her daily life. She and Robert speak intimately to each other, dreaming about day excursions that they can make together. They imagine finding gold and sharing it together forever, and Robert flushes. When they arrive on shore, they all go to church, while Mariequita glares at Robert as he walks away.

Analysis:

In this chapter, Edna begins to do things without thinking much about why she's doing them. In asking Robert to go in the boat with her, she is simply acting in the moment, without planning for the excursion or worrying about what he or anyone else might think. She will continue to act without really considering future consequences or public opinion throughout the rest of the novel. While her behavior is freeing, in that she no longer has to worry about certain social constraints, it is also a little bit naïve. Edna will discover that, like it or not, her actions will affect others and that she cannot always do what she wants.

In the meantime, however, Edna and Robert are simply enjoying themselves on the boat. In this passage Mariequita plays the part of the flirtatious little tart, and she will reappear in the rest of the novel in this role. She is the exact opposite of everything that Edna represents. While Edna is married, upper class, educated, and basically inaccessible to Robert, Mariequita is a young poor girl who does not speak English‹essentially someone whom Robert could sleep with at a moment's notice. While Edna has no real reason to be jealous of Mariequita, the two women form a striking contrast to each other.

When Robert and Edna start imagining their future together, Edna does so unself-consciously, whereas Robert becomes embarrassed when he reveals too much emotion. This brief interaction both foreshadows and epitomizes their future relationship: while Edna is open and unrestrained about her feelings, Robert is constantly careful not to cross certain invisible boundaries.

Chapter XIII:

Summary:

While at church, Edna begins to feel dizzy and gets a headache, so she abruptly leaves the service with Robert in tow. Robert brings her to Madame Antoine's house, where it is quiet, cooler, and peaceful. Madame Antoine is very hospitable and lets Mrs. Pontellier sleep in her big, clean bed. Mrs. Pontellier slowly undresses and admires her arms, soon falling asleep. While sleeping, she half hears noises and voices surrounding her, but when she awakes, it is almost completely silent, and everyone seems to have gone away.

After washing her face, she summons Robert, who tells her that everyone has left hours ago. He begins to reheat the food that Madame Antoine left out for her, as well as food that he has foraged for her on the island while she slept. He is pleased that she eats with great relish. When she asks whether it's time to return home, he convinces her to stay even though the sun will soon be down. Together they watch the sunset, with Robert lying next to Mrs. Pontellier on the ground. Having returned, Madame Antoine tells the couple amazing stories about the Chênière island that they are on. When they finally get into the boat to return, it is dark, and there seem to be phantoms and spirits on the ocean.

Analysis

After refusing to go to bed all night, Edna is finally overcome with exhaustion. While she won the stand-off with her husband and got Robert to come to the island with her, she is feeling the effects of her impetuous behavior. However, the point of this passage is not to depict earlier Edna's behavior as being silly. Instead, it is to make yet another metaphor about her awakening and the dreamlike, unreal sensations that she is experiencing as a result.

Throughout the chapter, Edna continues to experience her body and her surroundings in ways that are new and strange to her. While in church, she is overwhelmed by extreme fatigue and has to leave; she is at the mercy of her body and its sensations. In addition, she notices the beauty of her arms for the first time, and her senses are stimulated by the newness of the places and people around her. She sleeps in a stranger's bed and sleeps a heavy sleep in which dreams and reality become intertwined. When she awakes, she awakes into a new world‹one that is quieter, cooler and tinged with the memory of her recent dreams. Edna comments that the island seems a completely different place, and it is, but only because she is seeing it again with new eyes. Her long sleep represents a transition between the old, conventional Edna and the new, freer woman who decides to temporarily forget about her husband and children and stay on the island with Robert.

Chapter XIV:

Summary:

When Edna returns, Madame Ratignolle tells her that her youngest boy Etienne has been very naughty and refused to go to bed. Edna cuddles with Etienne until he goes to bed, and Madame Ratignolle tells her that Leónce has been worried about her and had wanted to retrieve her from the island. Leónce had been persuaded that Edna had just been fatigued and instead had gone to occupy himself with business. After Madame Ratignolle leaves, Robert and Edna say goodbye to each other, commenting on how they spent the entire day together. Robert squeezes her hand and walks alone towards the ocean.

Instead of joining her friends, Edna sits on her porch and thinks about how this summer is different from any other she has spent on the beach. Realizing only that she herself is different, she does not yet realize that she is acquiring a new perspective and getting to know aspects of herself that she had previously not known existed. Edna begins to sing a song that Robert had been singing earlier, and her memory is haunted by the sound of his voice.

Analysis:

This chapter reminds the reader how irresponsible Edna was in taking off for the Chênière with Robert. Neglecting her children, she forces the pregnant Madame Ratignolle to assume responsibility for them and to put them to bed. Edna's husband had been appropriately worried about her, but his concern for her is not much different from how he feels about his business. He worries about her in the same way that he is concerned about his property, and it is easy for him to make the transition between wanting to find Edna and wanting to go check up on his securities and bonds.

In the following passage the omniscient narrator makes explicit the changes that are going on inside Edna. While Edna herself cannot verbalize what is happening to her, the narrator clarifies the meaning of the swimming and the sleeping metaphors for the reader. In describing Edna's thought processes, the narrator implies that Edna is not particularly self-aware or reflective. Although Edna misses Robert, the narrator points out that she fails to consider that Robert might need a break from her. Edna is a simple being who lives in the present, without really analyzing her own feelings or those of others. Even though Edna is portrayed in such a manner, the narrator does not fault her for her lack of insight, but rather takes a just, matter-of-fact tone.

Chapter XV:

Summary:

One day when Edna goes down to dinner with her friends, she hears that Robert has suddenly decided to go to Mexico and is leaving that night. Since he had not mentioned anything to her that day, she is shocked and bewildered and very openly expresses her amazement and consternation. Edna demands from everyone around her why Robert would have decided to leave at a moment's notice, and Robert, feeling embarrassed and somewhat nervous, irritably tells her that he had been meaning to go all along. Amidst the clamor of people talking about Robert's sudden departure, Madame Lebrun attempts to let him speak for himself, but Victor is being loud and obnoxious and gets into some minor squabbles with people asking him to be quiet. Finally, looking at Edna the entire time, Robert explains that he must leave tonight if he wants to meet a gentleman who will accompany him to Vera Cruz. The lovers, the lady in black, Madame Ratignolle, and Victor all begin to babble loudly about Mexico and Mexicans, until Edna leaves and goes to her room.

Edna proceeds to fuss about her room, gets changed for bed, and puts the children away. She gets a message that Madame Lebrun wishes her to join them on the porch until Robert leaves, but after starting to get redressed, she decides to stay in her room. When Madame Ratignolle comes over to try to persuade her to join them, Edna excuses herself by saying that she doesn't want to get dressed again and doesn't feel particularly well. Finally, Robert comes to see her and says that he is leaving in twenty minutes. Their conversation is impersonal and awkward, and Edna expresses anger at his sudden departure. She tells him that she was already planning things that they could to do together in the city after their summer vacation. He reveals that he had similar thoughts of the future and starts to say that that was the reason he was leaving so abruptly, but he cuts himself off before he makes too intimate a revelation. When Edna asks him to write to her, he agrees in a distant, formal manner, and Edna wonders at his uncharacteristic coldness.

When Robert leaves, Edna begins to sob and realizes that she is completely infatuated with him. Having realized what she wants, she has no feelings of past regret or future longing. She simply feels miserable and empty.

Analysis:

In this chapter, the dynamic introduced on the boat to Chênière‹that of Edna's vocal affection and Robert's comparative reserve‹is further developed. When she hears that Robert is leaving, Edna makes no attempt to hide her surprise and despair. In contrast, Robert is careful to maintain an emotional distance from Edna and explains his actions as being purely pragmatic. In doing so, he seems to indicate that he feels more towards Edna than he is ready to admit. Edna's inability to similarly restrain her emotions suggests one of three possibilities: that she is unable to disguise the way that she feels, that she is unwilling to do so, or that she is unaware that such actions may be in order.

The first possibility would indicate a certain childishness on Edna's part, and indeed, her behavior in this chapter is not the most mature. She leaves the dinner abruptly and refuses to say goodbye to Robert with everyone else, and she petulantly demands an explanation from Robert. According to this hypothesis, Edna's outbursts are the uncontrolled tantrums of an immature woman. The second possibility‹that Edna is refusing to hide her feelings--would suggest that she is consciously dismissing social conventions and refusing to act in a proper, yet artificial and insincere, manner. In displaying her emotion, she is simply acting in the way that she feels, without bothering to consider what other people, including Robert, may think. The third possibility is the most likely. Edna probably does not yet realize the depth and quality of her feelings towards Robert. She knows only that she enjoys his company and feels happy in his presence, not that she may in fact be in love with him. As such, there would be no reason for her to pretend that his departure is insignificant to her.

Chapter XVI:

Summary:

In this chapter, Mademoiselle Reisz asks Edna if she misses Robert, which causes her to have a series of flashbacks, each having some sort of connection to how she feels about Robert's absence. First, she thinks about how the color seems to have gone out of her life since Robert left and how she constantly wants to talk about him with other people. Frequently, she goes to Madame Lebrun's apartment and looks at baby pictures of Robert, seeing how the child developed into the man. Once, when Madame Lebrun receives a letter from Robert, Edna looks at it and reads it as if it were a precious artifact. In the postscript to the letter, Robert mentions Edna and a book that they had been reading together, and Edna feels jealous that Robert did not write directly to her.

Everyone, including her husband, assumes that Edna misses Robert and considers it natural that she does so. Leónce mentions seeing Robert in the city, and Edna grills him about Robert's appearance and behavior. She does not consider it odd that she speaks of Robert with her husband because she feels like she always has private thoughts that she keeps to herself and that concern no one. She remembers a conversation she once had with Madame Ratignolle, in which she asserted that while she would sacrifice herself for her children, she would never give herself‹that is, that she would never surrender her innermost being to anyone. Madame Ratignolle doesn't really understand her and argues that it is the greatest sacrifice of all to give oneself to one's children.

Back again in reality, Edna and Mademoiselle Reisz discuss Robert. Mademoiselle Reisz informs Edna that Victor, not Robert, is Madame Lebrun's favorite son, and that the reason that Victor is so obnoxious and demanding is because his mother spoils him. She also tells her about a fight that Victor and Robert had over Mariequita, the Spanish girl from the boat. Victor felt that he had some claim over the girl and became incensed when he observed his brother interacting with her. Robert responded by beating his brother. Edna feels upset, although she does not realize that the negative emotion she is experiencing is jealousy. She goes for a swim, and when she gets out of the water, Mademoiselle Reisz invites her to visit her in the city.

Analysis

Everyone takes it for granted that Edna misses Robert because they assume that their relationship had simply been one of married woman/adoring young man. That type of relationship fits seamlessly into the Creole social order. However, with Robert and Edna's relationship, there is not the same kind of gap between external appearances and emotional reality. Robert and Edna feel things for each other, which is unusual in their Creole culture, which mandates that the married woman/young man relationship be one of one-sided adoration, innocent flirtation, and chastity. Because everyone assumes that their relationship was of the conventional sort, Edna is able to talk about Robert constantly, even with her husband.

The passage where Edna tells Madame Ratignolle that she will never sacrifice herself for anyone, including her children, is very significant. Edna is not exactly sure what she means when she says this, but she is trying to explain how she is unwilling to destroy the integrity of her being. In other words, she is just discovering herself as a whole person, and she will not give that up (her personality, her desires, and her happiness) for anyone, not even her children. Unlike Madame Ratignolle, Edna refuses to define herself by her children.

At the end of the chapter, Edna becomes jealous of Robert and Mariequita's past relationship. Regardless of what actually happened between them, Edna realizes that she cannot know everything about Robert and that she possesses no real claim on him. Furthermore, while her relationship with Robert must always masquerade as friendship, Robert has every right to become sexually involved with Mariequita, or any other unmarried woman that he chooses.

Chapter XVII:

Summary:

The Pontelliers return to their large, neat, and stately house in New Orleans at the conclusion of the summer. Their home is richly adorned, and Mr. Pontellier derives significant pleasure in walking around the house and admiring his possessions. The Pontelliers live a very structured, high-society kind of life. Mr. Pontellier leaves for work and comes home at the same time every day, and on certain nights they go to the opera or the theater. In addition, for the past six years, on Tuesday afternoons, the Pontelliers have a very formal and elaborate reception for callers who drop in spontaneously.

One Tuesday at dinner, however, Mr. Pontellier notices that his wife is dressed casually and asks about the day's callers. Mrs. Pontellier tells him that she didn't feel like receiving callers that day and just went out without leaving any sort of excuse. Upset that his wife is not fulfilling her social obligations, he asks to see the cards of the people who dropped by that day, and he scolds his wife for not paying due respect to certain members of the social elite. The two squabble over the matter, and Mr. Pontellier complains about the dinner and the cook. He refuses to eat his food and leaves abruptly to go to his club instead.

In the past Edna would have been unable to finish her dinner following such an outburst, but this time she leisurely enjoys the rest of her meal and retires to her room. Soon, however, she becomes tormented by jeering voices, begins to shred her handkerchief, stamps on her wedding ring, and throws a glass vase onto the floor. When the maid comes to pick up the broken shards, she returns the wedding ring to Edna, who puts it back on her finger.

Analysis:

This chapter recounts another turning point in Edna's life. In it, she refuses to be merely one of her husband's expensive possessions, like the ones that he walks around admiring in the beginning of the chapter. Not wanting to be simply an ornamental figurine, she decides not to sit around in a pretty dress waiting for Tuesday afternoon callers. By doing so, she is also refusing to help her husband in his never-ending pursuit of money. She is rejecting the rules of high society and deciding what she wants to do instead.

The Pontellier household is no longer a scene of domestic tranquility, but Edna does not seem to mind all that much. The fight that they have over the cook and the dinner is a symbol for the gradual disintegration of their marriage. They cannot even keep up the bare minimum anymore, and Mr. Pontellier prefers to leave his wife's domestic world entirely and to eat in the male-dominated space of his club. Whereas before Edna would have been distressed at her husband's behavior, now she is learning to live with an increasingly irrelevant and distant husband. She enjoys his absence at the dinner table, and only wishes that she were not married to him, not that he were a better husband. Her fit at the end of the chapter is an acting-out of just this desire. In stomping on her wedding ring and shattering the vase, she is expressing her feelings of being trapped in marriage and wanting to break out. She is not bemoaning her loneliness or her wish for a more caring, sensitive husband; rather, she is asserting her independence.

Chapter XVIII:

Summary:

The next day Mr. Pontellier asks Edna to accompany him to buy new fixtures for the library. When Edna protests that they do not need new fixtures and that her husband is too extravagant, her husband replies that there is no point in saving money if one can make more. Pale and weak, Edna stands outside in a daze, failing to see the people on the street in front of her. Retiring inside, she feels relieved that her husband has already spoken to the cook about the quality of her cooking.

Edna gathers up a few of her best sketches and walks to Madame Ratignolle's house, all the while feeling obsessed with Robert. She has kept up her friendship with the Ratignolles and finds their house very pleasant and French. When she arrives, Madame Ratignolle, who looks more beautiful and Madonna-like than ever, puts away her laundry and at Edna's request, begins to look at her sketches. Madame Ratignolle praises her work excessively, which gratifies Edna, even though she knows that her friend is overestimating the quality of her work. Edna wants to seriously study art, and she needs Madame Ratignolle's praise to make her feel more confident in her ability.

Edna gives many of the sketches to her friend and then joins the Ratignolles for a delicious and pleasant dinner. The Ratignolles are perfectly matched to each other, and Madame Ratignolle listens attentively to everything that her husband says. When Edna leaves, she feels depressed, not because she wishes she had the kind of domestic and marital bliss that her friends have, but because she feels like Madame Ratignolle is living a dull and colorless life and failing to expose herself to the exciting experiences that the world has to offer.

Analysis:

Nearly every mention of Mr. Pontellier serves to reinforce his connection with business and monetary greed. He is extravagant to the extreme, concerned almost entirely with external appearances, and almost obsessed with acquiring new objects to put in his home. We can find a literary parallel in the speaker of Robert Browning's dramatic monologue, "My Last Duchess" (although Leónce is nowhere near as ruthless as Browning's character).

When Edna consider Robert, she does not so much think about him as feel his presence with her. Her impression of him is very sensory and affects her whole being: her affection for him and her awakening (sexual, emotional, mental) are closely tied together. It is Robert who has triggered Edna's awakening, but as we will later see, this does not mean that he has any special claim on her. Edna is becoming her own person, and no one, not even Robert, who she now yearns for so intensely, can tell her otherwise.

In this chapter Edna decides to seriously pursue painting. In doing so, she is following the example of her friend Mademoiselle Reisz, who is currently living the artistic lifestyle. Like her friend, however, she runs certain risks: of being considered eccentric, of neglecting society and being ostracized, and of being completely left alone. Unlike Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna is already married and part of the New Orleans upper class, so she will generally be humored and praised by people like Madame Ratignolle.

It is fitting that Edna goes to Madame Ratignolle for praise. While Edna is about to depart from convention and devote herself to artistic study, Madame Ratignolle lives a bland life of domesticity. Perhaps Edna is not just seeking praise from Madame Ratignolle, but also a negative example of what she could become if she simply did what society expected of her. In any case, Edna leaves her friend feeling pity for her and the sad, dreamless life that she is content to lead.

Chapter XIX:

Summary:

Edna decides that it was silly of her to stamp on her wedding ring and break the glass vase and decides to do what she wants without apology. She stops receiving guests on Tuesday, neglects the social obligations that her husband expects of her, and instead paints all the time in her atelier. Naturally, her husband becomes peevish and demands to know what is going on. Edna brusquely says that she just wants to paint and that he shouldn't bother her; her husband thinks his wife is becoming mentally unstable. In reality, however, Edna is just expressing her true self, free of the false social constraints that earlier made her be a dutiful, quiet wife.

Mr. Pontellier does leave his wife alone, and she gets her two sons, the nurse, and the maid to all sit and model for her. While she paints, she sings the song that Robert used to sing, "Ah! si tu savais!" and she feels transported back to the ocean and overwhelmed with desire for her friend. Edna has intense mood swings without knowing why: on some days she is ecstatic and her senses are heightened, while on others she is plunged into the depths of depression and feels like life is pointless.

Analysis

In regretting the childish tantrum she threw in stomping on her wedding ring, Edna is growing in maturity. No longer does she need to express herself through adolescent rebellion; instead she is realizing that she can quietly and maturely just do what she wants. However, this does not necessarily mean that Edna is becoming more reflective or self-aware. In fact, she does what she wants simply because the moment seems right.

While her husband is upset to see Edna neglect her domestic duties, he accepts her sudden change in behavior without much of a fight. He is surprised to see Edna asserting herself, but he does not appear particularly threatened or resentful. Instead, he seems to be such a peripheral figure in the household anyway that it seems to make little difference whether or not Edna speaks to him.

Edna does not seem to be painting because of any deep-seated artistic conviction. While she spends a lot of time painting, her attitude towards it seems casual, almost dilettantish. She tells her husband that she is not a painter and that maybe one day she won't feel like painting any more. In fact, she seems to have taken up painting because it is the only way she knows how to break free from the life she has been leading. Painting allows her to organize her time differently, to spend a lot of time in a distant part of the house, and to alter her relations with the people around her (by making them sit as models). In short, painting allows her to redefine herself and her relations to others.

Chapter XX:

Summary:

One day when she is feeling depressed, Edna decides to go visit Mademoiselle Reisz, but when she goes to her apartment, she finds new occupants there and is unable to discover from the neighbors where her friend has moved to. She decides to ask Madame Lebrun and heads over to her house, which is very gated and prison-like. When she rings the doorbell, Victor answers, looking very pleased to see her. He violently scolds a black servant and tells her to fetch Madame Lebrun, and then the two friends sit out on the porch. Victor informs her that he has been staying at the island and just came over yesterday on the pretense of doing business, but in reality just for a little fun. He begins to tell a racy story about a flirtatious girl but is interrupted by his mother's entrance.

Friendly and hospitable, Madame Lebrun complains a little about how boring it is in the city since everyone, even Victor, is always occupied with work. Victor winks at Edna, who tries to appear grown-up and proper. Victor recites the contents of two letters from Robert for Edna's benefit. Robert writes about his business prospects and describes life in Mexico, but he encloses no special message for Edna, who becomes depressed about the fact. Edna remembers to ask for Mademoiselle Reisz's address, and Victor escorts her out the door. After she leaves, mother and son agree that Edna looks ravishing and much more beautiful than she did in the city.

Analysis:

This chapter emphasizes the position of social marginalization that Mademoiselle Reisz occupies. The neighborhood grocery store owner calls her the most disagreeable woman that ever lived, which seems a bit strange considering how pleasant she is to Edna. Mademoiselle Reisz clearly chooses who she wants to be nice to and does not pretend to like people. An unmarried woman who lives as an artist, Mademoiselle Reisz further disregards social convention by refusing to keep up a façade of politeness and amiability. She isolates herself from people and lives as she chooses, and her behavior represents an extreme that Edna is tending towards, though to a lesser extent.

Victor's behavior contrasts sharply with that of his brother Robert. Victor represents the cultural stereotype of the French Creole in New Orleans: he is hot-headed and passionate, devilishly good-looking and carelessly gallant. He is everything that the typical "American" reader of the day would expect a French Creole young man to be. Unlike Victor, Robert is not simply toying with Edna's emotions and trying to seduce as many women as possible. He cares about her and is careful to distance himself from her because he wants to behave in an honorable fashion. Victor's depiction in this chapter indicates exactly how restrained his brother Robert is behaving.

Chapter XXI:

Summary:

Edna goes to Mademoiselle Reisz's apartment, which while not exactly squalid, is quite close and cramped. When her friend sees her, she bursts into delighted laughter, and Edna notices how homely and shabby she looks. Mademoiselle Reisz expresses surprise that Edna has actually come to visit her and says that she did not really expect someone so high society to drop by. She remarks that she doesn't know if Edna really likes her or not, and Edna candidly replies that she doesn't know either. Mademoiselle Reisz serves her a mid-day snack and informs her that she has received a letter from Robert and that it mentions her nearly every other word. Edna asks repeatedly to see it, and each time Mademoiselle Reisz refuses. When they finally change the subject, Edna tells her friend that she is painting and becoming an artist. A blunt and honest woman, Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna does not know her well enough to know whether she possesses the "courageous soul" that is necessary to become an artist.

Edna demands to see Robert's letter and that her friend play the Impromptu, and Mademoiselle Reisz finally acquieses. As Edna reads the letter, Mademoiselle Reisz plays an improvisation, which gradually transforms into the Chopin Impromptu. The shadows lengthen, and the music fills the room, once again arousing strange, inchoate emotions in Mrs. Pontellier. Sobbing, Edna leaves the apartment, asking if she can come again. When she leaves, Mademoiselle Reisz picks up Robert's letter, which is crumpled and wet with Edna's tears.

Analysis:

Considering what a bad reputation Mademoiselle Reisz has among her former neighbors, she is rather pleasant when Edna comes to see her. Even though they are sarcastic and openly express ambivalence about seeing each other, their honesty seems to draw them closer. Both of them say what they mean, even if it may be slightly insulting or rude. Perhaps they get along because of their shared musical interests. When Mademoiselle Reisz plays the piano, she holds nothing back and can stir up such profound emotions in Edna as to make her weep. Through music, Mademoiselle Reisz and Edna expose the innermost parts of themselves to the other, so that there is no need for artificiality or feigned politeness in their everyday discourse.

Mademoiselle Reisz also begins to play the role of intermediary for Robert and Edna. She will help Edna to realize that she is in love with Robert, and she encourages this love by showing Edna the letters he has written. However, Mademoiselle Reisz is not being a meddling matchmaker. Through her music, she is helping Edna to realize that she is a sensual being, with confusing emotions and an intense appreciation of beauty. She is teaching her to be strong and courageous and to be unafraid to confront emotion and art directly. Having lived her own life and pursued her own interests, Mademoiselle Reisz is trying to be a guide and a mentor to a younger and very impressionable woman.

Chapter XXII:

Summary:

One day Mr. Pontellier drops in on the family physician, Doctor Mandelet, who due to his wisdom, is frequently consulted for advice. He is startled to see someone approaching so early in the morning and inquires after his visitor's health. Mr. Pontellier explains that he's actually concerned about his wife, who though very healthy, seems to be exhibiting odd and uncharacteristic behavior. According to Mr. Pontellier, Edna's symptoms are: neglecting the housework, provoking him to quarrel with her, refusing to sleep with him, and talking about women's equal rights. The Doctor asks him if she's been associating with "pseudo-intellectual" feminists, and Leónce tells him that she spends most of her time alone and likes to wander the streets after dark. When the Doctor hints at hereditary mental illness, Mr. Pontellier briefly describes Edna's family. Her father was a pious Presbyterian who gambled away his farm, her sister Margaret is very devout, and the youngest is getting married. According to Mr. Pontellier, Edna refuses to go the wedding, saying that "a wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth."

After a bit of thought, the Doctor advises Mr. Pontellier to leave his wife alone. He argues that women are complex and mysterious organisms, and as ordinary men, they cannot possibly understand them. The Doctor promises to drop by on Thursday, and before leaving, Mr. Pontellier reveals that he has business in New York that may occupy him a considerable length of time. The Doctor advises him to take Edna along if she wants to go and warns him that it might take up to three months for her to regain her humor. As soon as Mr. Pontellier leaves, the Doctor wonders which man is making Edna behave the way that she is, but knows better than to hint at adultery to his friend.

Analysis

This chapter presents a good example of male attitudes towards women at the turn of the twentieth century. As Doctor Mandelet and Mr. Pontellier's conversation makes clear, women were considered ill, or even mentally unbalanced, if they dared to defy convention and ventured outside of the domestic sphere assigned to them. While the two men do not make overtly misogynistic comments, it is apparent that they consider women to be childish, inferior beings with reduced intellectual capacities and unstable temperaments.

In their discussion the two men refer to the feminist movement of their times in a disparaging way. Mr. Pontellier bemoans that his wife has "got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women," which he links with her refusal to do the housework and to sleep with him. Doctor Mandelet speaks condescendingly of these feminists, who he implies are somewhat silly for considering themselves intellectual beings. To these men, the feminist movement of their times is analogous to a disease that transforms good wives and mothers into atypical, deluded beasts; it is a misguided social movement that recruits and brainwashes vulnerable young women.

While these men do subscribe to conventional social mores, they are not unfeeling, insensitive creatures. Doctor Mandelet is also characterized as a wise, good-natured old man who is perceptive enough to figure out that Edna may be in love with another man. It is yet another testament to Kate Chopin's narrative ability that even in this disparaging conversation about women, her characters never become gross caricatures but are instead presented as rounded, well-balanced people.

Chapter XXIII:

Summary:

When her father comes to visit, Edna is glad to have someone to focus her attention on, even though she and her father are not particularly close. She thoroughly babies him, but only to entertain herself. She realizes that she will soon lose interest in her father, but she wants to do everything for him in the meantime. He is visiting because he needs to purchase a wedding gift and a new suit for himself; Mr. Pontellier helps him do both because he is thought to have impeccable taste. Edna's father, a former Confederate colonel, looks very distinguished, with long white hair and a mustache, and he poses for Edna in a very serious, solemn manner. He considers himself an imposing presence and drinks toddies, as well as invented mixed drinks, throughout the day.

Edna and her father attend a soirée musicale at the Ratignolles, who treat the Colonel as an important personage. Edna marvels at Madame Ratignolle, who innocently and coquettishly flirts with the Colonel to stroke his ego. Edna does not know how to behave in such a manner, and instead, merely converses with one or two men whom she finds attractive. Rather than attending the soirée, which he considers somewhat low-brow, Mr. Pontellier goes to his club, and Madame Ratignolle warns Edna that perhaps her husband should stay home more often. Edna disgrees, saying that they would have nothing to talk about.

On Thursday Doctor Mandelet comes to dinner and sees Edna, who has just gone to the racetrack, looking excited and happy. Edna and her father had met many people, including Alcée Arobin, and had won a considerable sum of money. Knowing the Colonel's past history of gambling, Mr. Pontellier speaks disappovingly of the racetrack and soon finds himself embroiled in a spat with Edna and her father. The dinner party begins to tell stories. The Doctor tells one about an unfaithful woman, which has no affect on Edna, and she in turn tells an extremely vivid story about a woman who disappears in a boat with her lover during a moonlit night. After observing Edna all night and finding her looking young, alive, and vibrant, the Doctor leaves the Pontellier home, feeling sad that he has divined Edna's secret. He mutters to himself and wishes out loud that it is not Alcée Arobin that Edna is having an affair with.

Analysis:

Just as Edna paints and goes on day excursions depending on how the spirit moves her, so does she adopt her father as her new pet during his stay with them. She does not feel any great affection towards him, yet she devotes all her energy to him. Edna just needs something to focus her attention on, and it seems unlikely that any of her interests will last for very long. Having just discovered new freedom, Edna is understandably excited to try new things and flit around from person to person; however, the reader should question how attached she really is to the things (or people) she professes to be so enamored of.

At the soirée, Edna flirts with men who she has minor crushes on, and even though such interactions are relatively trivial and harmless, they are indications that Edna is beginning to entertain adultery as a viable possibility. However, if she does decide to pursue other men, it is clear that she will do so on her own terms. She will not giggle and coquet in the way that Madame Ratignolle innocently does with her father. Such behavior is designed to gratify the man's ego and presents the woman as submissive and "feminine." While flirting at the party, Edna is interested in conversation and getting to know her crushes on terms of equality.

The story that Edna tells on Thursday night is a fictionalized account of how she remembers the summer on Grand Isle with Robert. It is loaded with sensory impressions that are Edna's own: the heat of the summer, the sound of a boat moving through the waves, the sight of the beloved's face. Clearly, Edna is reminiscing about the mystical day that she went to the Chênière with Robert and is imagining what would have happened if they hadn't come back. Considering how vividly and feelingly Edna narrates her tale, it is ironic that only Doctor Mandelet would notice her passion and wonder at its source. Even more ironically, his comment regarding Alcée Arobin seems to be more a prediction about the future than an idle reflection.

Chapter XXIV:

Summary:

Right before his departure, Edna and her father have a heated fight because she refuses to attend her sister's wedding. Mr. Pontellier says nothing to intervene. As her father is leaving, Leónce tells him that he will stop by the wedding on his way to New York and try to atone for his wife's behavior with lavish gifts. The Colonel tells Leónce that he is too lenient a husband and has to force his wife to obey him, but Mr. Pontellier says nothing, remembering that the Colonel had perhaps driven his wife to her grave with such behavior.

While Edna is happy to see her father go, she is sad to see her husband depart. She is affectionate and wifely and cries when he finally leaves. The children also leave to go stay with their Grandma Pontellier, who loves to have the little boys visit her in the country. Finally alone, Edna feels relieved and peaceful. She walks through the entire house and garden, seeing it all as if for the first time. She gives instructions to the cook and later has a delicious, quiet, and solitary dinner. She thinks idly about her husband and children and then goes into the library to read. She realizes that she has not been reading as much as she would like and resolves to remedy the situation immediately. Finally, Edna goes to bed and feels a sense of peace and restfulness previously unknown to her.

Analysis:

The Colonel's character is thought to be based on Kate Chopin's father-in-law, who ruled his wife tyrannically and perhaps did coerce her into her grave. Unlike his father, Chopin's husband was a mild and gentle man, not unlike Mr. Pontellier, who lets his wife do what she wants, no matter how foolhardy it may seem. In refusing to go to her sister's wedding, Edna seems to be needlessly alienating herself from her family, but her husband's efforts at reconciliation‹offering to purchase expensive gifts‹shows an equal lack of appreciation for the value of human relationship.

After her husband and children leave, Edna finally has what she has been craving for so long: solitude. Having spent so many years of her life as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and socialite, she now has the time and the quiet to discover who she is by herself. She is no longer caught in the relationships that are expected of her as a woman, and she is free to create new ones on her own. There are no longer any demands on her, and she is able to organize her time however she wants. At least for awhile, she has managed to strip away all the unnecessary constraints that society had placed on her.

According to the narrator, Grandma Pontellier does not even dare to think that Edna might not be a good mother. Even though it is clear that she does in fact think so, she refuses to even acknowledge this sentiment. As part of an earlier generation of women, Grandma Pontellier would not be able to conceive of a life not centered around her husband and children. To her, being a bad mother would be the worst insult imaginable.

Chapter XXV:

Summary:

In this chapter Edna's friendship with Alcée Arobin begins to develop. During this time Edna is moody: sometimes excited by life's possibilities, sometimes depressed that life was passing her by. She starts going to the races a lot, one time with Mrs. Highcamp and Alcée Arobin, a fashionable young man who is pleasant, cheerful, and good-looking. Arobin had long admired Edna from afar, but circumstance never permitted them to meet until the day he saw her and her father at the races. At the races, Edna is knowledgeable and lucky; she gets very excited, and other people in the audience turn around to look at her. Afterwards, they all dine together, and the dinner is unremarkable and a little dull.

Arobin drops her off at home, and feeling restless and awake, Edna has a snack of crackers and cheese. She wants something to do, but after counting her winnings, she goes to sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night, she remembers that she has forgotten to write her daily letter to her husband. A few days later, Arobin drops by to invite her to the races, and they end up going alone. Once again, she has a good time and finds Arobin easy to talk to her. He stays for dinner and while bantering, shows her a scar from a sword on his wrist. While observing the scar, Edna touches his hand and suddenly squeezes it impulsively. She instantly rushes away and makes an excuse, while Arobin follows her closely.

When he asks her to go to the races again and to show him her art, she refuses and tells him she doesn't like him. Arobin kisses her hand and continues to pursue her gallantly, until she tells him that she must have accidentally misled him in some way. He apologizes, saying that she has done nothing except to unwittingly captivate him, and he reluctantly leaves. When he leaves, she looks at her kissed hand and feels unfaithful, not to her husband, but to Robert. However, when she goes to bed, she can still sense the touch of Arobin's lips on her hand and longs for his physical presence.

Analysis

Like her father, Edna has a passion for horse racing, but unlike her father, she is not a compulsive gambler. Nevertheless, her gambling at the racetrack parallels her sudden change in lifestyle, which itself is a form of high-stakes gambling. In real life Edna is playing a dangerous game: she is trying to live as an independent woman, without following the set rules prescribed by her society. In addition, she is finding that Arobin's intentions are not playful, but are in fact quite serious. In associating with him on such intimate terms, she is risking her marriage and her respectability. While Edna wins at the racetrack, at this point it is unclear how she will do in real life.

In this chapter Edna first exhibits sexual desires of her own. When Arobin shows her the scar on his wrist, she seizes his hand in a manner that is not simply friendly. At the time that the novel was published, it was unheard of for women to be portrayed as having sexual desires of their own, and passages such as these were considered scandalous. By attributing sexual desire to Edna, the narrator makes the relationship between Arobin and Edna one of equality. Arobin is not the hunter, Edna the prey: they both participate in the relationship together and are both equally responsible for their actions.

It is interesting to note that Edna considers herself primarily loyal to Robert, rather than to her husband. For Edna, love rather than marriage is the most significant tie binding a man and a woman. Such thinking is counter to everything that her society believes and is quite radical for her time. Even if Edna is true to herself and acts according to the dictates of love, others will judge her by the conventions of marriage and deem her unfaithful.

Chapter XXVI:

Summary:

Arobin writes Edna a note of apology, which she is upset to receive because she does not know how to properly respond to it. She eventually responds in a casual and friendly manner, and Arobin begins to visit her every day. She finds him adoring and subservient, appreciates his company, and feels pangs of physical desire for him.

One gray and drizzly day, Edna makes one of her customary visits to Mademoiselle Reisz. She tells her friend that she will be moving out of her house to a smaller one just around the corner. At first, she justifies her plan by saying that her current house is too big and too much trouble for just one person, but after pressed, she reveals the true reason: she wants freedom and independence and believes that she can support herself with her racetrack winnings and by selling her sketches. When her husband returns, she wants to be completely self-sufficient so that she will never again feel like someone else's possession. Edna promises to throw a huge party before she moves.

Mademoiselle Reisz then shows her the most recent letter from Robert. She admits that Robert does not know that Edna sees his letters and that the reason he does not write to her himself is that he loves her. As Mademoiselle Reisz plays the piano, Edna reads the letter and shrieks with joy when she discovers that Robert is coming back to New Orleans very soon. Mademoiselle Reisz asks Edna if she is in love with Robert, and for the first time, Edna admits that the answer is yes. When she is asked to explain why, she cannot; she just does. Overwhelmed with joy, Edna leaves Mademoiselle Reisz and then proceeds to send her children a large box of candy and to write a very friendly letter to her husband.

Analysis:

Even though Edna and Arobin are described as becoming close to one another, their relationship does not receive the same kind of extended treatment that Edna and Robert's did. Edna's relationship with Arobin is peripheral in her life, whereas her feelings towards Robert were and still are a central part of her life. She is in love with Robert, as she tells Mademoiselle Reisz, and news of his imminent return leaves her ecstatic. In contrast, Arobin is someone who helps her occupy her time and who is pleasant, attractive, and interesting, but only as a temporary diversion.

In deciding to move out of the house on Esplanade Street, Edna is taking the final steps in breaking free from her husband. She is no longer emotionally or financially dependent on Leónce and therefore no longer needs him. Edna's actions have the potential to be very disruptive to the New Orleans social order. If Edna succeeds in leaving a husband she does not love and in supporting herself, then there is no reason why other women should not do the same thing. But as we shall see, her behavior is barely commented on. Her friends don't seem to think it that unusual, and even her husband is more concerned about his business prospects than her desertion. The lack of moral censure in the novel thus leads the reader to condone Edna's actions, even though they depart significantly from societal norms.

After admitting to Mademoiselle Reisz that she is in love Robert, Edna has reached the point of no return. Her awakening has been all about being true to herself and acting on her own urges, so after speaking her love for Robert, she cannot go back on her word and pretend that her love does not exist. Even though she's married and has children, she will have to see how far her love for Robert will take her. To do otherwise would be to submit to societal pressures and pretend she's something she's not.

Chapter XXVII:

Summary:

This chapter describes the scene right before Edna's first moment of marital infidelity. Edna and Arobin are sitting together in front of the fire, and he is caressing her face and hair. Still happy because she knows that Robert is coming back, Edna is speaking in a free-associative manner. Without any real reason, she calls herself "a devilishly wicked specimen" of femininity and talks about Mademoiselle Reisz, who told her that she would need strong wings if she wanted to soar above "the plain of tradition and prejudice." Arobin remarks that Mademoiselle Reisz is crazy and that Edna's thoughts seem to be somewhere else, where he can't find them. She merely smiles at him, they gaze at each other for a long time, and finally he kisses her. The kiss is the first one in her life that really affects her, and it fills her with desire.

Analysis:

In this chapter Edna speaks mostly to herself, and Arobin cannot understand the significance of her words. She calls herself a wicked example of femininity because she is consciously refusing to be everything that society demands of her: the devoted wife, the self-sacrificing mother, and the chaste maiden. She has just acknowledged that she loves someone besides her husband and knows that she wants to do something about it. However, Edna does not really feel bad about herself. Although she recognizes that she does not measure up to the ideals of society, she also feels that she is being true to herself and that she cannot be otherwise. The standards that society holds up for women are false, not her.

Although Edna does not fully comprehend the meaning of the conversation she had with Mademoiselle Reisz, the reader can divine what her friend was trying to tell her. Mademoiselle Reisz realizes that Edna will reject the confines of marriage and will pursue her love for Robert, and as an artist, she understands why Edna must do so. However, she warns Edna that not everyone else will and that they will condemn her because of their love of tradition and their prejudice. The fact that Mademoiselle Reisz uses the word "prejudice" places the burden of blame on society: society is not open-minded or enlightened enough to see Edna's love for what it really is.

Chapter XXVIII:

Summary:

After Arobin leaves her, Edna is overwhelmed by various emotions. She feels alternately sad, irresponsible, and shocked at what she has done. Surrounded by the material possessions that her husband has provided for her, she feels a little guilty, but the strongest reproach comes from Robert, whom she really loves. Mostly, she feels like the experience has allowed her to see and understand the world more clearly. Although she has no shame or remorse, she does regret that she slept with someone because of lust, rather than love.

Analysis

Why does Edna sleep with Arobin if she's really in love with Robert? The narrator does not offer any definitive explanation, and there's really no need for one. Edna sleeps with Arobin because she desires him at that moment, and she simply acts on her impulse. She does not feel particularly disloyal to Robert or to her husband because she considers herself a free woman, able to sleep with whomever she chooses. She feels slightly guilty towards her husband only because she is still living in his house, and she feels regret because Robert had not gotten there first before Arobin. In short, the negative feelings surrounding her first experience of adultery concern more the specific circumstances of the affair, rather than the larger question of disloyalty.

After sleeping with Arobin, Edna feels an increased sense of understanding. She has learned what it is to act completely in the moment, without regard to consequence, and she now knows what it means to use her body for purposes of pleasure. She has broken the paramount rule of marriage and has crossed outside the realm of social respectability. From this vantage point, she can see the rules of society for what they are: just rules, and rules that can therefore be broken.

Chapter XXIX:

Summary:

Without deliberating about it, Edna immediately sets about moving out of the big house on Esplanade Street. She wants to escape from her husband's possessions which surround her, and she sends her own things over to the smaller "pigeon house." Arobin finds her standing on a ladder, looking healthy and vigorous, unhooking pictures from the wall. If he's surprised by her behavior, he doesn't show it and after unsuccessfully trying to get her to get off the ladder, helps her in her task. Like Edna, he wears a dust-cap, which the maid Ellen finds hilariously funny.

Edna does not want to be alone with Arobin, and they converse a little about the elaborate dinner party she will throw in two days to celebrate her departure. After the dinner, Edna will completely move into the "pigeon house." Excusing herself to finish her chores, she tells Arobin that she will see him at the dinner, but no sooner. Arobin protests a bit, but looking into her eyes, resolves to wait until then.

Analysis:

As has become her habit, Edna decides to move out of her house without carefully considering her actions and fails to even consult her husband. She acts on impulse, knowing that she cannot continue an affair while still living in her husband's house. As she sees it, it would be grossly hypocritical of her to continue living as one of his possessions while treating her body and her person as her own.

Edna shows an almost surprising lack of emotion towards Arobin. Her attitude is almost completely neutral, and she exhibits neither the sexual attraction nor the awkwardness that one might expect. However, her relative indifference does make sense. She is not particularly attached to Arobin, and their affair was simply the result of a momentary whim. She didn't spend that much thought going into it, so there's no reason why she should analyze it afterwards. Similarly, she makes no promises about whether or not it'll happen again: if it does, it does; if it doesn't, she wouldn't really care that much either.

The fact that Edna and Arobin spend their morning-after cleaning her house has symbolic importance. Just as Edna is removing old fixtures from the wall and dislodging dust everywhere, so is she ripping away whatever prejudices, ties to convention, and entrenched social privilege she may have previously had. She is forging a new life path for herself, but before she can do so, she must first get rid of the relics‹the old attitudes‹of her past.

Chapter XXX:

Summary:

Edna's special dinner is actually a small, intimate gathering of people, due to Madame Ratignolle's advanced pregnancy and Madame Lebrun's last-minute no. The guests present are Mrs. Highcamp, Alcée Arobin, Mademoiselle Reisz, Monsieur Ratignolle, Victor Lebrun, an intellectual young woman named Miss Mayblunt, and her bland companion Gouvernail. They all sit around an elaborately and expensively decorated table, and wearing new diamond jewelry from her husband, Edna admits that it's her twenty-ninth birthday. They then proceed to drink the Colonel's health with one of his invented cocktails.

Wearing a golden satin gown, Edna sits regally among her guests, who chat pleasantly with each other. Though they are having a good time, she feels overcome with boredom and despair. She is filled with longing for Robert, yet simultaneously feels that he is unattainable. The guests continue to laugh and have a good time, until both Monsieur Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz get up to leave. As Edna escorts them out the door, Madmoiselle Reisz slyly tells her to be good.

When she rejoins the rest of her guests, she finds Mrs. Highcamp weaving a garland of roses for Victor, who then poses with a white scarf draped around his neck. The color contrasts are striking, and Victor looks exotic and extremely handsome. When asked to sing, he looks at Edna and starts to croon "Ah! si tu savais!," the song that she associates with Robert. Edna reacts violently, demanding that he stop and accidentally shattering a wine glass on the table. He apologizes gently to Mrs. Pontellier and kisses her hand, and pulling the garland and scarf away from his head, she tells him to stop performing for them. At this point, the rest of the guests depart and enter the quiet, still street.

Analysis:

This chapter is very similar to the climactic scene of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, in which the title character successfully draws together various guests for an elaborate little dinner party. Like Mrs. Dalloway, Edna feels removed from the pleasant chatter of her guests and doesn't actually enjoy the occasion. She has created the illusion of intimacy among her guests, but she does not participate in the illusion. The dinner party is like one of her paintings: although aesthetically pleasing, it is just the picture of reality, not reality itself.

The dinner table is perfectly decorated, and Edna herself looks majestic and gorgeous in her gown. Her guests talk constantly, but as the description of their conversation implies, they don't really say anything of substance. They are there to celebrate Edna's departure from the conventionality of high society, but ironically, they are all members of the social elite. They do not really understand why Edna is leaving Esplanade Street, and so their interactions, though pleasant and very agreeable, are exactly the kind that Edna is trying to escape: formal, prescribed, and embedded within a specific social context. Feeling bored, Edna longs for something indescribable, but which is the sincere, emotional bond that she has with Robert.

When Victor poses for the gathering, he creates a different kind of picture, but one that is equally false. He becomes a stand-in for Robert when he starts to sing "Ah! si tu savais!", but as Edna knows all too well, he is not his brother. He evokes the specter of Robert, but the illusion that he creates is inevitably false.

Chapter XXXI:

Summary:

Only Arobin remains behind after the party disperses, and he helps her lock up the house. Together they leave Esplanade Street and walk to the "pigeon house" arm in arm. Edna seems sad and doesn't feel like speaking much. They enter the small house, which has a front porch opening directly into the pantry. Edna has already decorated a little bit, so the house looks comfortable and inviting. In addition, Arobin has surprised her by ordering the pantry filled with flowers.

Edna admits that she feels tired and unhappy and that she has overextended herself in throwing the dinner party by herself. Caressing her head and neck, Arobin tells her that he will let her rest; however, he does not leave and begins to gently kiss her neck. He tells Edna, who is slightly uneasy, that he will leave after he says good night, but only after they sleep together does he do so.

Chapter XXXII:

Summary:

Mr. Pontellier is displeased when he finds out about his wife's recent decisions, and he writes her a heated letter scolding her for being foolish and irresponsible. He reminds her that she must not neglect her social obligations and that people might think she moved out of the big house because of financial reasons. Primarily concerned with his business prospects, Mr. Pontellier also writes a letter to a local architect and contracts a number of expensive renovations to the house. Soon, the house is under construction and clearly uninhabitable. Finally, he sends a notice to the local newspaper indicating that the Pontelliers will be going on summer holiday and that their house is currently subject to "sumptuous alterations."

Edna takes little notice of her husband's actions and feels content and happy in her new home. She enjoys the feeling of having descended from the social elite and experiences an increased sense of freedom and clairvoyance. In a few days, she goes to visit her children in Iberville and spends a week there playing with them and looking at everything they have to show her. She nearly weeps with joy when she sees them, and their youthful energy and curiosity completely fulfills her for that one week. When she has to leave, she feels pangs of sadness that accompany her all the way back to New Orleans. However, by the time she enters the "pigeon house," she is once more celebrating the solitude and quiet of her life there.

Analysis

Characteristically, Mr. Pontellier seems to care more about his business prospects than his wife. Rather than discussing with Edna her reasons for leaving their home, he contacts the architect and the local newspaper. However, it may be that such a response is entirely justified. The narrator notes that Mr. Pontellier did not even consider it a possibility that his wife's departure would be a reason for scandal. Apparently, it does not even enter his mind that his wife may want to leave him or that she may have become interested in other men during his absence. He takes it for granted that his wife will always be his wife and that she will always remain faithful to him, and so he cannot even conceive of people gossiping about them or their marriage. Since he assumes that his wife would never even think of leaving him, perhaps it would be logical for him to worry first about his business prospects.

By moving into the pigeon house and thereby descending the social scale, Edna can continue to define herself without regard to social norms and expectations. Moving into the smaller house was an enormous step of originality and independence. Having already led people to expect "radical" behavior from her, there are no longer as many barriers to prevent her from asserting her individuality.

Just as she devotes all her attention to her father when he comes to visit, so does she focus all her energy on her children because she finds them temporarily amusing. She thoroughly enjoys them because she can experience them simply as children, and not specifically as her children that she has to constantly take care of. They entertain her when she visits them, and when she leaves, she is glad that she can again be free of the responsibility of being their mother.

Chapter XXXIII:

Summary:

This chapter begins with Edna visiting Mademoiselle Reisz' apartment to talk about Robert, but it soon flashes back to the events of that afternoon. Edna had been trying to paint but was interrupted by Madame Ratignolle, who asked about the dinner party and the new house. After making Edna promise to go to her when she is in labor, she warns her friend that she may want someone to stay with her in the pigeon house. Telling Edna that she acts without adequate reflection, she cautions her that people have begun to talk about Arobin visiting her alone. Edna casually brushes off her warning, and Madame Ratignolle apologizes for even mentioning it.

When Edna seeks out Mademoiselle Reisz for some much-needed relaxation, she finds her friend out but goes inside anyway to wait for her. Idly, she occupies herself with the plants and the piano, until suddenly Robert knocks on the door and walks in. Having stood up, Edna falls back into her seat and unsteadily, begins to speak to her beloved. Wanting him all to herself, she is upset to find out that he arrived the day before yesterday and that he left Mexico because he didn't like the people there.

She studies his face and finds him pretty much the same. For a moment, he looks deep into her eyes, and she recognizes the man she fell in love with at Grand Isle. Having imagined Robert's return many times, she is a little disconcerted to find it somewhat banal and awkward. Instead of waiting for Mademoiselle Reisz to come back, they both go to Edna's house for dinner. Robert finds a photograph of Alcée Arobin that Edna explains she is using to sketch from, and they begin to banter casually with each other.

Analysis:

Madame Ratignolle attempts to remind Edna that she cannot live completely free of social constraints. Even though Edna wants to ignore them, she must realize that people will continue to expect her to follow them. She warns her that her actions will have consequences that she must be aware of. Though Madame Ratignolle is caught up in being the perfect wife and mother, she does have certain insights that Edna could benefit from. Even though she may lack daring and individuality, she does possess a certain wisdom that comes from quietly observing the world around her.

Just as he was when he left her, Robert is very restrained in his emotions and maintains a cool reserve. Although he perhaps overdoes a little of the formality, he is an old-school gentleman and does not want to impose himself where it would be improper to do so. After all, Edna is still a married woman, and Robert does not know that she has started to cheat on her husband.

Robert mentions that he is glad that he didn't know Edna in her old home, and the implication of his words is clear: while she was living on Esplanade Street, she was embedded in her role as wife, mother, and socialite, whereas now he can know her by herself, a whole person. Leónce Pontellier has less of a claim on her now than he did before, and Edna is free of the mundane responsibilities that would lessen the strength of her and Robert's bond.

Chapter XXXIV:

Summary:

Robert and Edna have an unremarkable dinner, and Edna asks him about an embroidered tobacco pouch that he got from a girl in Mexico. Robert is evasive and downplays the girl's significance. Arobin comes in, and Edna continues to bait Robert about the Mexican girl. Robert decides to leave, and Arobin remains behind while Edna writes a letter. Edna tells Arobin to go away because she wants to be alone, and after he leaves, she relives every moment she has just spent with Robert. She feels sad and jealous of the Mexican girl and senses that she is not as close to him as she had imagined.

Analysis

Edna becomes extremely jealous of the Mexican girl that Robert met even though it seems quite apparent that he is still enamored with Edna herself. He tells her that he has forgotten nothing about their summer at Grand Isle and tries to downplay the significance of the girl from Mexico. However, Edna will simply not let the subject drop, which is quite ironic considering that she has been sleeping with Arobin. At the end of the chapter, she is consumed with jealousy, even though Arobin has just left her and told her that he adores her.

Robert and Edna do not quite regain their earlier level of intimacy, and their conversation is awkward and stilted. Edna tries to probe for intimate details, but Robert tries to keep himself back. Their meeting is quite anticlimactic and not at all what Edna had hoped it would be like. Reality is disappointing, although as she will soon discover, Robert is not behaving in a way that reflects how he truly feels.

Edna and Arobin almost behave like a married couple at the end of the chapter. She writes a letter while he reads the paper, and they discuss trivialities as if they are accustomed to spending a lot of together just doing nothing. However, despite the illusion of comfortable domesticity that they create, neither forgets that theirs is just a minor fling. Edna alludes to the numerous women he has slept with, and Arobin acknowledges that he is not always sincere in everything he says to them. Their cozy "relationship" provides yet another example of appearances not conforming to reality.

Chapter XXXV:

Summary:

When Edna awakes, she feels only joy that Robert has returned, and she imagines what he may be doing that day. She receives pleasant notes from her husband and children, as well as one from Arobin, which she does not reply to. She is disappointed when Robert does not come to visit her for three days, and one night she accepts Arobin's offer to go on a drive. They are discreet in their affair, but they sleep together at her home before he departs. Edna does not feel sad when he leaves, but neither does she feel joy when she awakes.

Analysis:

Robert's presence in town throws her into extremes of emotion. She goes to bed despairing that he does not love her, and she wakes up ecstatic and confident that he does. Robert plays a large role in her mental life: she thinks about him constantly, and her emotions are closely tied to his actions. Throughout the novel, she has experienced similar mood swings, but her feelings are intensified now that Robert has the potential to be actually present in her life.

The note that Edna receives from her husband informs her that he will be returning shortly and that they will then be taking an extended trip overseas. Edna sublimates the joy she is feeling at Robert's recent arrival and writes her husband a friendly note. She consciously decides to live in the moment without thinking about the future. This decision simply conforms with behavior that she has been already exhibiting throughout the novel.

Edna seems to sleep with Arobin because she has nothing better to do. She responds to him sexually but without any commitment to him. As with her father and children, she allows him into her life because it suits her to do so at that particular moment. Unlike Robert, Arobin does not have the power to affect her emotions. He is peripheral to her life, though they use each other for mutual pleasure.

Chapter XXXVI:

Summary:

Edna frequently goes to a small café out in the suburbs that is run by a mulatto woman named Catiche. It is secluded and quiet, surrounded by gardens and inhabited by a cat. One day when she is there, Robert also appears and awkwardly joins her at her table. She asks him why he has been avoiding her, and he grows irritable and refuses to give her any excuses. They begin to fight, but soon veer off into a more neutral conversation. Robert accompanies her back home, and she does not pressure him to stay. He does stay, however, and while she washes her face, he sits in a chair with his eyes closed.

When Edna returns, she asks if he is asleep and then kisses him. He responds and admits that his love for her was what kept him away from her for so long. He tells her that he could not pursue her because she was married and that he dreamed of Leónce setting her free to become his wife. She tells him that she is not a possession and can give herself to whomever she wants, which makes him turn a little pale. At this point, a servant comes with the message that Madame Ratignolle has gone into labor. Edna tells Robert to wait for her there, and before she leaves, they kiss passionately. Edna says that she loves Robert, that he awoke her from a dream last summer, and that now they can live together forever. With Robert pleading with her not to leave, she says goodbye to him seductively.

Analysis:

This chapter represents a climactic moment for Edna. Throughout most of the novel, she has been yearning for Robert, and finally, after a rough start, she and her beloved finally acknowledge that they are in love with each other. At the beginning of the chapter, Edna is jealous that Robert is not spending enough time with her, and she tries to get him to express his feelings towards her. He refuses to do so, however, because he realizes that it will not do any good‹that she will still be married and he will still want to do the honorable thing. Edna seems to have taken on the role of pursuer in this relationship: she knows what she wants, and she is trying to get Robert to admit his love for her. She is reversing the traditional male-female roles and refusing to play coy, which is why she admits that her behavior may be considered "unwomanly."

In addition, it is Edna who initiates physical contact with Robert. Whereas earlier she simply grabbed Arobin's wrist, here she kisses Robert on the mouth unsolicited. Acting on her sexual desires even though she is married, Edna is a remarkable character in early twentieth-century fiction. She is breaking all taboos and trying to have not just one, but two, extramarital affairs. Whereas upper-middle-class women were expected to repress all traces of their sexuality, Edna's sexual desires are central to her personality, and she acts on them with pleasure and confidence, rather than shame.

Edna is unapologetic about her actions, but Chopin also takes a neutral narrative tone. Chopin describes the action without placing any moral censure on her characters, Edna in particular. Instead, she encourages the reader to sympathize with Edna, who has been pining away for her one true love for so long. Such a narrative stance was considered quite improper at the time.

It is significant to note that Edna declares herself to be the possession of no one. She is not simply property that Leónce can give to Robert, and she tells Robert he is foolish if he thinks this to be the case. When she asserts that "I give myself where I choose," she is alluding to the fact that she has already given herself to Arobin. Robert seems to suspect something of the sort because he turns pale at her words. Thus, while Edna is deeply in love with Robert, she is still rejecting the traditional definition of marriage, which declares a woman the property of her husband.

Chapter XXXVII:

Summary:

Monsieur Ratignolle is at the drug store and is grateful that Edna will be there for his wife. Madame Ratignolle's sister could not make it, and the doctor has been in and out. When Edna arrives at the Ratignolle residence, she finds her friend in great pain, looking haggard and sick. Madame Ratignolle screams about being neglected by her husband and the doctor. When the doctor arrives, she refuses to let Edna leave her side. Edna begins to feel uneasy and remembers the pain and confusion she experienced when she was in labor. She wishes she had not come, but she cannot make herself leave. She stays through the entire ordeal as if she were torturing herself. When she says goodbye, Madame Ratignolle whispers to her, "Oh think of the children! Remember them!"

Analysis

Madame Ratignolle's appearance in this chapter is a sharp departure from her usual complacent, Madonna-like self. In the throes of childbirth, she is unattractive, irritable, and inconsolable. Her hair is braided and looks like a golden serpent. This symbolic image evokes associations with Eve and the Garden of Eden. In her moment of anguish, Madame Ratignolle represents human folly, rather than maternal plenitude, and she is experiencing the effects of God's curse on womankind. Madame Ratignolle is bringing more children into an imperfect, sinful world, and there is nothing romantic or special about what she is doing.

Edna remembers her own birthings and the accompanying pain. She relives the entire ordeal and experiences it as torture. This passage exposes childbirth as the painful, gut-wrenching process that it is, and it reveals the cult of motherhood as simply a constructed fiction. There is nothing inherently good or natural about being a mother or in having maternal instincts. During childbirth, which is the time when a woman is most a mother, Madame Ratignolle is racked with pain and loses all the maternal qualities for which she is most admired. She becomes simply a woman, stripped of all her nurturing, giving characteristics, and she experiences the actual act of childbirth as a very unpleasant process. By presenting childbirth and maternity in such a light, Chopin is suggesting that it is foolish to define women solely as mothers and to glorify only those women who limit themselves as such.

Chapter XXXVIII:

Summary:

Edna feels dazed after leaving Madame Ratignolle, and Doctor Mandelet offers to walk her home. He thinks that it is cruel that Madame Ratignolle made her stay with her, and Edna tries to convey her complex emotions. Though her words are jumbled, she acknowledges that she has responsibilities to her children that get in the way of independence and freedom from illusions. Doctor Mandelet understands what she's trying to say and tells her she can talk to him if she ever needs to. Edna declines his offer but says that even though she feels comfortable flouting convention and doing her own thing, she still feels guilty about possibly hurting her children.

When she enters her house, she is excited to remember that Robert will be waiting there. She remembers Madame Ratignolle's warning but decides to ignore it for that one night. However, much to her despair, she finds Robert gone and a brief note that says, "I love you. Good-by‹because I love you." She lies on the sofa awake for the entire night.

Analysis:

All the new feelings and emotions that have been building up inside of Edna suddenly come together in this second-to-last chapter. Finally, after blindly doing her own thing for so long, Edna realizes the full meaning of her awakening‹only to find herself up against a wall. After witnessing Madame Ratignolle's ordeal and hearing her warning, Edna understands that she cannot simply do whatever she wants without regard to consequence. No matter how hard she tries to disregard convention and the people around her, she cannot escape from her responsibility to her children. She is not acting in a vacuum, and she cannot simply abandon her children to fend for themselves in a difficult world. Even though she is willing to risk social ostracism for herself, she recognizes that she needs to protect her children, and in order to do so, she must compromise some of her ideals and desires.

Edna decides not to think about such concerns for this one night, however. She cannot ignore the fact that she and Robert are in love with each other, even if she is aware that such love could have a harmful effect on the lives of her children. Edna is not going to sacrifice the one true emotion she has had in her entire life‹her love for Robert‹especially since he is at least partially responsible for her awakening. Over the summer he made her realize that she was a wonderful person‹not just a good wife or mother‹and she cannot simply back out of the moment to which her entire existence for the past year has been building.

Robert does not wait for her because he is only too aware that their actions that night would have negative consequences. While Edna is willing to risk all, at least at that moment, Robert is not willing to let her do so. He has not had the same kind of awakening as she has, and as a man, he does not have to struggle against the social limitations that Edna finds so unbearable. He is not reacting against anything, and as such, he has a little more clairvoyance. Or else he's just a little more afraid.

Chapter XXXIX:

Summary:

Victor is at Grand Isle fixing up the cottages, and Mariequita is asking him to tell her about Mrs. Pontellier's party. She thinks that Victor is in love with Mrs. Pontellier and gets melodramatically jealous. Suddenly, Mrs. Pontellier appears at the cottage, and they are amazed to actually see her there. She says she just wanted to rest a little, and they talk about where she can stay and what they'll have for dinner. Edna says that she wants to go swimming for a little bit.

She walks down to the beach without thinking about anything. She has already done all her thinking on the night that she stayed up all night. That night she realized that she could have a string of lovers and that soon she'll even forget about Robert. However, her children are the one thing preventing her from forging her own path and that threaten to chain her to a life of misery.

She goes to the beach house and puts on her old bathing suit. Then she takes it off and stands naked on the beach, in front of the ocean, with its seductive, ceaseless voice. She starts to swim far out into the ocean and is not afraid. She thinks of the meadow in Kentucky that she played in when she was little, and she laughs at her husband and children, who can never possess her. She thinks of Mademoiselle Reisz, who she imagines as laughing at her lack of courage, and of Doctor Mandelet, who wouldn't really have understood her. She is growing tired, and her last thoughts are of her childhood: her father and her sister Margaret, an old dog, the cavalry officer she had a crush on, and the sounds and smells of her youth.

Analysis:

This last scene of suicide is written in a beautiful, subtle prose. Chopin's writing is balanced and calm, and it aptly capture Edna's mental state. For the first time in the novel, Edna has thought extensively about her course of action, and she knows exactly what she's going to do. To the end, Edna remains true to herself. In deciding to kill herself, she is refusing to sacrifice her illusions for anyone or anything, including her children. She sees death as her only path of escape, and to some extent, she may be right. In a world where she is limited to being a wife and a mother, she is trapped in an unfulfilling marriage and has children who she only sometimes enjoys. She has already been defined by her society, and she cannot redefine herself without jeopardizing the futures of her children.

In returning to Grand Isle, the novel comes full circle. The island was the scene of her original awakening, and after a year, she is once again returning to the ocean. The water, which had seduced her with its sound and helped awaken her sensuous nature, reclaims her in this chapter. She first realized her mental, physical, and emotional potential while discovering how to swim, so it is only natural that she destroy this potential by drowning herself.

However, the novel does not end on a pessimistic tone. Before she dives into the ocean, Edna stands naked in the sun and feels once again reborn. Edna destroys herself, but paradoxically, she is also reclaiming her life. She is asserting that her life is hers to have and to destroy, and she is refusing to sacrifice it on behalf of society.

• Biography of Kate Chopin
• About The Awakening
• Character List
• Short Summary
• Full Summary and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-3
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 4-6
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 7-9
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 10-12
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 13-15
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 16-18
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 19-21
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 22-24
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 25-27
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 28-30
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 31-33
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 34-36
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 37-39
• Related Links on The Awakening
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources
• Purchase The Awakening and Other Works
• Essays on The Awakening
• E-Text
• Message Board on The Awakening