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Primary characters

Edna Pontellier

The novel's protagonist. She is presented as a complex and emotionally dynamic character (a rarity for female characters of the period).^[1] Her "awakening" to the stifling realities of being a woman at the end of the nineteenth century forms the core of the plot.

Robert Lebrun

The son of the proprietor of the Grand Isle resort where the Pontellier family spends its summers. Edna and Robert develop a mutual attraction that forms the central conflict of the novel. He relocates to Mexico (under the pretext of seeking business opportunities) in order to escape a relationship that has no chance of survival. His return from Mexico further complicates matters and leads to the novel's tragic climax.^[1]

Léonce Pontellier

Edna’s husband. Léonce is both a callous patriarch and a fond husband with very clear ideas about what a woman's preoccupations should be. In his eyes, Edna's only aim in life is the orderly maintenance of the family estate and the care of their two children. He becomes genuinely confused at his wife's gradual desire for emancipation and his absence on an extended business trip to New York City provides Edna the room to reconsider her situation.

Alcée Arobin

Edna's lover. When Robert Lebrun leaves for Mexico Alcée actively seeks Edna's attention and affections. At first ambivalent at the prospect, eventually Edna allows him to court her. Alcée comes with a womanizing reputation but treats Edna in a chivalrous (if aggressively infatuated) manner.

Adèle Ratignolle

Friend of the Pontellier family. She is set up in opposition to Edna as an almost unthinkingly self-sacrificing mother. She is the traditional ideal of femininity for the late 1800s but is also a warm, generous, and boisterous presence. As Edna struggles with her place in the home and in society at large, Adele reminds her to think of her children and put them above all else, even herself.

Mademoiselle Reisz

A pianist. While barely a fringe member of New Orleans society (she is renowned as a gifted pianist but is not a part of the "in crowd"), Edna seeks out Mlle. Reisz both for advice and because Mlle. Reisz is in communication with Robert Lebrun while he is in Mexico. A perceptive and bluntly honest woman, she is almost shamanistic as she helps Edna sort out her emotions.