Love or Lust?

After reading Kristen D's post, I can definitely see how the relationship between the Pontelliers can be seen as "forced," but to push back, it is hard to see a natural relationship between Robert and Edna because of knowing the type of man Robert is. It is clear that Edna is finding her true self, and maybe it is simply convenient that Robert is there when her "awakening" is occurring. Any girl, and a vulnerable one at that, could agree that she would be weak in the knees over a young man giving her attention. Especially Robert, who during "his oblivious attention...quietly rested his head against Mrs. Pontellier's arm" (Chopin 15). Maybe this relationship is pure, but it is something to think about when we know that Edna is quickly reinventing and exploring her life. She is realizing that she rushed into a life she did not want, and it just so happens, Robert is there to  be her shoulder to lean on. So I guess it is something to consider about the relationship between Robert and Edna: is it love, or is Edna lusting after what she could have had?

"A Tragic Catalog of Mostly Miserable Nineteenth-Century Marriages"

Check out this article from Slate. I couldn't help but think about so many of our conversations in class so far this semester.

The Power Within

While Edna's "awakening" started off slowly, I would argue that when she finally learned to swim her awakening truly took off. "That night she was like the tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over-confidence" (27). As Edna conquers her fears or the "ungovernable dread {that] hung about her when in the water" (27) and realizes her "powers" she is able to translate this confidence into her awakening. That night Edna begins to outwardly defy her husband. Mr. Pontellier desires for her to come in for the night saying, "I can't permit you to stay out there all night. You must come in the house instantly" (31). Edna refuses, "perceiv[ing] that her will had blazed up" and says to Mr. Pontellier, "Don't speak to me like that again; I shall not answer you" (31). I believe it is the power that she finds in the water which allows her to stand up for herself and what she wants, instead of giving in to the wishes of others just because it's what is expected of her.

Life and Love: Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier

            Personally, the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier seems very forced, whereas the relationship between Edna and Robert is natural. I believe that Mr. Pontellier deserves as much of the blame for the failure of their relationship as Mrs. Pontellier. In The Awakening Chopin depicts a troubling scene, “Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure that Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had ailed him all day. Mr. Pontellier was too well acquainted with fever symptoms to be mistaken. He assured her the child was consuming at that moment in the next room” (Chopin 5). As I was reading the text, this scene in particular really bothered me.  Yes, it could support the fact that Mrs. P neglects her children, but I see another side/layer to this passage. What (does the text suggest) that would make Mr. P a master of “fever symptoms?” He is a stock broker. Honestly, I felt sympathetic toward Mrs. P, because it seems like Mr. P is challenging her with the “husband/father” knows best approach. What do you think? I am not insinuating Edna should receive an A+ in the mother department: “She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them (Chopin 18). (Does this mean Edna does not love her children? Personally, I don’t think so. Edna just was not ready for the lifestyle of motherhood.) However, I do think it is important to consider the parental unit as a whole.  

           

            A small passage about Mr. Pontellier that I wish would have been brought up in class: “He was eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week in Carondelet Street” (Chopin 6). In this quotation, I believe that it is evident that Mr. P is unhappy in his marriage. So far, he seems like the kind of character who likes parties and drinking. Edna strikes me as a thinker or maybe an old soul. In other words, I think Mr. and Mrs. P have contrasting personalities. But, if you read dialogue between Robert and Edna, they have more interests in common. Although, Robert is flirtatious, I feel like their connection is natural.

The Voice of Edna

I am very interested in bird symbolism and language in female literature. When in captivity, birds are often in cages in order to restrain them. These cages may be large or small (comfortable or restricting). For this reason, I often compare bird language in literature to the female characters within the book who may feel restrained, oppressed, or on the other side of the spectrum, free. In The Awaking, the first image the reader is met with is a parrot, “which hung in a cage outside the door, [and] lept repeating over and over: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!’” (1). In English translation, the parrot is yelling, “Go away! Go away! For heaven’s sake! (1). The parrot’s screeching results in Mr. Pontellier’s decision to read his newspaper somewhere else. The parrot, I believe, symbolizes Mrs. Pontellier who is also caged inside a seemingly regretful marriage with Mr. Pontilleir. Mrs. Pontellier is restricted by Mr. Pontellier through their marriage and children they share together. Mrs. Pontellier is no longer happy in her marriage but she does not leave Mr. Pontellier because she is dependent on him, through his wealth he gives her food and shelter in the same way the parrot is given food and shelter from its master. Mrs. Pontellier’s relationship with Robert is her way of telling Mr. Pontellier to “‘Go away! Go away! For heaven’s sake!

Influences of Mrs. Pontellier and Madame Ratignolle

I find the relationship between Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle to be an interesting one.  The first description we receive of Madame Ratignolle comes from Mr. Pontellier as he is contemplating his wife's lacking of motherly qualities.  She is descried as "the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm," and her beauty is "flaming and apparent" (8).  This is nearly the opposite description of what we receive of Mrs. Pontellier.  She is described as "rather handsome than beautiful" and "a contradictory subtle play of features" (3).  One woman is "apparent" while the other is "subtle."  Mrs. Pontellier acknowledges the difference between the two women.  It is stated that "never would Edna Pontellier forget the shock with which she heard Madame Ratignolle relating to old Monsieur Farival the Harrowing story of one of her accouchements" (9).The differing descriptions of the women led me to believe, at first, that there would be conflict between them.  However, the women are close friends, and Mrs. Pontellier looks fondly to Madame Ratignole.  Upon their trip to the beach, Edna confides in Adele.  Edna states that Adele had a large influence over her that summer (14).  Their trip to the beach seems to be Edna's first experience with affection from which she does not withdraw (17).  Likewise, Adele acts protectively toward Edna, asking Robert to "let Mrs. Pontellier alone" (19).  The women obviously care for each other, and have influence on each other with their differing actions.  I look forward to observing how their relationship progresses and the influences that the women to continue to have over each other.

Foreshadowing in Chopin’s The Awakening

The title of Kate Chopin’s novel tells the reader that a change in consciousness is coming, presumably to the story’s protagonist, Edna Pontellier. I believe that it also foreshadows Pontellier’s affair with Robert and her impending death by drowning: “A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly in her—the light which, showing the way, forbids it” (13).  This passage is an oblique reference to Pontellier’s repressed desire to escape from her culturally assigned performative role as mother and dutiful wife. It is also the first dim acknowledgment of her desire to be with Robert.

Pontellier’s death and her repressed sexual desires are foretold in the metaphor of the sea: “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose herself in mazes of inward contemplation” (13). The sea symbolizes the birth of consciousness, eternity, and death. “Abysses of solitude” is a metaphor for introspection and death.

Chopin’s description of the sea is both sensuous and seductive: “The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (13).  Chopin poetically personifies the sea into a receptacle for sexual pleasure: a place of awakening consciousness and death, where one can drown in the desire to be free from societal convention and normative behavior.