#The awakening themes series#
#The awakening themes free#

Doctor Mandelet offers Edna his help and understanding and is worried about the possible consequences of her defiance and independence. When LГ©once consults with him about Edna's unconventional behavior, the doctor suspects that Edna is in love with another man, although he keeps his suspicions to himself because he recognizes that there is little LГ©once can do if Edna is indeed in love with someone else and that any further constraints imposed on her will only intensify her revolt. He is a fairly enlightened man, who silently recognizes Edna's dissatisfaction with the restrictions placed on her by social conventions. Doctor Mandelet - Doctor Mandelet is LГ©once and Edna's family physician.

He treats Edna with love and kindness, but their relationship lacks passion and excitement, and he knows very little of his wife's true feelings and emotions. Very concerned with social appearances, LГ©once wishes Edna to continue the practices expected of New Orleans women despite her obvious distaste for them. Although he loves Edna and his sons, he spends little time with them because he is often away on business or with his friends.

LГ©once Pontellier - LГ©once Pontellier, a forty-year-old, wealthy New Orleans businessman, is Edna's husband.

Throughout their passionate affair, Edna retains authority and never allows AlcГ©e to own or control her. Although Robert Lebrun is the man whom Edna truly loves, Arobin satisfies Edna's physical urges while Robert is in Mexico. Arobin enjoys making conquests out of married women, and he becomes Edna's lover while her husband is on a business trip to New York.

AlcГ©e Arobin - The seductive, charming, and forthright AlcГ©e Arobin is the Don Juan of the New Orleans Creole community.

He is torn between his love for her and society's view that women are the possessions of their husbands. As the friendship between Robert and Edna becomes more intimate and complex, however, he realizes that he has genuinely fallen in love with Edna. Robert offers his affections comically and in an over-exaggerated manner, and thus is never taken seriously. Dramatic and passionate, he has a history of becoming the devoted attendant to a different woman each summer at Grand Isle.

Robert Lebrun - Robert Lebrun is the twenty-six-year-old single man with whom Edna falls in love.

Adele is also a foil for Mademoiselle Reisz, whose independent and unconventional lifestyle inspires Edna's transgressions.

#The awakening themes free#

Her free manner of discourse and expression, typical of Creole women of the time, acts as a catalyst for Edna's abandonment of her former reserved and introverted nature. While her lifestyle and attitude contrast with Edna's increasing independence, AdГЁle unwittingly helps facilitate her friend's transformation. She idolizes her children and worships her husband, centering her life around caring for them and performing her domestic duties. AdГЁle Ratignolle - Edna's close friend, AdГЁle Ratignolle represents the Victorian feminine ideal.Mademoiselle Reisz is also a foil for Edna's other close female friend, AdГЁle Ratignolle, who epitomizes the conventional and socially acceptable woman of the late nineteenth century. Mademoiselle Reisz is the only character in the novel who knows of the love between Robert and Edna, and she, thus, serves as a true confidante for Edna despite their considerably different personalities. Mademoiselle warns Edna that she must be brave if she wishes to be an artist-that an artist must have a courageous and defiant soul. When Edna begins actively to pursue personal independence, she seeks Mademoiselle Reisz's companionship. A talented pianist and somewhat of a recluse, she represents independence and freedom and serves as a sort of muse for Edna. She is unmarried and childless, and she devotes her life to her passion: music. Mademoiselle Reisz - Mademoiselle Reisz may be the most influential character in Edna's awakening.Tragically, Edna's awakenings isolate her from others and ultimately lead her to a state of total solitude.

#The awakening themes series#

Through a series of experiences, or вЂњawakenings,вЂќ Edna becomes a shockingly independent woman, who lives apart from her husband and children and is responsible only to her own urges and passions. She emerges from her semi-conscious state of devoted wife and mother to a state of total awareness, in which she discovers her own identity and acts on her desires for emotional and sexual satisfaction.

The twenty-eight-year-old wife of a New Orleans businessman, Edna suddenly finds herself dissatisfied with her marriage and the limited, conservative lifestyle that it allows.

Edna Pontellier - Edna is the protagonist of the novel, and the вЂњawakeningвЂќ to which the title refers is hers.