Adéle And Reisz Analysis

At first, she is struck by the epitome of Creole wife that is Adele Ratignolle. Adele Ratignolle was widely considered “the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm” with “spun-gold hair...blue eyes...like nothing but sapphires...and lips like crimson fruit” (Chopin, 12). Golden hair, sapphires and crimson fruit are all products that can be owned and by using such words, Chopin is making a statement about the relationship between Adele and her husband: she is a commodity he owns. Adele is also described as being a talented pianist, yet even this is “on account of the children...because she and her husband both considered it a means of brightening the home and making it attractive” (Chopin, 27). Again, the characterization of Adele remains of the physical, the visual, the superficial through the diction of “brightening” and “attractive”. The fact that her opinion is lumped with her husband’s is also an important detail as through this passage. Chopin is demonstrating that Adele has a singular identity––as wife to a Creole––with a singular source of happiness––stemming from her children––and that if Edna were to choose this path, she would be expected to do the

Mademoiselle Reisz understood what it means to be an artist. She was an “artist at the piano” (Chopin 554). Mademoiselle Reisz was isolated from society. She lived alone with practically no friends, except Robert and Edna. Her proprietor described her as “the most disagreeable and unpopular woman” (Chopin 580). Mademoiselle Reisz defied society’s convention. She devoted herself entirely to art; as a result, she became ostracized from society (Koloski 119). She plays music, not for others, but for herself. She told Edna that she was “the only

A foil for Adele Ratignolle, Mademoiselle Reisz serves as a living example of an entirely self-sufficient woman, who is ruled by her art and her passions, rather than by the expectations of society. A small homely woman, unmarried and childless, Mademoiselle Reisz is a talented pianist and somewhat of a recluse. She represents the anti-mother along independence and freedom. The first time she is introduced in the novel she is introduced as being “eccentric and quarrelsome”, from that we are able to infer that she is unlike the other women. Later as the novel continues to progress from her house and manner of expression we are again able to infer that she is unlike the other Creole women. For her home is an apartment above everyone, with a view, that is disagreeable and often cold. Mademoiselle Reisz is the woman that Edna could have become should she have remained independent of her husband and children and lived to old age.

Chopin uses the first hand description of Adele from Edna as a literary comparison to previous descriptions of Adele, allowing insight into Edna’s own perceptions and changing world view.

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, two people who have the ultimate influence on Edna are Mademoiselle Reisz, and Robert Lebrun.

Why does Mademoiselle Reisz say that it takes courage to be an artist? Do you agree? Is her opinion rooted in her time period and gender?

This description of Adele by Edna Pontellier gives a deeper meaning to Adele 's characterization as the perfect mother. Other women were aware of her perfection and her immense love of her children and they envied how easily it was for her to love her life and be content with just being a homemaker. Both Mademoiselle Reisz and Adèle Ratignolle are extremely contrasting characters with completely different outlooks on life in the late nineteenth century.

In addition to the incorporation of symbolism, Kate Chopin writes the story of Edna Pontellier with descriptive, sensory imagery that significantly follows her path of discovery. Throughout the entirety of the text, Edna finds herself beginning to long for Mademoiselle Reisz’s

After returning from vacation, Edna is a changed woman. When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions.

Adele is a selfless woman as she devotes her whole existence to her children and husband. She was often found sewing “little night drawers…a bodice…or a bib” (11) for the upcoming winter whereas Edna’s “mind was quite at rest concerning the present material needs of her children” (11). Adele frequently talks about her children, always sounding proud or excited about them. Edna neglects to mention her children many times, as clearly they are not the top priority in her life. Many times Adele would wonder if she even should leave her children behind and go somewhere with Edna. Adele is accepted in the Creole community, she is family to them, and she has many Creole companions. This only noticed when you note Edna’s relations with the Creole community, she is accepted but never seems to fully integrate with the community. This is representative of the how Edna rejects the common role of women in society at the time. Chopin also uses a subtle hint of Adele’s appearance to suggest that Adele’s commitment to her maternal role. Adele is described a delicate woman with soft hands and pale skin. This is to suggest that Adele does not leave her house, nor does she do physical labor, which would mean she would leave the house. Her pale skin suggests that she is committed to the household and all the duties involved. Her physical beauty is to impress her husband as she is frequently seeking his approval through her physical

Using Edna’s attitude with her lovers, Kate Chopin creates an attitude of feminism within Edna before it was a thing. Edna goes through a transition within the novella; the way she acts

Through the usage of Freudian Psychoanalysis in her main character Edna, Chopin gives readers a candid glance into the elaborate nature of women's thoughts and feelings in the 19th century. It is clear that established roles were very highly in question, as well as the importance of self-expression and discovery. These are very important elements of humanity to consider as they relate very heavily to the condition of society today. These ideas can be seen in politics, the arts, social relations, and an individual's perception of their duties to society. The idea of the Id, the Ego, and the Superego does seem to be a realistic perception of the human mindset, as demonstrated through Edna's thought process, and can be applied to the way of thought that people have possessed for hundreds of years. In these times, the world struggles to achieve meaning and purpose within themselves and among their societies, and the Awakening offers an extremely interesting point of view; Learning to recognise and explore

Edna’s state of mind before her awakening is expressed when she has difficulties with creating a portrait of Madame Ratignolle. When Edna creates the portrait, she observes it very critically and she becomes upset when the picture does not look like Madame Ratignolle, “she was greatly disappointed to find that it did not look like her. But it was a fair enough piece of work, and in many respects satisfying”(55). The picture itself, wasn’t bad, but in terms of a portrait, it did fail to capture an accurate depiction of Madame Ratignolle. When she realizes this, she reacts emotionally and finds the sketch is not worthy enough to keep working on and destroys the image. It is interesting that rather than fixing the errors she sees, she instead further ruins it by striking a smudge across the image before crumbling it up. It is evident that when she no longer finds something physically gratifying, she will give up on it all together. But we also see that what she really wants to capture is reality through art and finds this most appealing. The image was still satisfying, meaning it was still nice and aesthetically pleasing, but it was not life-like, it did not accurately depict reality for her. She doesn’t however blame her skills as an artist, even if dabbling is all she is doing.

Originally, Edna’s husband, Leonce Pontellier, would take care of his family and show his love through giving gifts and other tangible items. Although society, specifically her neighbors and friends, all saw these gifts as acts of love and something that only a good husband would do. Edna, although she accepted these gifts gratefully, she always had the feeling there was no true meaning or love behind them. Edna’s first sign of rebellion was when she abandoned her house duties. This include taking calls for customers. Instead, she chose to take the day off and spend her time alone. This example of Edna alienating herself instead of completing her duties, is an example Edna’s defiance towards the social normalities. Edna throws two parties mentioned in the novel before deciding to no longer follow her social status. At the first party, she dressed extravagantly and draped everything in her house in the finest decor she had. At this party Edna invited many guests and served extravagant food on her best cutlery. Her second party, however, was hosted after she announced that she planned to abandon her social status when she announced she would be moving out into a smaller home. This shows her alienation because her first party was fit to society’s standards, but Edna isolated herself and follows her own

Through Chopin’s focus on two other female characters, Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, Edna’s options of life paths are shown. These women are the examples that the people around Edna compare her with and from whom they obtain their expectations for her. Edna, however, finds both role models lacking and begins to see that the life of freedom and individuality that she wants goes against both