I know this is one post too many, but I've had an epiphany. In my recent posts I made the argument that Edna, though a feminist figure, was still weak. But maybe it is not so much that she is as weak as she had always been. Yes, she gave in easily to temptation and allowed her moods to fluctuate in relation to those around her. But it is unfair for me to call her weak because of her encounters with men when they committed the same acts as her. All of the characters were weak, for in the novel human folly ran deep. Edna became as strong as she could have possibly become, as strong as the womanizer in town, as the maternally figure who stood on the opposite end of the spectrum as her, as the husband who tried to buy love with gifts. However, it was still not good enough.

Analysis: Chapter 36

In Chapter 36, the following is stated by Robert Lebrun:

"'No; I only think you cruel, as I said the other day. Maybe not intentionally cruel, but you seem to be forcing me into disclosures which can result in nothing; as if you would have me bare a wound for the pleasure of looking at it, without the intention or power of healing it.'"

Robert was well aware of the dead end that a relationship between he and Edna would reach. She, however, still delusionally believed that a relationship was possible. As a married woman with children, her husband would never allow her to leave and abandon her responsibilities, which was hinted at by Robert's mentioning of the fact that she did not possess the "power" to make such a decision in their Creole society. Her husband's quick home makeover manuever to perserve his name and stability in his home and family provided a glimpse into his inability to let her go and the opposition her desired freedom faced. Robert wanted something he couldn't have and had learned to carefully avoid the object of his affection. He hated Edna's selfishness, the fact that he loved her, and her inability to let him go and thus allow him to get over her.

Analysis: Chapter 18

In Chapter 18, the following is stated:

"'Perhaps I shall be able to paint your picture some day,' said Edna with a smile when they were seated. She produced the roll of sketches and started to unfold them. 'I believe I ought to workagain. I feel as if I wanted to be doing something. What do you think of them? Do you think it worth while to take it up again and study some more? I might study for a while with Laidpore.'

She knew that Madame Ratignolle's opinion in such a matter would be next to valueless, that she herself had not alone decided, but determined; but she sought the words and praise and encouragement that would help her to put heart into her venture."

I believe this scene provides further evidence of Edna's weakness. There she was, a newly awakened woman convinced that she no longer played by society's rules. Edna was almost like the goody-two shoes attempting to play the role of the bad child but still not able to fully encompass such a role. She didn't believe in allowing herself to be held back or in allowing her life to be dedicated by others' terms, but she still sought approval from Madame Ratignolle in a matter that was not in the latter's forte, symbolizing her inability to altogether free herself or be free.

Analysis: Chapter 7

In Chapter 7, the following is stated:

"'Of whom---of what are you thinking?' asked Adele of her companion, whose countenance she had been watching with a little amused attention, arrested by the absorbed expression which seemed to have seized and fixed every feature into a statuesque repose.

'Nothing,' returned Mrs. Pontellier, with a start, adding at once: 'How stupid! But it seems to me it is the reply we make instinctively to such a question.'"

This conversation between Madame Ratignolle and Edna highlights the whole belief that women were unintelligent, unthinking beings. Adele is almost shocked to see that her friend is truly in thought, deep in thought, something she may not experience and may not agree with since she believes that a woman’s thoughts should revolve around the household, husband, and kids. Edna exclaims “How stupid!” after mechanically replying with a “Nothing” because she realizes that women often fall into the trap of reinforcing the idea that they are one-dimensional. This conversation foreshadowed the protagonist’s upcoming awakening.

Analysis

After finishing the novel, I realized that Edna, though probably a worthy figure in early feminist literature, was still a very weak character. I was still on her side, not only because she’s the protagonist but because she was certainly more likeable or at least more interesting than most of the characters in her inner circle. However, she was not a character I completely respected. Robert’s departure, correspondence with Madame Reisz and mention of her, and his return were all events that were able to completely shift Edna’s mood from depressed to ecstatic, hopeless to hopeful. She was extraordinarily capricious, a word that was used to describe her at one point by another character, when it came to her feelings for her husband and children, who she sometimes cared for and sometimes didn’t. It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself that she didn't care about her children at all when she truly did. She fell for Arobin’s womanizing tricks despite convincing herself that she was the one in charge of that relationship. She went through her awakening, but her life continued to revolve around men, their moods, and their actions, and she allowed it to be that way. Even in this world of literary fiction, the protagonist was not allowed a chance to reach a solution that did not call for her end, and she was partly to blame.

Analysis

I was confused by the rapidity in which Robert transformed from unimportant to an essential aspect of Edna’s life. I then realized that since her stay on Grand Isle, from the moment she had one night in the ocean that first put the title into the minds of the audience, Edna equated Robert with her awakening. Robert reinforced this delusion that she was free of a responsibility to her husband, children, and a society of sexist or at least narrow-minded Creoles when she really wasn’t. Without his presence, she was aware of the mere idealism of such a belief. His return gave her hope that she really could escape and live the life she desired.

Analysis: Chapter 5

At the very end of chapter 5, the following is stated:

 "Her glance wondered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty."

An audience unaware of the upcoming doom of Mrs. Pontellier would assume that the statement just foreshadowed the bound to happen romance between Edna and a man who was not her husband. Although I have not finished the book, I always read the last few pages just to see where and how the characters' paths end. Therefore, I am aware of the suicide that occurs in the closing chapter of the novel. Mention of "her glance [wondering] from his face toward the Gulf" foreshadowed Edna's death caused by her voluntary surrender to the ocean.