The Awakening is set during Victorian-era New Orleans and in Grand Isle, where the Pontellier family stays for the summer. Going into this book I had no idea what it would be about, so I was pleasantly surprised and shocked to see it was about a woman having an affair. I was excited by this because I haven’t heard of such stories being written during those times. Chopin did a great job at creating the setting and atmosphere that captures the reader’s attention; she is especially good with using subtle imagery to foreshadow the end of the story. Edna’s awakening was well-paced and actually pretty empowering to see.
During the beginning of the book we read about the Mrs. and Mr.Pontellier’s complaints about each other and how they are both indifferent to each other. The part that struck me is when Mr.Pontellier came home late from the club and woke up Edna from a deep sleep to tell her that their son may have a fever and she should tend to him, and when she was reluctant to do so he doubted her mothering and her role as a wife. Throughout the whole story, Leonce did not show that he actually cared about Edna. As she continued to evolve and resist him more fully, his main focus was how that would make him look and his reputation. Even when she moved out, he did not care that she was but instead cared more that people would think they were suffering financially. So Leonce was kind of a crappy husband, but I don’t think he deserved to be cheated on.
Edna’s evolution was so interesting to see simply because something as small as crush is what set it into motion. Edna describes how in her youth she had passionate crushes throughout her life that often did not work out, so when Leonce proposed she thought it helped ground her wild emotions; she liked the “lack of passion and excitement in the marriage.” This was one of the many things that made her conceal her real self. The huge moment of her breaking free was when she swam in the ocean for the first time. This scene uses the sea to represent Edna’s feelings of freedom. She used to be afraid of swimming and her own feelings of her life, but after the swim she realizes she doesn’t have to feel restricted to anything or anyone. But at the end, it is this very freedom that takes her life.