The Awakening is a story of a housewife in Louisiana who laments her lot in life in an unfulfilling marriage and finding ways to rebel against the society that she lives in. For women, they don’t have the autonomy women of the 21st century enjoy. They’re not allowed to own property, not allowed to live life on their own terms, and they can’t even own their own bank account. Everything, including herself, is property to her husband. If she is unmarried, then she has failed as a woman. The two central figures in this tale are the protagonist, Edna Pontellier, and Adèle Ratignolle, the former’s love interest. These two women are worlds apart in terms of how they are viewed. One is disheartened about not only her marriage but also her life, while the other is happy with how things are.
Adèle and Edna are completely different from one another. Not just in how they are described, but also in how they view their lives. For example, Adèle was viewed as the ideal woman as wife and mother. On pages 19-20, she was described with flowery words. “There was nothing subtle or hidden about her charms; her beauty was all there, flaming and apparent: the spun-gold hair that comb nor confining pin could restrain; the blue eyes that were nothing but sapphires; two lips that pouted, that were so red one could think of cherries or some delicious crimson fruit in looking at them.” Adèle was viewed in a highly favorable light in terms of her appearance. As a wife and mother, she was thinking far ahead for the upcoming winter when she was sewing night-drawers for one of her children (page 21). In 19th century society, a woman’s worth is tied to being a good housewife and mother. Adèle exceeds all these expectations and more.
Edna has two sons, while Adèle had three and was considering child number four. In chapter three, her husband scolded her for not noticing that one of her kids had a fever and that she was neglectful. Those were pretty harsh words on his part, as it was likely that she had not noticed in the first place. Although the Pontelliers employ a nurse to look after the boys, all she does really is follow after them and get them dressed, so who’s really raising the kids here? After that event, Edna rushed out to the porch and cried for a few moments, lamenting how she isn’t satisfied with her life, but she doesn’t really know if there is something more to life as this is practically all she’s known. She came to the conclusion where she had to admit that as a husband and father, Leoncé was decent and that she does not know anyone better than what she already had. Edna, unlike Adèle, lives for the present. Rather than worry about the yet to come, she instead dwells in the present moment in time.
These two women were products of their time. They were both the ones responsible for the wellbeing of their children, keeping the home afloat, and much more. Where the two differed was how their view on life. Adèle was perfectly fine with what she had and wanted nothing more than that (Except that she wants more kids, but that is beside the point). Edna on the other hand was facing her personal winter of her discontent. In addition, the two argued over the matter of how they regard their children. Adèle loves her children more than anything else in the whole world. She openly interacts with her children and does the raising herself. Meanwhile, Edna does not really love the children as such. Sure, she attempts to soothe her children so they can sleep (Which she fails to do so each and every time). Edna said that she would never sacrifice herself for her children, but she will give anything that she deems nonessential (page 122).