In chapters 1-4 in “The Awakening”, we meet Edna, her husband, Robert, and Adele Ratignolle. In the first page of the book, Chopin refers to a birdcage, which could be a symbol of Edna being encaged by her life. It seems that she is a possession to her husband because he looked at her as a “valuable piece of personal property” (4). He accuses her of not giving their children enough attention and care when he is the one who is away from the home at the billiards. Edna is not one of those “mother-women” and does not idolize her children or worship her husband who it seems to think he is superior to his wife. The perfect example of a “mother-woman” is Adele Ratignolle because she is graceful and worships her children and husband.
We learn that her husband (Mr. Pontellier) gives people gifts to win them over. He presents his wife and children presents so they will be pleased with him. In addition, we learn that he is a Creole, which means he is mixed with Spanish and French blood. This means they are part of the aristocratic society and within the society they view highly of themselves. Edna is not a Creole so she is not accustomed to their traditions.
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Katie,
Your posts are always very insightful, and bring me to thinking about ideas I hadn't thought of before. For example in this post, I didn't make the correlation of the birdcage symbolizing Edna being encaged by her life. I marked the sections in the reading when references of birds appeared, but didn't make the connection. The conclusion you drew makes perfect sense. Edna's husband accuses her of neglecting her children in spite of him never being present. Edna can't do much about her life and she is trapped by it.
Good post!
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