The Awakening Ch. 5-9

In Chapters 5-9, the reader learns more about the Creole society. The husbands typically do not get jealous when their wives hang out with other men because they do not expect them to be faithful. The other men know they can flirt, but it will never be taken seriously. In addition, the readers get a sense how Edna is drawn to the sea. The sea is mentioned several times and Edna catches herself staring. The sea “reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty”. Gazing and thinking about the “seductive” sea causes Edna to have an “awakening” and realizes her purpose in the world as a human being and their relationships around her. She starts thinking about her past and how religion has been part of her life and is a habit. She seems to think how her life lacks purpose because she feels like she is walking aimlessly.

The reader also learns more about Edna’s relationships with her husband and her children. We learn that the marriage was an accident. She was drawn to him because of his devotion towards her. Her family did not like the idea of her marrying him because he was after all a Creole when she was not. Edna was also fond of her children, but in a weird way. She did not miss them when they were away for the summer, but when they were around she would “gather them passionately to her heart”. She sometimes felt that her children were a responsibility that was forced upon her.