The Awakening by Kate Chopin: An Analysis (PROSE Analysis above)

A passage from p.21; Line 6


        Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate. It was in the midst of her secret great passion that she met him. He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed  his suit with an earnestness and an ardor which left nothing to be desired. He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her. She fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken. Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her need to seek no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband.
        The acme of bliss, which would have been a marriage with the tragedian, was not for her in this world. As the devoted wife of a man who worshiped her, she felt she would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams.


Analysis:


         Edna Pontellier, the individual in the process of the "awakening" is in a moment where she is putting her marriage into perspective, considering that Robert Lebrun-an occurring "flirt" in her life- is a factor to her youthful thoughts in the "realm of romance and dreams."
         At this point in the story, Mrs. Pontellier admits that, when in marriage, it seems as if your fate is decided according to who you have married. She afterward declares that this is an accident. She came about loving her husband Leonce Pontellier while she lived in the midst of her passionate side. Mr. Pontellier however, addressed this with such a seriousness with just a hint of passion. This must have left Mrs. Pontellier in such a state to where she didn't know if he enjoyed her passionate company, womanliness, or youthful play. Of course that does not make a woman feel so comfortable. Therefore, Mrs. Pontellier does not know if it was right to begin with and move forward with, no matter how much they favored each other, or how much he flattered her. She calls this something she has "mistaken."
         The passage then implies that, although the time was full of bliss, it seems as though it were a tragedy. Clearly, this is not Edna Pontellier. This marriage has sealed the doors to this portal- the realm of romance and dreams. This realm, Edna Pontellier desires! As she journeys on to finding the true moral of her awakening, I believe she will show us just what she is looking for and discover what she really wants and feels as a woman!