Chopin's characterizations in the Awakening propel the story. Robert
is the foil of Leonce Pontellier. The only similarity both Robert and Mr.
Pontellier share is they are both higher up on the social ladder. Robert smokes
cigarettes, Mr. Pontellier smokes cigars. Robert is a flirtatious man; Mr.
Pontellier is devoted to his wife and children. Robert has the attention of
Edna Pontellier; Edna Pontellier evinced so little interest in things which
concerned him (Mr. Pontellier), and valued so little his conversation. Robert
has made Edna’s boring life of a “mother woman” interesting. Unlike Mr.
Pontellier, Robert sparked something inside Edna. Robert sparked a mental and
sexual rebirth in Edna that Mr. Pontellier killed. Others were aware of the
competition for Edna’s heart between Mr. Pontellier and Robert when a woman
told Robert “She (Edna) might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you
seriously.”(Chopin 64)
Like the article states, women
cheat due to being unhappy in relationships and unsatisfied. All Mr. Pontellier
could solicit from Edna were tears and built up feelings of aggression. Married
women cheat to find something to make their heart race again, and to add
excitement to their unhappy lives. Robert gave Edna Pontellier something new
and exciting that she had never done before. Mr. Pontellier was a useless,
boring husband whom Edna only married for financial stability; Robert was a fun,flirty
bachelor. Edna's exciting life began after her first swim. When Robert spoke to
her later that night, she did not respond. “No multitude of words could have
been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the
first felt throbbings of desire."(Chopin 77) An affair is bound to begin.
Another foil appears in the story between Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. Madame Ratignolle is "the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm," a "mother-woman" (51). Mademoiselle Reisz is "the most disagreeable and unpopular woman who ever lived" (110). Their differences propel the story as these two women influence Edna and her independence greatly.
ReplyDeleteI didnt even realize the two men were foils of each other! Your post really did a good job in contrasting the two men and helping to clarify that they are really polar opposites of each other. I think this recognition helps to better propel the story and explain why Mrs. Pontellier decides to be unfaithful to her husband with someone that is so different from him.
ReplyDeleteI do like how you pointed out how Leonce and Robert are foils. The reason Edna is so fond of Robert is because he is everything her husband is not. She is so fed up with Leonce that she wants to be with someone who is completely different. Robert does not treat Edna like his property the way Leonce does, and I feel like Leonce represents Edna's old lifestyle-which is why she wants to move on to Robert.
ReplyDelete