Minor Characters In The Awakening

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The Awakening Title and Character Analysis An awakening is often said to be a change in one’s perception which can take place in a moment. A moment is all it can take, but where one goes with the awakening is what is actually important. The other question led by curiosity is if one actually has an awakening or not. To decipher these questions I will use Kate Chopin’s award-winning novella “The Awakening” and it’s content and characters to explain the idea and events of pre and post awakening. The book takes place in the early nineteenth century time period alongside the beach in Grande Isle, Louisiana during the summer with many Creole descent families, like the Lebrun’s, Pontellier’s (with the exception of Edna Pontellier), Ratignolle’s,…show more content…
Kate Chopin made the minor characters have the same reaction as those of the Victorian Age would. Some acted as if Edna had lost her wits and began to question if she actually had, like Mr.Pontellier. He asked the local physician, Doctor Mandelet about his wife, but because of his wisdom he knew nothing was ill about her. His words towards Leonce were, “well, well; women are not all alike, my dear Pontellier.”(xxii) That is was Chopin was trying to convey in the story, and why she called it an awakening. At that moment she was not just trying to explain the concept to Leonce and to change his perception, but also to the…show more content…
The note read, “I love you. Good-by - because I love you.”(xxxviii) Roberts last message indicated to Edna that he was leaving for good. Her perception of life and obsession with being independent ran him away negatively affecting him and herself. She then realizes she is in a state of solitude and becomes depressed realizing her outcome of this awakening took a turn for the worse. The book ends with Edna walking out into the river and taking her last breathe, seeing her life flash before her

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