AWAKENING

BY-
CHAPTER-XV
• Several individuals inform Edna at dinner that Robert is leaving for Mexico that evening. Edna is taken aback by this news,
as she had spent the entire morning with Robert and had heard nothing about his plans. The dinner conversation devolves
into various stories and queries about Mexico and its people, but Edna is in such distress that the only time she speaks is
to inquire about Robert's departure time. Edna quickly retreats to her cottage after completing her coffee, where she
occupys herself with housework and her sons' needs.
• Mrs. Lebrun sends Edna a note asking her to sit with her until Robert leaves, but Edna says she's not feeling well and
wants to stay in. Adèle enters the room to inquires about Edna and agrees that Robert's hasty departure appears to be
unjust and harsh. Adèle leaves unattended to rejoin the others' talk after failing to persuade Edna to accompany her back
to the main house. Then Robert himself pays Edna a visit.
• He bids her farewell and expresses his inability to predict when he will return. She expresses her sadness and indignation
at his unexpected and unannounced departure, but he refuses to give her a comprehensive explanation, fearful that
revealing his actual thoughts for her might betray his true affections for her. When Edna asks Robert to write her, he
responds in an uncharacteristically detached manner: "I will, thank you." Good-by.” Edna sits in the dark, trying to keep
from crying, recognising the same symptoms of depression in her relationship with Robert She had been enamoured with
him since she was a child.
CHAPTER-XVI
• Robert's ideas are continuously occupying Edna's mind. His departure has made her feel as if her entire existence has been
muted. She frequently pays Madame Lebrun a visit to talk and review Robert's photographs in the family albums. Edna
reads Robert's letter to his mother before leaving New Orleans for Mexico and feels a sting of jealously that he did not
write to her instead.
• Everyone, including Edna's husband, understands why Edna misses Robert. When Edna hears that Leonce saw Robert
before he left for Mexico, she interrogates him extensively about their encounter. Edna finds no danger in this probing
because her sentiments for Robert are quite different from those she has for her husband. She's gotten in the habit of
keeping her feelings and thoughts to herself. "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would sacrifice my
life for my children, but I would not offer myself," Edna once told Adèle. Adèle is baffled as to what else she could do for
her children but give up her life.
• Mademoiselle Reisz visits Edna on the beach shortly before the summer ends, curious about the impact Robert's absence
has had on Edna. During the conversation, Mademoiselle informs Edna that, despite Victor's impudence, Madame Lebrun
prefers her other son Victor. There is a history of squabbles between the two brothers. Mademoiselle Reisz is unaware that
she has enraged Edna, so she offers her her address in New Orleans and encourages her to visit.
CHAPTER-XVII
• Leonce takes tremendous delight in his belongings and enjoys going about his ornately decorated New Orleans home and
inspecting his wares. For the past six years, Edna has dressed up and not left the home on Tuesdays, her reception day—a
day set aside each week for welcoming visitors. Edna is dressed in an average housedress rather than her customary
Tuesday gown when she and Leonce sit down to supper a few weeks after returning to New Orleans. Leonce comments on
her outfit and inquires about Edna's day.
• She responds that she was not at home to accept visitors and that she did not provide the staff with a reason to appease
her visitors. Leonce is enraged with her, knowing that her failure to fulfil her social obligations may harm his business
relationships with her visitors' husbands. Leonce leaves mid-meal to go to the club, complaining that the kitchen has
prepared a subpar meal, a routine to which Edna has been accustomed over the past few weeks.
• Edna returns to her room after finishing her supper, pacing and tearing her tiny handkerchief into bits. She tosses her
wedding band to the floor, attempting but failing to crush it. She shatters a glass vase on the fire because she feels the
need to destroy something.
CHAPTER-XVIII
• Edna ignores Leonce's offer to meet him in town the next morning and instead tries to finish some sketches. Instead of
sketching, she decides to pay a visit to Adèle, who she discovers at home folding freshly laundered clothes. Edna tells her
friend that she wants to take drawing lessons and shows her portfolio, hoping for positive feedback and support.
• Edna stays for supper and gives Adèle some sketches. When Edna leaves, she understands, with a heavy heart, that the
Ratignolles' flawless household peace is completely unsuitable for her.
• Adèle's "colourless existence" and "blind comfort" make her sad.
CHAPTER-XIX
• On Tuesdays, Edna has completely abandoned her habit of remaining at home to take calls. Leonce, enraged by Edna's
failure to comply with his requests, chastises his wife for spending her days painting instead of caring for her family's
"comfort.”
• He tells her to think of Adèle, who never lets her love of music get in the way of her domestic duties. Leonce occasionally
suspects Edna of having a mental illness, so he leaves her alone to paint and sing Robert's song to herself while dreaming
of the sea and Grand Isle.
• Her moods swing wildly from unexplained ecstasy to equally severe grief on a daily basis.
CHAPTER-XX
• Edna decides to pay Mademoiselle Reisz a visit during one of her depressive episodes in order to listen to her play the
piano. When Edna discovers that the woman has relocated, she goes to Madame Lebrun to inquire about Mademoiselle
Reisz's new address.
• Victor, Robert's brother, answers the door and dispatches the servant to collect his mother. He goes into a narrative about
his antics the night before, which Edna can't help but find amusing. Madame Lebrun comes, bemoaning the lack of guests,
and Victor informs Edna about the contents of Robert's two letters from Mexico. Edna is disappointed to learn that Robert
did not include a message for her.
• Madame Lebrun tells her Mademoiselle Reisz's new address when she inquires about her. Victor then takes Edna outdoors
with him. Following Edna's departure, the Lebruns discuss Edna's stunning appearance, with Victor remarking, "Somehow
she doesn't seem like the same woman."
Citations
• Links referred for understanding for the Novel.

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