Adele is described as being a fairly talented pianist, yet even the very personal act of creating music is performed for the sake of her children. Adele also brings constant attention to her pregnancy in ways Edna finds to be somewhat inappropriate. Adele is very proud of her title of mother, and one might say motherhood is what she was fated for.
Edna finds that the life of the mother-woman fails to satisfy her desire for an existence free from definition. She pities Adele and finds herself unsuited for the lifestyle of the mother-woman. Adele represents all four attributes of True Womanhood as defined by the Cult of Domesticity. Papke She tries to explain these reservations about loss of identity to Adele.
Mademoiselle Reisz is the exile. Mademoiselle Reisz is a woman devoid of motherly tendencies and sexuality. She is physically unappealing and seems to have no romantic past, present, or future. Her primary trait is her extraordinary musical talent, which she, in contrast to Adele, cultivates only for herself. Edna confides in her a desire to become a painter, and Mademoiselle Reisz cautions her about the nature of the artistic lifestyle.
Mademoiselle Reisz believes that only through a life of solitude and a disregard for society can an artist define herself and create real art. Edna enjoys a rewarding friendship with Mademoiselle Reisz, however, she finds the lonely artistic lifestyle to be imperfect due to its lack of sexuality. Because Mademoiselle Reisz is the only artist-woman Edna is familiar with, Edna sees her lifestyle as representative of all artist-women.
After this potential has been brought to her attention, Edna cannot imagine herself living the asexual, artistic lifestyle of Mademoiselle Reisz, even if it might be a way to find the individuality that she is searching for. Edna yearns for a more physical relationship, where she can be touched and pleasured, so she rejects Mademoiselle Reisz as a role model. Edna attempts to find self-definition by creating a third lifestyle option and beginning to act like a man.
She sees that men are allowed to live lives of sexual fulfillment, while not being expected to bear or care for their children, and develop a personality and individual self through participation in the business world.
Edna first finds a sense of masculine freedom when Leonce goes to New York and Raoul and Etienne go to Iberville to stay with their grandmother. Edna explores her newfound lifestyle by taking up gambling at the racetrack and beginning to sell her paintings. By infiltrating this masculine world, Edna is able to generate an income all her own and use the money she makes to rent a house. The pigeon house, as she calls it, is a place far away from any reminders of her family life.
Her final attempt to acquire the unfettered life of a man comes in the form of her affair with Alcee Arobin. The Awakening and Other Stories. Killeen, Jarlath. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Lattin, Patricia Hopkins. Bernard Koloski. Papke, Mary E. New York: Greenwood Press, Oxford: Oxford UP, Kaplon, M. Kaplon, Megan P.
Also, unlike the other women by whom she is surrounded, she is not a mother-woman, one who is willing to sacrifice her very self to her husband, children, and household. Although not a particularly strong or rebellious spirit in the past, during her summer on Grand Isle, Edna develops a devotion to the pursuit of passion and sensuality, two qualities lacking in her marriage and home.
She has a great weakness for the melodrama of unrequited or unfulfilled love. The passion she develops for Robert over the summer becomes her all-consuming occupation and, in part, instigates her radical departures from convention upon returning to New Orleans. Her obsession with Robert is ultimately suspect in its sincerity, given her instinctive attraction to adversity in love. Also key in her development are Mademoiselle Reisz's piano performances, which stir up great emotions in Edna and both feed and enflame her need for some drama in her life.
Edna's days at the racetrack function in the same way: Intoxicated by success at betting on the horses, she is reluctant to come back down to earth. While she has no romantic feelings for him, she feels a potent physical attraction to him, an attraction that results in a sexual awakening just as Mademoiselle Reisz's piano performances brought about an emotional awakening. Ace your assignments with our guide to The Awakening! A Tale of Two Cities Dr. Jekyll and Mr. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook.
How is Edna an outsider at Grand Isle?
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