My initial reaction to The Awakening by Kate Chopin while I was reading was layered. The line “looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 6) caused several thoughts to run through my brain. Starting with: “women = property? Not okay,” and second “Oh, they’re white” which isn’t much of a surprise, but the tone that I perceived when reading the word “burnt” made me cock my head to the side a little bit before moving on. I think it’s interesting that we’re reading a text that has French in it, and that we’ve started off with at least one married couple.
Mr. Pontellier is okayish? I guess. But his view on how his marriage should be going is a little strange. I can see how he would be upset that his kid is sick, but to say that his wife is failing them is a bit much. And also, he’s clearly comparing her to Mrs. Ratignolle who he describes as basically having everything his wife doesn’t. Being unhappy is not an excuse to accuse his wife of not caring about their children. He also thinks of her as property and doesn’t appreciate her so…nah.
Mrs. Pontellier crying on the porch immediately made me sympathetic to her, especially since she’s described as being “handsome” instead of beautiful, which I think she is insecure about. I really love her narrative and how she is slowly becoming a new version of herself that was somehow buried. Her and Robert’s dynamic was very interesting to read, and him deciding to leave after kind of making some headway with Edna (spending more time with her) felt abrupt, which I’m sure was on purpose. I think Robert is pretty chill. It’s lovely that he knows multiple languages. I’m actually really curious to know where this story is going.
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