# IV explained — The Awakening

> Chapter companion for The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

## What happens

This chapter contrasts Edna Pontellier with the 'mother-women' of Grand Isle, particularly Adèle Ratignolle, who embodies the ideal of self-sacrificing motherhood. Edna, though married to a Creole, feels alienated from the Creole society's frankness and lack of prudery. She is not a 'mother-woman' herself, and her husband, Mr. Pontellier, vaguely senses a deficiency in her maternal devotion. The chapter highlights Edna's growing awareness of her own difference from the conventional women around her.

## Themes in this chapter

### Marriage and Motherhood as Social Institutions

The chapter contrasts Edna's detachment from maternal duties with Adèle's embodiment of the 'mother-woman,' highlighting societal expectations of women.

### Freedom vs. Confinement

Edna's discomfort with Creole society's frankness and her secret reading of a book suggest a desire for personal freedom against social constraints.

### Social Class and Convention

Edna's outsider status among Creoles and her shock at their lack of prudery underscore the cultural and class differences she navigates.

## Character check-ins

### Edna Pontellier

Edna is contrasted with the 'mother-women' and is not thoroughly at home among Creoles; she is shocked by their frankness and feels moved to read a book in secret.

### Adèle Ratignolle

Adèle is the epitome of the 'mother-woman,' married seven years with three children and expecting a fourth; she is always discussing her 'condition' and is devoted to her family.

### Léonce Pontellier

Mr. Pontellier feels his wife fails in her duty toward their children, though he cannot define it; he regrets voicing the feeling and makes amends.

### Robert Lebrun

Robert is present during the sewing scene and entertains married women with droll stories; he checks himself when Edna blushes.

### Old Monsieur Farival

He is the listener to Adèle's harrowing story of accouchement, which shocks Edna.

## Key lines

> Mrs. Pontellier, though she had married a Creole, was not thoroughly at home in the society of Creoles; never before had she been thrown so intimately among them.

Despite being married to a Creole, Edna felt out of place among Creole society, as she had never been so closely surrounded by them before.

_This highlights Edna's cultural alienation and her struggle to fit into her husband's social world._

> In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman.

Simply put, Edna did not fit the mold of the self-sacrificing, child-devoted mother.

_This direct statement defines Edna's divergence from the expected female role in her society._

> They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels.

These women adored their children, revered their husbands, and considered it a sacred duty to suppress their own identities and become like guardian angels.

_This description of 'mother-women' encapsulates the societal ideal that Edna rejects._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_awakening_se/chapters/iv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_awakening_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_awakening_se/chapters