The Awakening · Chapter
V explained
Edna Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, and Adèle Ratignolle spend a summer afternoon together on Grand Isle.
What happens
Edna Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, and Adèle Ratignolle spend a summer afternoon together on Grand Isle. Robert playfully recounts his past infatuation with Adèle, while Edna sketches a portrait of Adèle that she ultimately destroys in dissatisfaction. After Adèle feels faint and leaves with her children, Robert persuades Edna to go for a swim, and they walk to the beach together.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Creativity as Liberation
Edna finds satisfaction in sketching, but her dissatisfaction with the portrait and her act of destroying it hint at her struggle for authentic self-expression.
Social Class and Convention
The group's idle afternoon and Robert's accepted role as a devoted attendant reflect the leisure and social norms of the Creole upper class.
Characters to notice
- Edna Pontellier
Sits idle with Robert, sketches Adèle but destroys the portrait, and is persuaded by Robert to go bathing.
- Robert Lebrun
Devotes himself to Edna, recounts his past flirtation with Adèle, watches Edna sketch, and insists she join him for a swim.
- Adèle Ratignolle
Sews and tells stories, is sketched by Edna, complains of faintness, and leaves with her children.
Key passages
“Mrs. Pontellier liked to sit and gaze at her fair companion as she might look upon a faultless Madonna.”
Edna admired Adèle as if she were a perfect, idealized figure.
Highlights Edna's perception of Adèle as an emblem of conventional womanhood.
“She felt in it satisfaction of a kind which no other employment afforded her.”
Sketching gave Edna a unique sense of fulfillment that nothing else could provide.
Emphasizes the personal importance of art for Edna.
“Her glance wandered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty.”
Edna's gaze drifted to the sea, whose sound seemed to call to her with both affection and urgency.
Foreshadows the sea's symbolic role as a force of attraction and liberation.