The Awakening · Chapter
XXXVI explained
Edna and Robert meet by chance at a quiet garden café in the suburbs.
What happens
Edna and Robert meet by chance at a quiet garden café in the suburbs. They share an intimate dinner and conversation, walking back to her pigeon-house. There, they confess their love for each other, and Edna asserts her independence from her husband. Their moment is interrupted by a message that Adèle Ratignolle is ill, and Edna leaves to attend to her, asking Robert to wait for her return.
Themes in this chapter
Freedom vs. Confinement
Edna declares her independence from her husband, stating she is not his possession and gives herself where she chooses, directly confronting societal constraints on married women.
Sexuality and Desire
The passionate kisses and embraces between Edna and Robert, along with their verbal confessions of love, highlight the awakening of Edna's sexual and emotional desires.
The Dual Life
Edna's secret meeting with Robert and her assertion of personal autonomy contrast sharply with her public role as Mrs. Pontellier, illustrating the duality of her existence.
Characters to notice
- Edna Pontellier
Meets Robert by accident at Catiche's garden café; confesses her love and asserts her independence from her husband.
- Robert Lebrun
Meets Edna at the café; reveals his long-held love and his struggle against it due to her marriage.
- Adèle Ratignolle
Sends a message requesting Edna's help as she is taken ill.
- Old Celestine
Delivers the message from Adèle Ratignolle's servant.
- Catiche
The mulatresse who runs the garden café; serves coffee and food.
Key passages
“I am no longer one of Mr. Pontellier’s possessions to dispose of or not. I give myself where I choose.”
Edna declares that she is not her husband's property and has the right to choose her own path.
This marks a pivotal moment of Edna's assertion of personal freedom and rejection of marital ownership.
“It was you who awoke me last summer out of a lifelong, stupid dream.”
Edna tells Robert that he was the one who awakened her to her true self and desires the previous summer.
This reinforces the theme of awakening and self-discovery that began at Grand Isle.