Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz and Their Impact on Edna
When thinking about Kate Chopin's novel, "The Awakening," one must recognize the impact the other characters had on Edna. The two characters that seemed to have the biggest impact were Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz. Although these two women are very different, both influenced Edna's decisions about her life greatly. The ideas both presented Edna with contributed to her decision to take her life. Adele was the ideal Creole wife and mother. She shared a successful drug store business with her husband. The pair had a wonderful relationship, with each other as well as with their children. Adele was perfectly happy attending to her family's needs and wishes. She tried to get Edna to see how happy this kind of life could be, and to live this life rather than fight it. Edna does not want the Creole married life, and knows it cannot make her happy. She is not completely devoted to the happiness of her family, and refuses to give her soul for her children. She cannot understand why this makes Adele happy. However, when Edna's children are at Iberville, she goes to see them and realizes she missed them. She l
Reisz has a much larger influence in Edna's life than Adele. With her encouragement, Edna was able to let go of such customs that smothered her such as the Tuesday visits. Leonce's anger toward Edna's refusal to comply with that and other rituals only fueled her desire to be rid of the life she resented. The two women did not give Edna the idea to end her life; that was the only way Edna felt she could really be free. She knew that once Leonce returned, he would still tell her what to do. She also knew that she could not leave her boys in Iberville forever. Edna could never have the true freedom she desired with her children and husband around. She also knew that Robert wanted her to be the traditional Creole wife, such as Leonce wanted. Edna realized this by herself, but she knew that she could not live that way, no matter how much she loved the man. Due to the talks with Reisz, Edna could see this on her own. Edna's decision to kill herself was one she came up with by herself. Reisz also gave Edna the support she needed to realize her potential artistry. Edna's awakening gave her new insights on her s
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Approximate Word count = 761
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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