The Awakening

Mrs. Pontellier cannot explain why at first she did not agree to accompany Robert and go for a swim with him, because she realizes that she did want to join him on the beach. She feels as if a light has been kindled in her, a light that directs her to “dreams, to thoughtfulness, to the shadowy anguish” (33) that had overwhelmed her the evening she was crying alone on the porch. Listening to the sounds of the sea, Edna begins to regard herself as an individual, and not merely as a part of the world around her.

Mrs. Pontellier is not used to discussing her feelings and private matters with others. Since she was a child, she had noticed a “dual life--the outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions” (35). But as Edna grows closer to Adèle, she becomes less reticent. When one day the two women stroll to the beach, their differences in character are made visible in their garments: while Edna is dressed simply, Adèle wears an elegant white dress. When they reach the beach, Edna immediately loosens her clothes. Nearby they notice the lady in black, absorbed in her reading, and a young couple, who are kissing in an unoccupied tent.