The Awakening

Q: How is Edna Pontellier described in Chapter 2 of The Awakening?

Kate Chopin describes Edna as "rather handsome than beautiful", with quick, bright yellowish-brown eyes that have a habit of fixing on objects as if lost in an "inward maze of contemplation." Her face is captivating because of a certain frankness of expression combined with a contradictory subtle play of features. Chopin also identifies Edna as "an American woman, with a small infusion of French which seemed to have been lost in dilution," deliberately setting her apart from the Creole society that surrounds her at Grand Isle. This physical and cultural portrait foreshadows the tensions between Edna's independent nature and the social expectations she will increasingly resist.

Q: What is the significance of Robert Lebrun's Mexico plans in The Awakening?

In Chapter II, Robert speaks of his intention to go to Mexico in the autumn, where "fortune awaited him," but Chopin immediately undercuts this by noting he was "always intending to go to Mexico, but some way never got there." This detail serves multiple purposes: it characterizes Robert as a youthful dreamer who talks more than he acts, and it introduces the motif of unfulfilled desire that runs through the novel. Robert's perpetually postponed journey to Mexico quietly parallels the restless yearning that will soon overtake Edna, and it becomes significant later when he actually does leave for Mexico, disrupting their deepening bond.

Q: How does Chapter 2 contrast Edna's relationship with Robert and Léonce?

Chapter II establishes a striking contrast between Edna's two relationships. With Robert, Edna engages in easy, flowing conversation: they chat "incessantly" about everything around them, share personal histories, and show genuine interest in each other's lives. With Léonce, by contrast, communication in Chapter I was terse and transactional, limited to his complaints about her sunburn and the tossing of rings. Léonce's absence in this chapter is itself telling: he has chosen Klein's hotel and the company of New Orleans club men over his wife, leaving Edna in Robert's companionship for the entire afternoon. This pattern of emotional distance in the marriage versus warmth with Robert foreshadows the central conflict of the novel.

Q: What role does setting play in Chapter 2 of The Awakening?

The Grand Isle porch functions as a liminal space in Chapter II, positioned between the private interior of the cottage and the public world of the resort. Chopin fills the scene with sensory details: the palm-leaf fan Edna uses, the light puffs of Robert's cigarette, the sounds of children playing croquet and the Farival twins performing "The Poet and the Peasant." Robert's eyes are said to gather "the light and languor of the summer day," creating an atmosphere of warmth and indolence. This unhurried, languid setting mirrors the natural ease of Edna and Robert's conversation and allows their intimacy to develop organically, away from the watchful eye of Léonce.

Q: What does "rather handsome than beautiful" mean in The Awakening?

When Chopin describes Edna as "rather handsome than beautiful," she draws a deliberate distinction between two types of attractiveness. In the vocabulary of the 1890s, "beautiful" suggested soft, delicate, conventionally feminine features, while "handsome" implied a stronger, more striking appearance with character and presence. By choosing this phrase, Chopin signals that Edna does not fit the passive, ornamental ideal expected of women in her social class. Instead, her appeal lies in frankness, depth, and contradiction, qualities that align with the independence and self-assertion she will pursue throughout the novel. The description quietly sets Edna apart from the Creole "mother-women" who define themselves through beauty and domesticity.

by Kate Chopin

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Chapter II

Mrs. Pontellier's eyes were quick and bright; they were a yellowish brown, about the color of her hair. She had a way of turning them swiftly upon an object and holding them there as if lost in some inward maze of contemplation or thought.

Her eyebrows were a shade darker than her hair. They were thick and almost horizontal, emphasizing the depth of her eyes. She was rather handsome than beautiful. Her face was captivating by reason of a certain frankness of expression and a contradictory subtle play of features. Her manner was engaging.

Robert rolled a cigarette. He smoked cigarettes because he could not afford cigars, he said. He had a cigar in his pocket which Mr. Pontellier had presented him with, and he was saving it for his after-dinner smoke.

This seemed quite proper and natural on his part. In coloring he was not unlike his companion. A clean-shaved face made the resemblance more pronounced than it would otherwise have been. There rested no shadow of care upon his open countenance. His eyes gathered in and reflected the light and languor of the summer day.

Mrs. Pontellier reached over for a palm-leaf fan that lay on the porch and began to fan herself, while Robert sent between his lips light puffs from his cigarette. They chatted incessantly: about the things around them; their amusing adventure out in the water-it had again assumed its entertaining aspect; about the wind, the trees, the people who had gone to the Cheniere; about the children playing croquet under the oaks, and the Farival twins, who were now performing the overture to “The Poet and the Peasant.”

Robert talked a good deal about himself. He was very young, and did not know any better. Mrs. Pontellier talked a little about herself for the same reason. Each was interested in what the other said. Robert spoke of his intention to go to Mexico in the autumn, where fortune awaited him. He was always intending to go to Mexico, but some way never got there. Meanwhile he held on to his modest position in a mercantile house in New Orleans, where an equal familiarity with English, French and Spanish gave him no small value as a clerk and correspondent.

He was spending his summer vacation, as he always did, with his mother at Grand Isle. In former times, before Robert could remember, “the house” had been a summer luxury of the Lebruns. Now, flanked by its dozen or more cottages, which were always filled with exclusive visitors from the “Quartier Francais,” it enabled Madame Lebrun to maintain the easy and comfortable existence which appeared to be her birthright.

Mrs. Pontellier talked about her father's Mississippi plantation and her girlhood home in the old Kentucky bluegrass country. She was an American woman, with a small infusion of French which seemed to have been lost in dilution. She read a letter from her sister, who was away in the East, and who had engaged herself to be married. Robert was interested, and wanted to know what manner of girls the sisters were, what the father was like, and how long the mother had been dead.

When Mrs. Pontellier folded the letter it was time for her to dress for the early dinner.

“I see Leonce isn't coming back,” she said, with a glance in the direction whence her husband had disappeared. Robert supposed he was not, as there were a good many New Orleans club men over at Klein's.

When Mrs. Pontellier left him to enter her room, the young man descended the steps and strolled over toward the croquet players, where, during the half-hour before dinner, he amused himself with the little Pontellier children, who were very fond of him.

Frequently Asked Questions about Chapter II from The Awakening

What happens in Chapter 2 of The Awakening?

Chapter II opens with a detailed physical portrait of Edna Pontellier, emphasizing her yellowish-brown eyes, frank expression, and contradictory features. She and Robert Lebrun sit on the porch chatting about the water adventure from the previous chapter, the people at the Chénière, and the Farival twins performing music. Robert reveals his perpetual plan to seek fortune in Mexico and his modest clerk position in New Orleans, while Edna shares her background from a Mississippi plantation and Kentucky bluegrass country. Her husband Léonce does not return from Klein's hotel, and when Edna leaves to dress for dinner, Robert plays with her children, who are very fond of him.

How is Edna Pontellier described in Chapter 2 of The Awakening?

Kate Chopin describes Edna as "rather handsome than beautiful", with quick, bright yellowish-brown eyes that have a habit of fixing on objects as if lost in an "inward maze of contemplation." Her face is captivating because of a certain frankness of expression combined with a contradictory subtle play of features. Chopin also identifies Edna as "an American woman, with a small infusion of French which seemed to have been lost in dilution," deliberately setting her apart from the Creole society that surrounds her at Grand Isle. This physical and cultural portrait foreshadows the tensions between Edna's independent nature and the social expectations she will increasingly resist.

What is the significance of Robert Lebrun's Mexico plans in The Awakening?

In Chapter II, Robert speaks of his intention to go to Mexico in the autumn, where "fortune awaited him," but Chopin immediately undercuts this by noting he was "always intending to go to Mexico, but some way never got there." This detail serves multiple purposes: it characterizes Robert as a youthful dreamer who talks more than he acts, and it introduces the motif of unfulfilled desire that runs through the novel. Robert's perpetually postponed journey to Mexico quietly parallels the restless yearning that will soon overtake Edna, and it becomes significant later when he actually does leave for Mexico, disrupting their deepening bond.

How does Chapter 2 contrast Edna's relationship with Robert and Léonce?

Chapter II establishes a striking contrast between Edna's two relationships. With Robert, Edna engages in easy, flowing conversation: they chat "incessantly" about everything around them, share personal histories, and show genuine interest in each other's lives. With Léonce, by contrast, communication in Chapter I was terse and transactional, limited to his complaints about her sunburn and the tossing of rings. Léonce's absence in this chapter is itself telling: he has chosen Klein's hotel and the company of New Orleans club men over his wife, leaving Edna in Robert's companionship for the entire afternoon. This pattern of emotional distance in the marriage versus warmth with Robert foreshadows the central conflict of the novel.

What role does setting play in Chapter 2 of The Awakening?

The Grand Isle porch functions as a liminal space in Chapter II, positioned between the private interior of the cottage and the public world of the resort. Chopin fills the scene with sensory details: the palm-leaf fan Edna uses, the light puffs of Robert's cigarette, the sounds of children playing croquet and the Farival twins performing "The Poet and the Peasant." Robert's eyes are said to gather "the light and languor of the summer day," creating an atmosphere of warmth and indolence. This unhurried, languid setting mirrors the natural ease of Edna and Robert's conversation and allows their intimacy to develop organically, away from the watchful eye of Léonce.

What does "rather handsome than beautiful" mean in The Awakening?

When Chopin describes Edna as "rather handsome than beautiful," she draws a deliberate distinction between two types of attractiveness. In the vocabulary of the 1890s, "beautiful" suggested soft, delicate, conventionally feminine features, while "handsome" implied a stronger, more striking appearance with character and presence. By choosing this phrase, Chopin signals that Edna does not fit the passive, ornamental ideal expected of women in her social class. Instead, her appeal lies in frankness, depth, and contradiction, qualities that align with the independence and self-assertion she will pursue throughout the novel. The description quietly sets Edna apart from the Creole "mother-women" who define themselves through beauty and domesticity.