Chapter XV Practice Quiz — The Awakening
by Kate Chopin — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XV
What news shocks Edna when she arrives at dinner in Chapter XV?
Several guests inform her simultaneously that Robert Lebrun is leaving for Mexico that very evening.
Why is Edna especially hurt by the announcement?
Robert spent the entire morning reading to her and never mentioned his departure or Mexico.
At what time does Robert claim he made the decision to leave?
Four o’clock that afternoon, in response to persistent questioning from Monsieur Farival.
How does Robert plan to get off Grand Isle?
He will leave with Beaudelet on a lugger loaded with vegetables, which will take him to New Orleans to catch a steamer to Vera Cruz.
What does Edna do during the dinner conversation about Mexico?
She sits in near-total silence, barely eating, and her only contribution is asking Robert what time he leaves.
What does Madame Ratignolle warn Robert about?
She warns him that Mexicans are a treacherous and revengeful people, citing a tamale vendor who stabbed his wife.
What request does the lady in black make of Robert?
She asks him to find out whether the indulgence attached to her Mexican prayer-beads is valid outside Mexico.
How does Victor behave at the dinner table?
He is hilarious and argues with his mother, Monsieur Farival, and Robert, and tries to tell a story about a Mexican girl in a Dauphine Street restaurant.
What does Edna do after leaving the dinner table?
She retreats to her cottage and throws herself into compulsive tidying—straightening furniture, putting away garments, rearranging her hair, and putting the children to bed.
Why does Edna refuse Madame Lebrun’s invitation to wait at the main house?
She says she has already undressed and does not feel well, though the real reason is her emotional distress over Robert’s departure.
What does Edna tell the children at bedtime?
She tells them a story that excites rather than soothes them, and she leaves them arguing about its unfinished conclusion.
What does Edna confess to Madame Ratignolle on the porch?
That the noise at dinner upset her and that she hates shocks and surprises, finding Robert’s sudden departure ridiculously dramatic.
How much time does Robert have when he stops at Edna’s cottage?
Twenty minutes. He lights a match to check his watch before sitting down on a stool on the porch.
What does Edna accuse Robert of during their farewell?
She calls his behavior unfriendly and unkind, saying she does not understand his motive for silence and mystery about the trip.
What admission does Robert almost make before stopping himself?
He blurts "So was I" about planning to see Edna in New Orleans, then begins "Perhaps that’s the—" before breaking off and abruptly saying goodbye.
How does Robert’s farewell contrast with the intimacy of their summer?
His goodbye is stiffly formal—"Good-by, my dear Mrs. Pontellier"—so cold that Chopin notes even a mere acquaintance would have said something warmer.
What is Edna’s physical reaction after Robert walks away?
She bites her handkerchief convulsively, trying to hold back tears and hide her emotions even from herself.
What does Edna recognize about her feelings in the final paragraph?
She identifies the same symptoms of infatuation she felt as a child, a teenager, and a young woman, now directed at Robert.
Why doesn’t the recognition of a pattern lessen Edna’s feelings?
Because the past offers her no lesson she is willing to heed; only the present matters, and it tortures her with the sense of loss.
What does the phrase "newly awakened being" refer to in the chapter’s final line?
It describes Edna’s emerging emotional and sensual identity, which has been stirred by her summer at Grand Isle and now demands fulfillment.
What literary device does Chopin use when Edna lays down her spoon at dinner?
Symbolism—her refusal to eat represents a break from social communion and signals her emotional rupture from the group.
How does Edna’s compulsive tidying function as characterization?
It reveals displacement activity: she channels overwhelming emotion into physical tasks because she cannot yet process or express her feelings directly.
What is the deeper reason Robert leaves for Mexico so suddenly?
He is fleeing his growing romantic feelings for Edna, a married woman, before the attachment becomes impossible to conceal or control.
What role does darkness play in the farewell scene?
The brief flare of Robert’s match emphasizes the surrounding darkness, mirroring the fleeting clarity of their connection before he disappears into the night.
How does this chapter serve as a turning point in the novel?
It is the first time Edna consciously acknowledges her desire for Robert, transforming her diffuse restlessness into a specific, recognized longing.