Chapter XVIII Practice Quiz — The Awakening
by Kate Chopin — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XVIII
What does Léonce ask Edna to do at the beginning of Chapter XVIII?
He asks her to meet him in town to look at new fixtures for the library.
How does Edna respond to Léonce's request about the library fixtures?
She declines, saying they don't need new fixtures and that he is too extravagant.
What is Léonce's philosophy about money in Chapter XVIII?
"The way to become rich is to make money, my dear Edna, not to save it."
What does Edna pick from the trellis on the front veranda?
She picks a few sprays of jessamine and tucks them into the bosom of her white morning gown.
How does Edna feel about her surroundings as she watches the street from her veranda?
She feels completely alienated. The street, children, fruit vendor, and flowers all seem part of an alien, antagonistic world.
What does Edna do with her old sketches before leaving the house?
She reviews them, sees their glaring shortcomings, and gathers the least discreditable ones to bring to Madame Ratignolle.
Who dominates Edna's thoughts as she walks through the streets?
Robert Lebrun. The thought of him is described as an obsession that fills her with incomprehensible longing.
What business does Monsieur Ratignolle own and operate?
He owns a drug store on the corner of a side street, a business his father had before him.
What social events do the Ratignolles host in their salon?
They host soirees musicales every two weeks, sometimes with card-playing, featuring friends who play cello, flute, violin, and piano.
What is Madame Ratignolle doing when Edna arrives?
She is sorting clothes that have returned from the laundry, which she immediately abandons to greet Edna.
Who is Cité in this chapter?
A young Black woman whom Madame Ratignolle instructs in French to check the laundry list and handle mending.
What does Madame Ratignolle say about Edna's talent?
"Your talent is immense, dear!" She praises the sketches extravagantly, singling out a Bavarian peasant and a basket of apples.
Does Edna trust Madame Ratignolle's opinion of her art?
No. She knows Adèle's opinion is "next to valueless" but still enjoys the praise and encouragement.
Who does Edna mention as a potential art teacher?
Laidpore. She tells Adèle she might study with him for a while.
How does Chopin describe Monsieur Ratignolle's character?
As "one of those men who are called the salt of the earth" with unbounded cheerfulness, goodness of heart, broad charity, and common sense.
What does Chopin say about the Ratignolles' union?
"If ever the fusion of two human beings into one has been accomplished on this sphere it was surely in their union."
How does Edna feel after leaving the Ratignolles?
She feels depressed rather than soothed. Their domestic harmony gives her no regret or longing—only a sense of appalling ennui.
What emotion does Edna feel toward Madame Ratignolle at the end of the chapter?
Pity and commiseration for her "colorless existence" of blind contentment that will never know anguish or "life's delirium."
What is "life's delirium" and how does it occur to Edna?
It refers to the full intensity of passionate experience. It crosses Edna's mind "like some unsought, extraneous impression" — arising unbidden, beyond her conscious control.
What do the jessamine blossoms Edna picks symbolize in this chapter?
They represent sensuality and fleeting beauty, linking Edna's inner emotional state to the natural world even as she feels alienated from her domestic surroundings.
How do the Ratignolles function as a literary device in this chapter?
They serve as a foil to Edna. Their perfectly harmonious marriage represents the conventional ideal against which Edna's growing discontent is measured.
What narrative technique does Chopin use when Edna thinks of Robert while walking?
Free indirect discourse, blending Edna's internal thoughts with the narrator's voice to convey the obsessive, involuntary nature of her longing.
What word does Chopin use to describe how Robert's memory affects Edna?
Obsession. His thought dominates her mind with an intensity that fills her with "incomprehensible longing."