Chapter XXIV — Summary

Plot Summary

Chapter XXIV of The Awakening opens with a heated argument between Edna Pontellier and her father, the Colonel, over her refusal to attend her sister Janet's wedding. Mr. Pontellier declines to intervene, following Doctor Mandelet's advice to let Edna do as she pleases. The Colonel reproaches his daughter for her lack of filial kindness and sisterly affection, but his arguments are "labored and unconvincing." Edna is relieved when her father finally departs with his "padded shoulders, his Bible reading, his toddies and ponderous oaths." Léonce follows shortly after, planning to stop at the wedding and use "every means which money and love could devise" to compensate for Edna's refusal. In a darkly ironic exchange, the Colonel advises Léonce to use "authority, coercion" to manage a wife—unaware, Chopin notes, that "he had coerced his own wife into her grave."

Edna Alone: A Radiant Peace

As Léonce's departure approaches, Edna grows unexpectedly affectionate, fussing over his clothing and health "quite as Madame Ratignolle would have done." She cries when he leaves and calls him her "dear, good friend." Yet after the children are carried off to Iberville by old Madame Pontellier, a "radiant peace" settles over Edna. She breathes "a big, genuine sigh of relief" and experiences a feeling that is "unfamiliar but very delicious." For the first time in the novel, she is entirely alone in the house.

Reclaiming the House

Edna walks through every room "as if inspecting it for the first time," trying chairs and lounges "as if she had never sat and reclined upon them before." She circles the outside of the house, checks the windows and shutters, then descends into the garden, where the flowers appear to her like "new acquaintances." She digs around the plants, trims dead leaves, and plays with the children's little dog. The garden smells good and glows in the afternoon sunlight. She gathers bright flowers and carries them inside. In the kitchen, she takes practical command—instructing the cook to reduce the quantity of meat, bread, milk, and groceries, and announcing she will be "greatly occupied" during her husband's absence.

Dinner Alone and a New Beginning

That evening Edna dines alone by candlelight in the large, shadowy dining room. The cook, "placed upon her mettle," serves a luxurious meal: tenderloin broiled to perfection, good wine, and marron glacé. Edna eats in a comfortable peignoir, savoring the food and solitude. She thinks sentimentally of Léonce and the children and feeds scraps to the dog while talking to him about Etienne and Raoul. Afterward, she reads Emerson in the library until she grows sleepy, resolving to "start anew upon a course of improving studies" now that her time is entirely her own. She takes a bath and settles into bed, where "a sense of restfulness invaded her, such as she had not known before.” The chapter marks a pivotal turning point: Edna has tasted genuine independence, and the domestic space she once inhabited by obligation has become, for the moment, entirely hers.