Chapter XXV Practice Quiz — The Awakening
by Kate Chopin — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XXV
What does Edna need in order to paint effectively?
Sunshine. When the weather is dark and cloudy, she cannot work; she needs the sun to mellow and temper her mood.
How has Edna's painting ability changed by Chapter XXV?
She has reached a stage where she works with sureness and ease, drawing satisfaction from the work itself rather than striving toward accomplishment.
What mood overtakes Edna on rainy days?
A brooding feeling that life is passing by, leaving its promises broken and unfulfilled—not despair, but a restless dissatisfaction.
Who takes Edna to the Jockey Club for the first time in this chapter?
Alcée Arobin and Mrs. Highcamp pick her up in Arobin's drag (a private carriage).
How is Mrs. Highcamp described?
A worldly but unaffected, intelligent, slim, tall blonde woman in her forties with an indifferent manner and blue eyes that stared.
Why does Mrs. Highcamp cultivate the company of young fashionable men?
She uses her daughter as a pretext for keeping the society of young men of fashion like Alcée Arobin.
What special knowledge does Edna display at the racetrack?
She knows race horses intimately from her Kentucky childhood. Few track men know the horses as well as she does.
What simile describes the effect of gambling on Edna?
The fever of the game gets "into her blood and into her brain like an intoxicant," making people turn their heads to look at her.
What does Miss Highcamp play on the piano after dinner?
Selections from Grieg. She seems to have "apprehended all of the composer's coldness and none of his poetry."
What excuse does Arobin use to enter Edna's house after escorting her home?
He asks to come in for a second to light his cigarette, claiming his match safe is empty.
What does Edna eat alone at home after the Highcamp dinner?
A slice of Gruyère cheese, crackers, and a bottle of beer from the icebox, because the Highcamp dinner lacked abundance.
Why is Mrs. Highcamp absent on Arobin's second visit?
Arobin had not told her of his plans to pick her up, so she was not at home. Her daughter was leaving for a Folk Lore Society meeting.
What scar does Arobin show Edna, and how did he get it?
A saber cut on the inside of his wrist, received in a duel outside of Paris when he was nineteen.
What involuntary physical response does Edna have when she touches Arobin's scar?
A spasmodic impulse causes her fingers to close in a clutch upon his hand, pressing her pointed nails into his palm.
What does Edna claim about the sight of wounds?
She says the sight of a wound or scar "always agitates and sickens" her, using it as an excuse to pull away from the charged moment.
What conflicting forces does Arobin's gaze provoke in Edna?
The effrontery in his eyes repels "the old, vanishing self" in her, yet draws out "all her awakening sensuousness."
What is Edna's stated reason for refusing to return to the races?
She says she does not want to lose all the money she has won and needs to work when the weather is bright.
How does Chopin characterize Arobin's sincerity?
His manner is "so genuine that it often deceived even himself," suggesting his charm is practiced performance that has become second nature.
Who does Edna think of when she wonders "What would he think?"
Robert Lebrun—not her husband Léonce. She reveals that Robert holds her true emotional loyalty.
How does Edna now regard her husband Léonce?
As "a person whom she had married without love as an excuse"—a relationship of convenience rather than genuine feeling.
What metaphor describes Arobin's effect on Edna at the chapter's end?
His touch and presence act "like a narcotic upon her," suggesting an involuntary, drug-like physical response that numbs and intoxicates.
What kind of sleep does Edna fall into at the end of the chapter?
A languorous sleep interwoven with vanishing dreams.
How does the racetrack gambling symbolize Edna's broader life choices?
Just as she plays for high stakes at the track, Edna is gambling with her marriage, reputation, and social standing by pursuing independence and physical desire.
What does Edna's comical dream at the end involve?
Mr. Highcamp playing piano at the entrance of a music store on Canal Street while Mrs. Highcamp tells Arobin she must go.
What traditional gender role does Edna reverse at the racetrack?
She speaks with authority on horses, bets and wins at high stakes, and commands the attention of track men—all behaviors her society reserved for men.