Throughout much of the book, he is away from his wife and his sons, but when he’s around other people, he always tries to fill the social role of husband and caregiver. He’s forty years old at the time of the novel and far older than his wife.

Unfortunately for Edna, she’s unable to express to anyone what exactly it is about Léonce that makes her feel so suffocated. He spends time with his friends and is admired by the wives in town for his giving and caring attitude. He’s a businessman who works in New Orleans and is well-liked by everyone.

She lives away from her husband and children, which allows her some freedom but also isolates her and leads her to depression. It is Edna’s “awakenings” that inspired the title of the novel.Īfter a series of important experiences, Edna’s passive role in her marriage dissipates as she gains a shocking, for the 19th-century, degree of independence. It only allows her a limited lifestyle, and she is forced to contend with her husband’s passive-aggressive attacks on her role as a wife and a mother. From the first pages of the novel, Edna’s dissatisfaction with her marriage comes through clearly. The protagonist of the novel and a married 28-year-old woman to a New Orleans businessman. No one is perfect, something that makes Kate Chopin’s writing incredibly believable and commonly studied for its depictions of life in New Orleans in the Victorian era. Edna is inspired by all of them when she decides to live separately from her family and pursue a career as an artist.Īll characters in the story of ‘The Awakening’are complicated and multifaceted.

The novel features women who live their lives in many different ways.

Book the awakening by kate chopin