The Awakening: Adele Ratignolle

The Awakening: Adele Ratignolle
An oppressive, patriarchal society, by its very nature, makes it difficult for women to express themselves and take charge of what they want to do with their lives. In The Awakening, a novella by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier realizes she can no longer cope with this subjugated type of lifestyle and metaphorically awakens to the notion that she can transform herself from powerless to independent. Madame Adele Ratignolle, a motherly figure who embodies many of the traditional feminine roles of the time, is the impetus for several of these “awakenings.” Throughout many encounters leading these “awakenings,” Adele sparks and drives Edna towards her epiphanies of self-empowerment and awareness of her inner
Edna admires Adele’s beauty and requests to sketch her, but always has the tendency to crumple the picture even though Adele claims, “[it is] a fair enough piece of work” (20). Adele seems to contribute to Edna’s opening up about her passion for sketching and artwork. Edna seems as though she is trying to make something of herself, that she is more than just a housewife and simply wants to convey personal expression. This might also be an indication of Edna’s perfectionist side that reflects Adele, where Edna feels an obligation to perfect her work in her own way and prove she can be just as talented as Adele, who she frequently watched sewing. Nonetheless, Adele has a heavy influence on Edna’s point of view and makes her come out to do what she loves without needing to pertain to her family and this helps build her confidence. However, when Edna goes over to the Ratignolle’s residence for art critique, Adele’s behavior makes Edna think about the Ratignolle’s “life’s delirium” and how it ties to their “blind contentment”(76). Even when Adele praises her and encourages Edna to pursue art, she overlooks the compliments and finds Ratignolle’s attitude distasteful, concluding that Adele’s life is boring, making Edna truly acknowledge that she will never want to live like the Ratignolles. This further affects her family
Although Edna really did not wish to, she stays with Adele throughout the whole delivery, giving Edna a feeling of “vague dread” (148). Edna feels as if the scene is more torturous for her than for Adele giving birth, as it reminds her that women cannot escape this pain brought upon by nature. At this point, Edna comprehends that it is not only her lovers, but her children that make her feel shackled and presumably overpowered from complete freedom. It is as though her rebirth is juxtaposed against Adele giving birth to a new life, making Edna feel a wave of both guilt and resentment. After giving birth, Adele earnestly whispers, “Think of the children, Edna. Oh think of the children! Remember them!"(179). Adele has a major impact on Edna with these words, as Edna is trying so hard to forget her children, since they are the last obstacle to gaining her full freedom. Instead, Adele is explicitly reminding her to never neglect them, shattering Edna’s illusions of temporary joy and conflicting her with roles of a mother versus a newfound personality. Despite the fact that Edna does not initially realize it, she has been agonizing over it all along. Witnessing Adele’s childbirth ensures that Edna’s final impulses at the end are not motivated by only heartbreaks but more from the fact that she will forever be a dependent and feel like a slave to