While reading The Awakening, I noticed that family dynamics seemed to play a huge role in the development of the characters and how they interacted with one another. One quote that really stood out to me was, “If it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with her brokerage business. He could not be in two places at once.” This shows that at the time (and even still today) women were tasked with handling the children. Mr. Pontellier seems to embrace fatherhood more than his wife appears to embrace motherhood, which seems to almost frustrate him. I think as the story goes on we begin to see Mrs. Pontellier as a young woman rather than a mother. I believe she loves her children but may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of them, as seen when she is crying on the porch as her family sleeps. This disconnect also seems to place some strain on her marriage as her husband wishes for her to be more motherly. We also see how her relationship with her sons differs from the relationship between the other mothers around her. As mentioned, her sons do not come crying to her when they take a tumble, instead they dust themselves off and carry on. This is different from other women such as Madame Ratignolle, who was described as a mother-woman who took pride in her children and even her “duty” to have children. Edna acknowledges the fact that she is not a mother-woman, but being the wife of a creole, she feels like an outsider within her community because of it.
I like how you incorporated that key quote from the book, “if it was not a mother’s place to look after children, whose on early was it?” Breaking away from societal norms is such a key theme in this book. I admire Mrs. Pontellier for having the confidence to pave the way for this as I very much am a follower, not a leader, and I’m glad you pointed that out in your post.