Browse all of the Salem on Literature series

The Awakening (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)

At a glance:

The Story:

The Pontelliers, residents of New Orleans, were vacationing at Grand Isle, a resort in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lebrun and Ratignolle families, also Creoles of New Orleans, were companions of Edna, who was unhappy with the limited role dictated to her by her husband Léonce. Madame Lebrun’s caged parrot symbolized Edna’s feeling of being trapped in a loveless marriage and in an economically oriented social system in which women were only wives and mothers. Her husband expected her to be like Adèle Ratignolle, who exemplified the type of submissive and sacrificial...

[The entire page is 2316 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Dictionary Tip:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.