When we first meet Edna and Leonce Pontellier, they seem to have a typical marriage of the late nineteenth century. He goes to work and to the club, while Edna spends her time mostly with other women and with her children. Edna is surprised to find herself upset one night when Leonce wakes her to take care of the children, one of whom he insists is sick, after he's returned home from the club. She recognizes that the scene is not out of the ordinary but for some reason, she feels devastated about it this time. Her awakening has begun, and she slowly becomes conscious of her unhappiness in her marriage and in her position as a woman in this society.

As far as classifying Leonce as the ideal husband, it seems that he is considered so by the community in which the Pontelliers live. When he sends some chocolates to his wife, "the ladies. . . . all declared that Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world. Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better." The word "forced"...

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