TayloR’s Comments (group member since Feb 04, 2022)

TayloR’s comments from the AP Literature and Composition (SHHS) group.

Robert has had a large impact on Edna’s life even though they only had an affair in the past summer. Edna is currently in a relationship with Alcee, and while she enjoys him, it doesn’t seem like she is fully satisfied. Robert’s letter may lead to Alcee and Edna breaking up and Edna and Robert continuing their affair. This is because the letter is about Robert coming back to New Orleans, and once she reads the letter, she realizes how long she has longed for and missed him.
Robert appears to be the most genuine to the readers through the way he treats Edna, especially in comparison to the other guys in her life. She recently met Alcee and we have yet to see if he is genuine about his feelings and actions towards Edna especially when we were told that he is deceptive in his actions and comes off more genuine and nice than he really is. Leonce also isn't genuine because he cares more about the idea of having a wife than Edna herself and is often rude towards her when she doesn't act like a perfect mother. Robert has shown a genuine interest in Edna through their relationship in the summer and how he wrote her a letter while he was in New Orleans. It also is one that the readers see Edna have a response to since he drew her into her awakening as well as make her question if she wanted him or not.

How do minor characters (Colonel, Doctor Mandelet) impact Leonces views on his relationship with Edna?
How does Edna's kiss with Alcee show her satisfaction (or lack thereof) with her marriage/relationship?

Taylor wrote: "A driving conflict in the novella is the one between Edna's awakening and the expectations of women in society. As Edna begins to realize her freedom and expresses her independence, she realizes th..."
I agree completely because Leonce wants Edna to be something she's not and we see him constantly compare her to other women that he deems as "perfect mothers'. I also really like the point you made about how he was such a driving force for her awakening because of the way that he views her, as readers we can see how upset she gets because of Leonce before her awakening and even afterward, so it's not surprising that because of her treatments she decides to finally realize her self worth.

tayyiba wrote: "1. So far, the driving conflict in "The Awakening" is the clash between Edna's desire to be free and Leonce's expectations for her. From the beginning of the novel, Edna feels like she doesn't trul..."
I definitely agree about the conflict between Edna and Leonces's wants because both of them seem to have expectations for how she lives her own life. This also is something that Leonce made known that is bothering him because he wants her to be a perfect mother. Do you think that this conflict will continue to grow until they potentially split and get a divorce?

1. A driving conflict of the novella is Edna's relationship with other characters following her awakening. This is because she starts to develop her own confidence and way of thinking that defies many of the stereotypical roles society and other characters have for her as a woman and a mother. This is seen with Leonce getting upset with her not staying in the house to receive visitors since he sees this as a vital thing for her to do to benefit him and his business status. She also has her relationship with Robert which is a driving conflict because she gets upset when she is told of his sudden departure, which causes her feelings/opinions on him to be tarnished slightly, as well as make her depressed once he leaves. When Robert was still there he helped to push conflict within Edna because she was often confused about her feelings towards him as well as his potential feelings towards her, especially after being told stories from Adele.
2. Robert is impacting the overall plot by driving forward the storyline, helping Edna's character develop, and creating conflict. This is because he was a reasoner and a guide to Edna when she went through her awakening in the way that she thought about how she wanted to swim with him when she had the chance. He helped Edna realize different parts of her awakening such as how she wanted t carry herself and defy some of the stereotypical roles. He also has a close relationship with Edna in which we can see her rely on him when things get hard, especially with Leonce. He also drives conflict such as within Edna, as well as even Edna and Leonce because Edna started to not do the things he expects of her. He also suddenly left town to go to Mexico which created conflict between him and Edna as well as sent Edna into a depressive state.