Realist Novel Study, Part 6 (Pre-Test) – Flashcards
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Read the excerpt from chapter 32 of The Awakening. It was with a wrench and a pang that Edna left her children. She carried away with her the sound of their voices and the touch of their cheeks. All along the journey homeward their presence lingered with her like the memory of a delicious song. But by the time she had regained the city the song no longer echoed in her soul. She was again alone. What does this excerpt reveal about Edna's feelings toward motherhood?
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She loves her children, but this is not enough to fulfill her as a human being.
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Read the excerpt from chapter 30 of The Awakening. "There are so many inquisitive people and institutions abounding," said Arobin, "that one is really forced as a matter of convenience these days to assume the virtue of an occupation if he has it not." Monsieur Ratignolle stared a little, and turned to ask Mademoiselle Reisz if she considered the symphony concerts up to the standard which had been set the previous winter. What does Monsieur Ratignolle's reaction to Arobin's remark reveal about the difference in the men's characters?
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Monsieur Ratignolle is a traditional family man, unable to understand Arobin's unconventional choices.
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Read the excerpt from chapter 34 of The Awakening. "Fine fellow, that Lebrun," said Arobin when Robert had gone. "I never heard you speak of him." "I knew him last summer at Grand Isle," she replied. What becomes apparent during this conversation?
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Arobin is unaware of Robert's role in Edna's life, but Robert is aware of Arobin's role.
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In chapter 34 of The Awakening, how does the author reveal the contrast between Arobin's and Robert's characters?
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through the dialogue the two men have in the parlor
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Read the excerpt from chapter 31 of The Awakening. "Will you have a spray of jessamine?" he asked, breaking off a few blossoms as he passed. "No; I don't want anything." She seemed disheartened, and had nothing to say. She took his arm, which he offered her, holding up the weight of her satin train with the other hand. She looked down, noticing the black line of his leg moving in and out so close to her against the yellow shimmer of her gown. There was the whistle of a railway train somewhere in the distance, and the midnight bells were ringing. They met no one in their short walk. What does Edna's rejection of the jessamine reveal to the reader?
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that she is losing interest in her relationship with Arobin
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In chapter 31 of The Awakening, which incident best indicates that Arobin's feelings for Edna are much deeper than her feelings for him?
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Rather than thanking Arobin for his gift, she appears uncomfortable when faced with the room filled with flowers.
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Read the excerpt from chapter 34 of The Awakening. "What was she like—the one who gave you the pouch? You must have known her very well." "She was very ordinary. She wasn't of the slightest importance. I knew her well enough." "Did you visit at her house? Was it interesting? I should like to know and hear about the people you met, and the impressions they made on you." What do Edna's questions to Robert reveal about her emotional state?
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She is jealous that Robert treasures a gift a from another woman.
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Which excerpt from The Awakening best reveals that Mr. Pontellier has no awareness of his wife's true thoughts or activities?
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He was not dreaming of scandal when he uttered this warning; that was a thing which would never have entered into his mind to consider in connection with his wife's name or his own.
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Read the excerpt from chapter 29 of The Awakening. Whatever was her own in the house, everything which she had acquired aside from her husband's bounty, she caused to be transported to the other house, supplying simple and meager deficiencies from her own resources. By moving only the belongings she acquired without her husband, Edna is
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asserting her independence and rejecting the traditional role of a wife.
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Which excerpt best reveals Edna's doubts about Robert's feelings for her in chapter 33 of The Awakening?
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So he had come back because the Mexicans were not congenial . . . because of any reason, and not because he cared to be near her.
