The Awakening

One day, Edna goes to her favorite little garden cafe, located in the suburbs of the city. As she eats her dinner and reads a book, Robert walks in. They both feel uneasy but Robert agrees to join Edna for dinner. Although Edna had decided to be reserved around Robert, the sight of him makes her speak honestly about how she feels. She blames him for being self-centered and not caring about her feelings and emotions. Edna tells Robert that she is now used to expressing herself freely, no matter how “unwomanly” (277) this may seem to others. Robert again calls her cruel and accuses her of wishing him “to bare a wound for the pleasure of looking at it, without the intention or power of healing it” (277). Not wanting to confront his anger, Edna changes the topic promptly and returns to pleasantries.

After the dinner, they both go to the little house. After washing up, Edna finds Robert sitting in a chair, and leans over to kiss him. He kisses her back then embraces her. He admits that he decided to go to Mexico in order to forget about her. Instead of forgetting her, however, he had dreamed that one day they would get married, that Léonce would “set her free” (281).