An Inward Life that Questions

As the story progresses, the instances in which the reader realizes that this is not just a tale about a happy family start to make themselves more noticeable. There are random mentions of a way of thinking characteristic of dissatisfaction. While Mr. Pontellier seems to have nothing to criticize of society, Mrs. Pontellier is in need of relief.

It is made known to the reader that Mrs. Pontellier, at a very early age, had "apprehended instinctively the dual life - that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions." (p. 36) In a society where it is naturally accepted that women have to fulfill the roles they have always been required to do, no one expects any questioning. But Mrs. Pontellier refuses to conform inwardly, which in turn shows Kate Chopin's nonconformity. In 1899, when The Awakening was first published, there was an upheaval of criticism for the direct way in which Chopin shows women's oppression within marriage and their daily lives. Chopin is able to inspire the female reader to take action, to speak out about their situation, to question internally.

Chopin describes the female life as "a responsibility she had blindly assumed and for which Fate had not fitter her." (p. 44) Women's responsibilities had been decided well before this time period, so Chopin argues against accepting them any longer. It is not Mrs. Pontellier's place in the world to conform to what society asks of her, and she chooses to demonstrate this belief to obvious refusal to do simple things.

When Mrs. Pontellier is sitting outside the beach house at 1:00 a.m. with Robert, there is nothing but upright boycott keeping her out in the cold. Mr. Pontellier tries to knock some "sense" into her, accusing her it of being a "folly." (p. 65) Mrs. Pontellier is tired and cold enough to want to go it, but she decides to suffer through it in an attempt to show her discomfort with her current life.

But not even other women think well of Mrs. Pontellier's open opposition, as they tell each other "sometimes I am tempted to think that Mrs. Pontellier is capricious." (p. 61) This shows the controversy that may have arisen from the mere publishing of The Awakening, in which even women (the oppressed) were against a movement that could make their lives more worthwhile. It is difficult for one voice to fight against the apparent beliefs of a society, so Kate Chopin's book's importance lies on its ability to propose an alternative view.