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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Awakening, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Convention and Individuality
Women’s Rights, Femininity, and Motherhood
Realism and Romanticism
Action and Reflection
Freedom and Emptiness
Summary
Analysis
Edna grows very tired and weak during the service, so she and Robert leave the church and go to rest in the house of Madame Antoine, a Creole woman who lives in the village. She welcomes them into her spotless house; Edna naps in a private room while Madame Antoine cooks dinner and talks to Robert and later to Tonie, her son. Edna wakes up to find a small meal laid out for her in the kitchen. She walks outside, where Robert had been waiting for her; they joke that she must have slept for a hundred years. By now, Madame Antoine and Tonie had both left. Edna and Robert eat a meal and relax until Madame Antoine returns in the evening. She tells them many fantastic stories. Late at night, they finally return to Grand Isle.
As Edna begins to resist the various rules and habits that have governed her adult life, the outlines of her days begin to blur as well: her previously orderly eating and sleeping have become lively and disarranged. The new disorder gives her new friendships and experiences, which are both tiring and elating. Robert accompanies her on these adventures, so their intimacy quickly deepens.
Themes
Quiz
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