Throughout the early chapters of The great Awakening, the author uses the word “sympathy” in an unfamiliar way. Instead of using it as a word to express pity, sympathy is used as a synonym of love. We first see this when Robert attempts to receive sympathy from madame Ratignolle. Robert was not trying to receive her pity, he was vying for her love. This same structure is represented later, and is directly addressed. When Mrs. Pontellier and madame Ratignolle are escaping to the beach together, the author describes their bond, “ Then the candor of the woman’s whole existence, which every one might read, and which formed so striking a contrast to her own habitual reserve - this might have furnished a link. Who can tell what metals the gods use in forging the subtle bond which we call sympathy, which we might call love.”
This passage not only shows that the author continues to use sympathy as an equivalent for love, but also possibly foreshadows a deeper relationship between the two. Further evidence of a romantic relation is provided when the pair arrive at the beach house, when Madame Ratignolle caresses Mrs. Pontellier affectionately. A possible romance could be foreshadowed in this scene.
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