For the most part, Mr. Pontellier gives Edna the freedom she deserves, but when she starts running errands as she pleases he gets scared of what people might think. He absconded that she needed an explanation on why she was leaving the house each time, whether it be true or false. This could possibly say alot about Mr. Pontellier as a person. Considering he rarely ever shows any affection towards his wife, he might have only married her for publicity, social status, etc. Altogether their family seems broken, and if this is true about Mr. Pontellier, that could be one of the reasons why. Chopin states, “It would have been a difficult matter for Mr. Pontellier to define his own satisfaction or anyone else's where in his wife failed her duties towards her children” (pg. 78) Even if Mr. Pontellier married Edna because of publicity, he failed to marry someone who would participate in motherly duties.
I feel like Edna was just a display of social status to her husband. She was nothing more than a symbol of what Mr. Pointillier. Edna was just a wife and a mother and nothing else to anyone.
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