In the Awakening Mrs. Pontellier's children are not introduced with names. They are just referred to as "little Pontellier children". Chopin also makes a point to mention "the young man descended the steps and strolled over toward the croquet players..." "the little Pontellier children, who were very fond of him". Chopin saying this shows that one, her children like being around him and not her. Two, Mrs. Pontellier also didn't go see or play with her children, but he did. Also she did not say the names of the children. She just called them croquet players. All of these make it easy to infer the fact that she does not care much for her children. It seems as though they are a bother to her. Chopin states "Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-women" (11). To me she would rather be off at the beach with people that are not her husband then with her family. She is not a family oriented women.
Just as Mrs. Pontellier doesn't care for her children, it seems the same as her children don't really care for her. When Chopin says she is not a "mother-woman" I hope that this is foreshadowing. Either for an affair or it is part of a conflict in the book.
ReplyDeleteThats a really good point!!
DeleteThat is a good inference, and I agree with that. It is obvious that she could care less for her children. Mrs. Pontellier probabkg wishes she never had them. She rarely mentions them. Also, the first time I recall hearing their names was by Mr. Pontellier, not her.
ReplyDeleteVery true. In a way, I think Chopin is trying to symbolically dehumaize the Pontellier children. This may be because Mrs. Pontellier's children make her feel less of a person. Considering she doesn't seem to care for them, she may feel guilty for having them in the first place. That feeling of regret may be taunting, thus the reason why her children are not labeled.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point. Enda is unsure of herself at this point in her life, mostly because of her situation with her husband. It makes sense that she would "block out" the names of her children, especially because she knows that she has bigger issues to figure out.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though Edna does love her children deep down. Although, she doesn't associate them with names so she can disconnect from them. If something doesn't have a name then it is easier to let them go. I believe this is absolutely what Edna is doing when she doesn't name her children.
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