The Awakening

The Awakening

by

Kate Chopin

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The Awakening: Chapter 34 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Edna and Robert talk pleasantly over dinner. Edna asks jealously about an embroidered tobacco pouch Robert had received as a present from a Mexican girl, and Robert assures her that she is not important to him. Arobin stops by with a message, and Robert quickly leaves.
Edna repays Robert’s jealousy with jealousy of her own. Though she has turned away from the rubber-stamped possessiveness of marriage, she is seized nonetheless by the possessiveness of love—for this, she would yield some of her freedom.
Themes
Convention and Individuality Theme Icon
Freedom and Emptiness Theme Icon
Edna decides not to go to Mrs. Merriman’s card game, and Arobin agrees to mail her note of apology. She refuses Arobin’s invitation to go for a walk and ignores his flirtations. After he leaves, she thinks sadly of her incomplete reunion with Robert.
With Robert’s visit, Edna remembers the warmth and depth of real romance and friendship, so she brushes away the unsatisfying substitutes.
Themes
Convention and Individuality Theme Icon
Realism and Romanticism Theme Icon
Freedom and Emptiness Theme Icon