The Awakening: Leonce
Lauren, Ryder, Labonno and Phil
Description of Leonce
•
•
"Mr. Pontellier wore eye-glasses. He was a man of forty,
of medium height and rather slender build; he stooped a
little. His hair was brown and straight, parted on one
side. His beard was neatly and closely trimmed."
"And the ladies, selecting with dainty and
discriminating fingers and a little greedily, all declared
that Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world.
Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of
none better."
Relationship with Edna
•
"Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an
accident, in this respect resembling many other
marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate. It
was in the midst of her deep passion that she met
him...He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered
her. She fancied there was a sympathy of thought and
taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken.
Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her
sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we
need seek no further for the motives which led her to
accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband."
Edna's Defiance
•
•
"She heard him moving about the room; every sound
indicating impatience and irritation. Another time she
would have gone in at his request. She would through
habit, have yielded to his desire..."
"Leonce, go to bed...I mean to stay out here. I don't wish
to go in, and I don't intend to. Don't speak to me like
that again; I shall not answer you."
On Edna to the Doctor
• "I came to talk to you about Edna. I don't
know what ails her"
• "Yes, yes; she seems quite well but she
doesn't act well. She's odd, she's not like
herself"
• "Her whole attitude- toward me and
everybody and everything- has changed"
Leonce's Attitude Towards Edna
•
•
•
•
"He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the
children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth
was it?"
"He thought it very discouraging that his wife who was the sole object of his
existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and
valued so little his conversation"
"She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned
her"
- He allows Edna to do as she pleases yet he is agitated by her disinterest in
him, his affairs, and their children.
Leonce's Reaction
• Leonce's initial reaction to the death of his
wife would be genuine shock and sorrow.
Although at times he may have neglected her
feelings and manipulated her for the sake of
his own social standing, he truly cared for his
wife and would certainly be upset by the
strange and sudden nature of her death.
While Leonce would certainly be shocked and
upset by Edna's death, being a member of the
gentile Creole society of the time, he would
have to provide some explanation to the
Leonce's Reaction Continued
•
Similar to the way he put an ad in the paper when Edna
chose to move out, he would find a way to twist the
circumstances in order to save face. Throughout Edna's
"awakening", Leonce treated her new habits like a
condition or a disease, something that could be treated.
This can be seen through his initial action of seeking out
the doctor to ask about Edna's behavior. For this reason,
he would most likely attribute her death to some form of
mental illness or chemical imbalance. In the end, he
would be able to move on past Edna, most likely
remarrying, which would be the most lucrative course of
action for his business and social standing.
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The End