Gender Roles In Edna Pontellier

Register to read the introduction… Pontellier, Chopin's stereotypical male, visits the Doctor regarding the 'strange behaviors' of his wife, Mandelet inquires about the symptoms of this 'curious illness.' Upon being told of her recent disregard of her duties to her husband and her new ideas concerning the eternal rights of women, Mandelet already perceives that there might be another man in Mrs. Pontellier's life. During the conversation, however, he seems to keep the front of being a stereotypical male in the company of Mr. Pontellier and talks of the whimsical moods and idiosyncrasies of the female species with a hint of condescension. He candidly declares his lack of understanding of women, yet he is more knowledgeable than he admits or realizes.

 

In dining with the Pontelliers, Doctor Mandelet sees no trace of an abnormal condition in the mannerisms and countenance of his lovely hostess, Mrs. Pontellier. In fact, he notes in her a transformation for the better: "Her …show more content…
He finds it very cruel of Madame Ratignole to insist upon Edna's witnessing the birth of her child. He knows that Adele was trying to remind Edna of her own children and her responsibility to them. It seems that the Doctor repeats the word 'cruel' in describing Adele's actions because he knows that Edna is already torn between her bondage to her family and her impending freedom: "The trouble is.. .that youth is given up to illusions. It seems to be a provision of Nature; a decoy to secure mothers for the race. And Nature

 takes no account of moral consequences, of arbitrary conditions which we create, and which we feel obliged to maintain at any cost."(111) Deep inside, the insightful man does not want to see the destruction of Edna's spirit and watch it smothered by her surroundings. He believes she belongs somewhere else; she belongs in a society where gender builds no