Summary: Chapter XXVIII
After Alcée leaves, Edna weeps. She feels guilty when
she considers the material possessions surrounding her, all of which
her husband has provided. She understands the irresponsible nature
of her actions, yet she feels no shame or regret. Instead, it is
the thought of Robert and of her love for him, growing ever “quicker,
fiercer” and “more overpowering,” that affects her. She suddenly
feels that she at last understands the world around her, “as if
a mist had been lifted from her eyes, enabling her to look upon
and comprehend the significance of life. . . .” Her only regret
is that her kiss with Alcée was not motivated by love.
Summary: Chapter XXIX
Without waiting for Léonce’s reply to her letter, Edna
prepares to move to the house around the block, which one of Edna’s
servants dubs the “pigeon house,” likening it in size and appearance
to the dovecotes in which the upper classes would keep domesticated pigeons
for show or sport. When Alcée arrives, he finds Edna dressed in
an old dress and kerchief, packing only the possessions that Léonce
did not buy for her. She is neither rude to her friend nor is she
particularly attentive. Rather, Edna is totally absorbed in her work.
Alcée reminds her of the dinner celebration she had planned, and
she tells him it is set for the night before her move. He begs to
see her sooner, and she scolds him but laughs as she does so, looking
at him “with eyes that at once gave him the courage to wait and
made it torture to wait.”
Analysis: Chapters XXV–XXIX
Edna’s rebellion involves her need to satisfy her physical
as well as artistic desires. Alcée presents an outlet for her animalism,
which gains strength as the two spend more and more time together,
until finally Edna finds she can longer fight against it. When Alcée
first presses his lips to Edna’s hand, she attempts to impress upon
him her fidelity and disinterest. While her eyes still display her
“old, vanishing self,” the sexual desires within Edna are pressing
on her from the inside, seeking expression. Edna finally succumbs
to Alcée’s seductions after she confesses to Mademoiselle Reisz—aloud
for the first time—her love for Robert. It may seem ironic that
she gives herself to one man just after declaring her devotion to
another, but, in terms of Edna’s development, the two acts are joined.
Both are part of the same process of passionate release: Edna’s
verbal admission to love in one corner of her life gives her the
strength to pursue it further in another.
During her conversation with Alcée, Edna directly voices
her desire for self-realization. She wants to become more acquainted with
herself, but she cannot do so within the constraints of social conventions.
By those standards, she is “wicked”—subverting order, descending
into selfishness and hedonism—yet she herself cannot interpret her
desire for an independent identity as a “wicked” endeavor. Alcée
becomes peevish at her philosophical tarrying; he wants her to play
the role of the typical, infatuated adulteress. Clearly, Alcée is
used to having the upper hand in his romantic relationships and
views women as pleasurable conquests.
Edna refuses to be treated or behave as a stereotype.
In her growing independence, she has declared that she will never
again be the possession of another, and she abides by this statement
in her affair with Alcée. She expects him to make allowances for
her own needs. When Alcée finds her in a frenzy of preparation for
her move, Edna will not agree to see him at his convenience. Moreover,
he does not find her “languishing, reproachful, or indulging in
sentimental tears” as he most likely expected. Edna is unwilling
to let her affair, the first sexual relationship she has had that
is not one of possession, consume her life. Her relationship with
Alcée does not keep her from pursuing any other aspects of her awakening.
It simply quells the sexual desire that had consumed her days, and
even her dreams.
Edna’s move to the “pigeon house” also allows her to move
away from her husband’s possessive hold over her. Edna no longer
has to look at the material objects that Léonce has purchased, and
which remind her of his ownership of her. The objects have also
served as a sort of reproach to Edna, making her feel guilty for
her infidelity toward the man who has provided her with her livelihood.
Once distanced from these reminders and alone in a new space of
her own, Edna can enjoy a temporary escape from convention. She
can behave as she likes, without regard to how others will view
her actions. Moreover, she believes the move may constitute a first, practical
step in consummating her relationship with Robert. Knowing that
Robert has gone to Mexico in order to avoid having an affair with
a woman who is already the possession of another man, Edna believes
that by freeing herself of the financial chains that bind her to
Léonce, she can clear the path for a relationship with the man she
loves.
