Involvement? NOT!!!

  One of the most outstanding things in the early intances of The Awakening, is the complete lack of involvement that Mr. Pontellier shows in the raising of his children. Even if he shows some concern in the condition of the kids, he does not act (... kind of Hamlety isn´t) on these worries and leaves his parenting task on the shoulders of his wife. There is evidence of this passive attitude during chapter 3 in the novel, as he tells his wife that his son Raul "... had a high fever and needed looking after" and then deliverately doing nothing. (p. 21) This shows how Mr. Pontellier has a sexist perspective of the home tasks and how he expects his wife to attend the business that he considers to be for the woman of the house.

  In this passage the character of Mr. Pontellier shows to be a sort of antagonist, only basing my judgement on his attitude towards his wife. Maybe he is presented in this way be the author in order to create a general perspective on the social structure of that time. Mrs. Pontellier´s crying, later on that chapter, shows her discontent on the situation of her marriage even if she says that "... she could not have told why she was crying." Maybe, her realising of her own unhappiness is going to be the AWAKENING (Ahh... foreshadowing).

  In the final sentence of the chapter she says that "she knew of none better" expressing her opinion of her husband, but I think this line could show her desire for something better that she never knew. You may be thinking, how do you miss something you never knew? Thats the beauty of it, maybe she feels there is something missing in her life.