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Essay On The Role Of Mademoiselle Reisz In The Awakening

939 Words4 Pages

In The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the unconventional Mademoiselle Reisz’s piano playing and feedback help to awaken passions in the soul of Edna Pontellier, the protagonist, and ultimately spark her rebellion. The development of Edna’s freedom and lust to become independent are traced back to Mademoiselle Reisz’s beliefs. Edna’s independence begins as soon as she realizes her own individuality, which she then discovers with the help of Mademoiselle Reisz. For these reasons, Mademoiselle Reisz serves as an inspiration and foil to Edna on her path to awakening. Although Mademoiselle Reisz is not formally introduced until Chapter IX, Chopin represents her as the mockingbird in the first chapter. The parrot, which personifies Edna, speaks “a …show more content…

“Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking pictures in her mind” (25). Before the start of Edna’s awakening, music, especially Mademoiselle Reisz’s piano, brought forth mental pictures; however, as illustrated by Chopin: She waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination. She waited in vain. She saw not pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing, or of despair. But the very passions themselves are aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing it, as the waves beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her. (26) Edna reaches a point in her awakening when she is able to hear what a piece of music says to her, rather than stimulate random pictures to accompany the sounds. Consequently, Edna’s changing reaction to music helps to serve as a milestone in her path to …show more content…

Then she decides to see Mademoiselle Reisz for helpful criticism on her work, but also so she could hear her play the piano. Mademoiselle Reisz’s definition of an artist is one who not only possesses “many gifts––absolute gifts––which have not been acquired by one’s own effort” (63) as well as has a “brave soul. The soul that dares and defies” (64). In Mademoiselle Reisz’s definition, the endeavors of hard work and practice mean nothing; talent and the courage to use those talents are what make a true artist. In response, Edna does not ask for clarification, but instead for the letter from Robert Lebrun, her love interest. Her interests lie more in her pursuit of love than with developing her art. Yet in her pursuit of love, she displays that she has a heart that can dare and defy despite the pressure to conform to society’s standard of a faithful wife and

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