Three Loves

The book, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, is not so much a love story as it is a story of one woman. Mrs. Pontellier was a woman with emotional needs. Her needs include material, sexual, intimacy, and the need to be wanted or needed. Among Léonce Pontellier, Alcée Arobin, and Robert Lebrun, she pursues and meets her needs. Although Léonce Pontellier didn’t seem to play a part in her life, he …

…love which had inflamed her, because it was not love which had held this cup of life to her lips.’p84 It was the kiss of lust that kept them together. The Awakening is a book of Mrs. Edna Pontellier’s changes. Originally, Mrs. Pontellier had only her husband to fill her needs. By the closing stages of the story she had broken vows and social tradition to bring about more emotional stability within her.