Tuesday, September 7, 2010

ignore this.
1.What was described in the first paragraph?
A parrot

2.What is the setting?
A little island house, with cottages for dormers. There’s a beach.

3.How is Mr. Pontellier characterized?
A young father, a businessman, quiet and relaxed.

4.How does Mr. Pontellier look at his wife?
as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property, which has suffered some damage.

5.What is implied by the business of the rings?
It’s like she’s her husband’s property.

6.What details indicate the relationship between Edna and Robert?
They share a moment of amusement that only they understand, which indicates a sort of private friendship.

7.What indicates the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier?

8.Describe the conversation between Robert and Mrs. Pontellier.
Robert talks about himself, his summer vacation and “The house.” Edna talks about herself and her father’s Mississippi plantation.

9.Evaluate the second paragraph of chapter 3. Do you find an irony? Explain.
It’s ironic because Mr. Pontellier wants to talk to his wife, but his wife doesn’t seem interested at all, and stereotypically, it’s the other way around in most marriages.

10.Do you think Raoul really had a fever? Why/why not? Why would Mr. Pontellier say he did if he didn't?
No, because he was fine a just a little while ago. Mr. Pontellier probably said he did to get his wife to stop being lazy.

11.Note the construction of these sentences: "Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life.", "They seemed never before to have weighed much against the abundance of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be tacit and self-understood.", and "Mrs. Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew of none better." What do you perceive from the precise wording of these sentences?

12.What is a motherwoman? What kind of language does chopin use to describe
them?
women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, like a perfect mother/house wife.

13.Contrast Edna with the motherwomen.
Edna is nothing like a motherwoman. She lets the nursemaids take care of her children, shes not very interested in what her husband talks about and she’s not very homely.

14.Describe Madame Ratignolle. What is her occupation?
She’s a beautiful, graceful motherwoman. Her occupation is as a housewife, and sewing.

15.Define Creole. How is Edna unlike the Creoles? IN this context, what is one significance of her name?
A Creole is someone descended from the original settlers of New Orleans, most likely of French or Spanish origins. They are predominantly Catholic and European in their customs and attitudes. They are very open people, willing to express themselves and not at all prudish. Edna is not at all like that. Her name isn’t French, like the rest of the main characters.

16.How does Robert treat the other women?
He treats them all very well, and does what they ask, to make them happy.
17.What activity does Edna enjoy more than any other?
Sketching and painting.

18.What does water sound like to Edna?
A sonorous murmur, like a loving but adamant urging.

19.Highlight the phrase "two contradictory impulses impelled her."
20.With another color, highlight the rest of the chapter.
21.With the color from #19, highlight the third sentence of chapter seven. What connection can you make to #19?

22.What does the contrast in appearance and dress tell you about Madame Ratignolle and Edna?
It tells one that Madame Ratignolle is much more conservative and delicate, while Edna is much more laid-back and casual.

23.What does Edna remember?
a time back in Kentucky when she was walking aimlessly through a tall grass meadow.

24.What did her crushes have in common?
They were both older men and gradually faded out of her life.

25.How does Edna feel about Mr. Pontellier? Why did she marry him?
She feels like her marriage was an accident. She married him because her father and sister didn’t want her to marry a Catholic and Mr. Pontellier is Catholic.

26.What does "in this fancy she was mistaken" tell us?
It tells us that she thought she was in love with him, but she wasn’t. she was merely flattered by his devotion to her.

27.With what is Edna intoxicated?
The sound of her own voice.

28.What warning does Madame Ratignolle give Robert?
To leave Mrs. Pontellier alone, because she might take his advances seriously.

29.What warning does Robert say she should have given instead? What do you infer from this?
To not take his own advances seriously. We can infer that Robert is starting to have feelings for Edna.

30.Describe Mademoiselle Reisz. Include mention of her attire.
a disagreeable little women, no longer young, who has quarreled with almost everyone, owing to a temper which was self-assertive and a deposition to trample upon the rights to other. She is a homely woman, with a small face and body and eyes that glow. She has no taste in dress and wears a batch of rusty black lace, with a bunch of artificial violets pinned to the side of her hair.

31.What image does Solitude evoke for Edna?
a naked man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore.

32.Why, this time, does Edna respond differently to music?


33.How does the music affect Edna?
It causes her to cry.

34.What is different about the night's swimming?
Edna’s tried to get lessons from the other people, but this time she swam by herself.

35.What does Edna seem to be reaching out for?
The unlimited in which to lose herself.

36.What happens when Robert brings Edna her shawl? Why would the author choose the word "pregnant"?


37.How does Edna respond when Mr. Pontellier asks her to come inside? Why is this significant?
She refuses, this is significant, because she usually just obeys him.

38.How does Edna begin to feel?
Like she’d been awakened gradually from a dream.

39.What makes Robert's face glow? Dramatic irony is the term for the audience's awareness of that which the characters are unaware of. Do you detect such irony here? Explain.

40.How does the author indicate Edna's growing awareness of her physical nature?

41.What fantasy does Edna indulge in when she awakens?
That she’d be sleeping for a very long time and everyone was dead on the island except Robert, who was left to look after her.

42.What makes this different?

43.What does Edna learn at dinner?
That Robert is leaving and going to mexico.

44.What do you think Robert was going to say in the sentence he didn't finish?
Something about that being the reason he has to go, because he was growing too attached to Edna.

45.How does Edna respond to Robert's departure?
She grew very depressed.
46.What does Edna try to explain to Madame Ratignolle, that Madame cannot understand.
That she would give anything up for her children, except herself.

47.Describe the Pontellier's home in New Orleans.
It is big and extravagant and beautiful. It’s in the city.

48.What has Edna done that vexed her husband?
She stopped associating with most of the women she used to. Instead, choosing to spend all her time out of the house, by herself.

49.Whom does Mr. Pontellier single out for Edna to avoid?
Mrs. Highchamp.

50.What happens when Edna goes to her room?
Edna took her wedding ring off her finger and threw it on the floor, and stomped on it, and then smashed a vase.

51.Using the rings as a symbol of the marriage, what is chopin telling us?
That Edna hates her marriage.

52.The next morning, how does Edna perceive her world?
She feels disinterested in everything.

53.When evaluating the worth of Madame Ratignolle's assessment of her sketches,Edna makes a distinction between "decided" and "determined". Explain.

54.Track down the allusion Edna uses when dining with the Ratignolles. What does it tell us?

55.Although Madame seems very happy,Edna pitites her. Why?


56.What is the irony of the Mr. Pontellier plainly seeing that Edna is not herself.

57.Explain the analogy of the fictitious self to garmet.

58.What is the significance of the song Edna sings while painting.

59.What is the significance of the auditory, visual and tactile imagery associated with the songs.

60.What makes her happy days happy?
Edna’s happy days are when her whole being seems to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odor, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day. She likes to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places, and found it good to dream and be alone.

61. What makes her unhappy days unhappy?
Edna’s unhappy days are when it doesn’t seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead. On days such as these Edna cannot work or weave fancies to stir her pulses and warm her blood.

62.What prompts Edna to visit the Lebruns?
Because she wanted to see Mademoiselle Reisz and she knows that Madame Lebrun knows where she lives.

63.How does Victor treat Edna? How does she respond?
He flirts with her and talks to her enthusiastically, she treats him with vague interest and amusement.

64.What does Edna learn about Robert?
That he wrote two letters to Madame Lebrun, one from Vera Cruz and the other from the City of Mexico.

65.What does Victor mean by his final sentence?


66.What are the contents of Robert, letter to Mademoiselle Reisz.
The whole thing is about Edna.

67.What, according to Mademoiselle Reisz, must an artist posses?
gifts-absolute gifts-which have not been acquired by one’s own effort. An artist must possess the courageous soul; the soul that dares and desires.

68.Who was Isolde? What does the allusion contribute to your understanding?
Isolde is a character in Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde, which is based on the medieval legend of Tristan and Iseult. The allusion shows Edna’s feelings for Robert and how she’s in love with him. Without Robert, Edna feels lost and dead and it hurts her that he’s gone.


69.Why does Mr. Pontellier consult Dr. Mandelet?
He’s worried about how his wife is acting.

70.What are Dr. Mandelet's attributes?


71.What does Mandelet recommend?
That Mr. Pontellier be patient with Edna, and to send her to her sister’s wedding to be with her family for a little while.

72.What had Edna said about going to her sister's wedding?
That weddings are one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth, so she’s not going.

73.What question does Mandelet refrain from asking?
If there’s another man in the picture.

74.What do we learn about the Colonel's attitude toward his daughters?

75.What do we learn about Edna and coquetry?

76.Whom does Edna meet while at the racetrack with her father?
Mrs. Mortimer Merriman and Mrs. James Highcamp, who were with Alcee Arobin.

77.Of what does Edna remind the doctor of?
Some beautiful, sleek creature, waking up in the sun.

78.What old, ever new story does the doctor tell?
the curious story of the waning of a woman’s love, seeking strange, new channels, only to return its legitimate source after days of fierce unrest.

79.What story does Edna tell?
Of a married woman who runs away with her lover.

80.What is the meaning of the doctor's hope?
It means he knows that Edna is in love with another man, other than her husband.

81.What is the Colonel's parting advice to Mr. Pontellier?
To put his foot down with Edna.

82.How does Edna react to her husband's imminent departure?
She cries and acts loving and devoted.

83.Where do the children go?
To stay with their grandmother.

84.Which roles has Edna rejected or been relieved of?
Wife and Mother

85.How does she feel at the end of her first night alone?
restful

86.Describe Mrs. Highcamp and Alcee Arobin.
Mrs. Highcamp is a worldly but unaffected, intelligent, slim, tall blonde woman in her forties, with indifferent manner and blue eyes that stared. Alcee was a familiar figure at the race course, the opera and the fashionable clubs. He possessed a good figure, a pleasing face, not overburdened with depth of thought of feeling.

87.Why does Arobin really enter Edna's house? What excuse does he make?
How do we know it is an excuse?

88.Why is Edna still hungry? Consider the allusion in #54.

89.What does Edna want?

90.Why does Edna go to the races unaccompanied by another woman?
because she thought to ask Madame Ratignolle or Mademoiselle Reisz, but she knew neither would have any interest to go and she didn’t want Madame Lebrun to come for some reason.

91.What is the effect on Edna of the effrontery in Arobin's eyes?
It repelled the old, vanishing self in Edna, yet drew all her awakening sensuousness.

92.What makes Edna tell Arobin she doesn't like him?
He starts flirting with her and he kisses her hand.

93.How does Arobin respond to being scolded?
He apologizes in a letter and asks what he did to offend her.

94.When Edna looks at her hand, of whom does she think? What does that reveal?
Robert Lebrun. She cares more about what he would think, than what her husband would.

95.What does Edna announce to Mademoiselle Reisz?
That she’s moving out of her big mansion and into a small apartment.

96.What are Edna's reasons for change?
She’s tired of tending after the big house, its empty and lonely and it never felt like home.

97.Why does Robert write Mademoiselle about Edna, but not to Edna?
According to Mademoiselle, because he loves Edna.

98.What does Edna learn from Robert's latest letter?
That Robert is coming back from Mexico.

99.Why does Edna love Robert?
Because she does.

100.What did Mademoiselle say as she embraced Edna?
“The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.”


101.How does Edna react when Arobin kisses her?
She kissed him back.

102.What is Edna's single regret?
The kiss with Arobin, because there was no love behind it.

103.What nickname is given to the new house?
The Pigeon House.

104.Who comes to Edna's dinner party?
Mr. and Mrs. Merriman, Mrs. Highchamp, Alcee Arobin, Mademoiselle Reisz, Monsieur Ratignolle, Victor Lebrun, Miss Mayblunt, and Gouvernail.

105.What is Edna wearing in her hair?
diamonds

106.What does Edna's appearance at the table suggest?
That Edna feels like a new person.

107.What happens when Victor begins to sing?
Edna tells him to stop, and when he doesn’t she covers his mouth until he does.

108.What is the implication of the last sentence in chapter 31?
That Edna is finally giving into the Arobin’s advances.

109.What is Mr. Pontellier's concern regarding Edna's move?
He doesn’t want people to think they’ve lost their wealth and been forced to move to a smaller house.

110.What happens to Edna as she relieves herself of obligations?
Her strength increases. She starts to feel relaxed, and enlightened.

111.How does Edna respond to being with her children? How long does it last?
She enjoys it a lot, she spends all her time with them, devoting herself to them, and showering them with love and attention. It lasts a week.

112.What promise does Adele extract from Edna?
For Edna to come visit her if Adele ever feels ill.

113.What advice does Madame Ratignolle give Edna?
To stay away from Arobin.

114.Whom does Edna encounter at Mademoiselle Reisz's?
Robert

115.How does the reality of that encounter differ from Edna's expectations?
She expected Robert to be excited to see her, and anxious to meet her, but he acted as if he wasn’t interested in her at all.

116.What is revealed by Robert's reaction to Arobin's photo?
That Robert is alittle jealous of Arobin, and actually does like Mrs. Pontellier.

117.Why does Robert call Edna cruel?
because he asked her what she has been seeing, doing and feeling and she mocked his response word for word.

118.What is indicated by "Mrs. Pontellier"?
That Robert is trying to keep a polite and appropriate relationship with her. Trying not to let his feelings get in the way.

119.Why is Edna bothered by Robert's tobacco pouch? Do you perceive an irony
there? If so, what?
She imagined a beautiful Mexican woman giving it to him as a gift, like a lover would. It’s a little ironic that Edna had a bit of an affair with Arobin while Robert was gone, and she’s married, but she didn’t want Robert to be romantically entangled with another woman.

120.How can you make sense of the paradox in the last two sentences of chapter 34?
The paradox in the last two sentences of chapter 34 is Edna feels that she was closer to Robert when he was in Mexico because of the letters he wrote. In his letters he expressed his feelings for her and admitted he loved her but he couldn’t admit them to Edna, he keeps it a secret from her and acts like he has no feelings for her at all.

121.What letters come to Edna? What does each represent?
She gets a letter from Raoul, a letter from her husband, and a letter from Arobin. The letter from Raoul represents the part of her that wants to be a good loving mother and wife, and sacrifice her happiness for her family. The letter from her husband represents the part of her that wants to throw it all away and just be free, and the letter from Arobin represents the mistake she made by acting rashly upon her desires and feelings.

122.What explanation does Robert give for calling Edna cruel?
that she seems to be forcing him into disclosures which can result in nothing, as if she would have him bare a wound for the pleasure of looking at it, without the intention or power of healing it.

123.What is the import of "voluptuous sting”?
Edna’s kiss.

124.What has Robert been fighting against? Dreaming of? What does this tell us about his character?
Robert has been fighting against kissing Edna, expressing his emotions and for feelings for her. He has been fighting against letting anything happen between him and Edna because she is not free, so he left to help himself from telling her. It shows he’s a respectable man who’s not selfish. He went to Mexico so he could get over Edna, in order to not ruin her marriage because she had a family with children.

125.What makes Robert go pale?

126.What causes Edna to leave?
Her friend is ill and needed her to come take care of her.

127.What does Edna say to Robert as she leave?
That she loves him and only him, and she asks him to wait for her to get back from her friend’s house.

128.What does Robert finally call her? What does that indicate?

129.What does Edna witness at Madame Ratignolle's? Contrast your words to describe the event with the author's. How does Edna react to this event?

130.What are Adele's parting words to Edna?
“think of the children.”

131.What offer does Mandelet make?
To walk Edna home.

132.What does Edna seen to conclude about trampling upon others?

133.What is the meaning of the note awaiting Edna at the pigeon house?
Robert won’t be seeing her anymore, because he loves her and doesn’t want to ruin her life by being with her, which would ruin her reputation, and marriage.

134.What is the setting of chapter 39?
A house on the island from the beginning of the story.

135.How does Mariequita view Edna?
She sees her as this incredible fantastical wealthy woman.

136.Paraphrase Edna's thoughts about Leonce, Robert, Arobin, Raoul and
Etienne.
She doesn’t care much about Leonce, she loves Robert, she has an infatuation with Arobin but she knows that will pass, Raoul and Etienne are her children, and she loves them, but she’s not willing to give herself up for them.

137.Look back at the highlighted passage of chapter six. what is echoed in chapter 39? What is different in how you understand those lines now?

138.What other creature is near Edna?

139.What happens to Edna's clothes? To her bathing suit? What might this symbolize in light of your answer to #57?

140.What happens at the end of the story?
Edna took all her clothes off and went swimming really far out, and the book ends in a way that leaves the reader believing she drowns.

**These questions should be answered in thoughtful paragraphs. Explain and support your answers**

1.Edna is dynamic character. Describe her at the opening of the story. How does she change? What precipitates these changes?

2.Discuss how the various stages in Edna's life are reflected by the imagery of birds throughout the book.

3.What is the symbolic meaning of dress/clothing? Discuss other characters as well as Edna.

4.What do you learn about the time and place of the novel? Could Edna's story have been different in another setting? Explain.

5.Much of what Chopin tells us is said indirectly. Do you that that appropriate? Why/why not? Did it cause you to read more carefully?

6.What conflict(s) does Edna deal with? What would have made her happy if she could have achieved it without conflict? Were any of her conflicts an inevitable part of life? Were any self-inflicted? What is your opinion of how Edna dealt with the conflicts/struggles/choices n her life?

7.Did you find Edna to be a sympathetic character? If so, how did Chopin elicit your sympathy? If not, what prevented you from sympathizing?

8.Discuss your opinion of the ending. Did it seem necessary, sad, cowardly, self-sacrificing, brave, self-indulgent, etc.? Explain your position.

9.Chopin uses an omniscient, third person narrator. How would you perception of the story have been different if one of the characters had narrated? If the narrator had remained third person, but been limited to external actions? Do you think Chopin made the best choice? Why/why not?

10.Evaluate chopin's effectiveness in causing you to understand the life/situation/feelings/actions of another person in another place and time. Note the elements in her craft as a writer that you thought were particularly distinctive or effective.

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