Abstract
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is ostensibly a work of realism depicting the moral conflict that faces Edna Pontellier: selfhood in opposition to family. Edna's ultimate surrender to her emotional conviction signals more than the requisite ethical dilemma of a particular literary genre; it also contains strong elements of musical romanticism, which put a greater stress on human instincts and feelings than on intellect.1 The character piece for piano,2 a major contribution of this era, emphasizes spontaneous emotion, as do the Impromptus that Mile. Reisz plays for Edna. These compositions by Frederic Chopin underline the influence of the Polish pianist on the novel. Although allusions to operatic composers exist in the work, they are ancillary because on certain evenings during the week she [Edna] and her husband attended the opera.8 Essentially, this type of artistic expression is reserved for shared time with Mr. Pontellier whereas the intimate strains of
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