Chapter ten to me is one of the most interesting chapters for is literally illusion and for what it foreshadows further in into the book. On page 27 of the Dover book, towards the bottom is my favorite passage from the book for it is short and is only a three sentence paragraph, but in these sentences there is a lot to unpack:
A feeling of exultation overtook her as if some power of significant import had been given her control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out where no woman had swum before.
This is the part where she has a moment of self discovery in her own ability to take control of some aspect of her life, an epiphany. Before this her life had been mostly led by other people and their expectations for her to perform her duties as a wife and nothing more. Which she did and performed in a way in which I would describe as mechanical. She was going through the motions of keeping up the appearance or facade of a wife and mother. This would be in chapter seven towards the end in which she is going over love life then her eventual marriage to Mr. Pontellier, as being a marriage of convenience than a marriage of love. In the way she describes her affection towards her children she says, bottom of page 18 Dover book, “She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them.” This shows her relationship towards her children and husband as being of one of indifference. She neither really loved them or for that matter hated them, they were just there for the sake of being the expectation of her as a married woman.
With the examples I gave are there other examples of her indifference towards her family that you can identify, and why or what about them make them relevant?
In the above block quote I said that this passage foreshadows events further in the book, what could it be foreshadowing?
Do you agree or disagree with my interpretation of the block quote? Why or why not?
To answer your foreshadowing question, I feel its telling us the story before it even happens. Edna dares to swim out "where no woman dare swum" already hints at the breaking away from societal norms, in specific regards to women's freedoms. I find it perfectly fitting you found this quote so inspirational, because it literally sums up Edna's entire struggle to this point, and as discussed, future struggles.
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