The Awakening Chapter 26 Summary

  • Arobin writes Edna an apologetic letter.
  • He begs permission to visit her and watch her paint.
  • She tries to reply in a light way but he immediately shows up at her house.
  • After that, he comes over almost every day and they become closer.
  • Arobin acts like he adores her.
  • Edna decides to visit Mademoiselle Reisz again, to quiet her nerves. The woman gives Edna a drink of brandy.
  • Edna tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she has decided to move into a small, four-room house just around the corner from her big house.
  • Mademoiselle Reisz doesn’t appear to be too shocked by this news. She tries to get Edna to tell her the real reason for the move.
  • Edna can’t articulate the reason, but the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that she no longer feels any allegiance to her husband. It no longer feels right to live off his money.
  • Edna has some money of her own; she resolves to be an independent woman.
  • Edna decides to host a dinner party before she leaves the big house.
  • When she goes to invite Mademoiselle Reisz, the woman pulls out another letter from Robert. She tells Edna that the reason Robert writes to her, instead of to Edna, is that he loves her (Edna) and is trying to forget her, since she is not free to belong to him.