Character guide

Edna Pontellier

major

Also known as Edna, VI Edna Pontellier, The Pontellier, XIX Edna, XXIII Edna

Edna spends the summer at Grand Isle among Creole families who read one another's hearts aloud, while she keeps her own small life locked within. Robert's easy devotion and Adèle's unguarded candor loosen the mantle of reserve she has worn since childhood, and the seductive voice of the sea begins to speak to something in her that has no name. Her outward existence conforms; her inward life questions, and the gap between them widens.

Robert Lebrun

major

Also known as young Robert Lebrun, Lebrun, Mr. Robert

Robert drifts through Grand Isle as the favorite of every matron, fetching lemonade and inventing moonlight bathing parties, his devotion so lightly worn that no husband objects. With Edna he finds himself holding away for whole days, then redoubling his attentions as if to make up for lost hours. When he abruptly leaves for Mexico, the brightness goes out of everything for her, and his few careless lines to his mother become the most precious document in the world.

Léonce Pontellier

supporting

Also known as Mr. Pontellier, Pontellier, that dear Mr. Pontellier, Léonce

Léonce manages his household as he manages his affairs, with an eye to what looks well and runs smoothly, and he is genuinely puzzled when his wife stops performing her part. He is not cruel, only incurious, and his Saturday visits to Grand Isle are full of questions about Robert's prospects rather than Edna's silences. His baffled, conventional kindness becomes the measure of everything Edna is quietly refusing.

Alcée Arobin

supporting

Also known as Arobin, Mr. Arobin

Arobin arrives in Edna's orbit through horse racing and fashionable calls, and he makes intimacy feel effortless, telling her about the saber scar on his wrist as if they had known each other for years. He is drawn to her restlessness and repelled by nothing, and his frank, unhurried pursuit offers her a kind of experience she has never permitted herself. He matters because he tests what Edna's awakening actually wants, and whether desire can be separated from love.

Mademoiselle Reisz

supporting

Also known as Mademoiselle, a Mademoiselle Reisz

Mademoiselle Reisz lives alone with her music, tolerated by the Grand Isle circle as an eccentricity and feared for her sharp tongue. When she plays, Edna stops seeing pictures and feels the passions themselves swaying her soul, and the old woman pats her shoulder afterward with the recognition Edna has found nowhere else. Her touch is the one that answers the voice of the sea, and she becomes the keeper of Edna's secret self.

Adèle Ratignolle

supporting

Also known as Madame Ratignolle, Ratignolle, Madame, The old Madame, Adèle

Adèle moves through Grand Isle like a sensuous Madonna, trailing children and needlework, her beauty and her devotion equally on display. Her openness is so complete that it forms a striking contrast to Edna's habitual reserve, and the sympathy between them feels like something the gods forged. She embodies the mother-woman Edna cannot become, and her serene example makes Edna's own restlessness both more visible and more lonely.

Victor Lebrun

minor

Also known as Victor

Robert's younger brother, a flirtatious and carefree young man.

Madame Lebrun

minor

Also known as Madame

Owner of the Grand Isle cottages and mother of Robert and Victor.

Doctor Mandelet

minor

Also known as the Doctor, Dr. Mandelet, Mandelet

The Pontellier family physician who observes Edna's transformation.

Mariequita

minor

A young Spanish girl who flirts with Victor and Robert at Grand Isle.

Monsieur Ratignolle

minor

Also known as Mr. Ratignolle

Adèle's kind, devoted husband and a pharmacist.

Mrs. James Highcamp

minor

Also known as Mrs. Highcamp

A society woman who socializes with Edna in New Orleans.

The Colonel

minor

Edna's stern, disapproving father who visits briefly.

Old Monsieur Farival

minor

Also known as old Monsieur Farival, Monsieur Farival

An elderly man who plays the violin at social events.

Old Celestine

minor

Also known as Celestine, old Celestine

The Pontellier family's elderly servant.

Ellen

minor

Edna's younger sister, mentioned in her memories.

Raoul

minor

Edna and Léonce's young son.

Etienne

minor

Edna and Léonce's younger son.

Sister Janet

minor

Also known as Janet

A nun at the convent school Edna attended as a girl.

Margaret

minor

Edna's older sister, mentioned in her past.

Mr. and Mrs. Merriman

minor

Also known as Mrs. Merriman, Mr. Merriman

A married couple who attend social gatherings with Edna.

Madame Antoine

minor

An elderly woman who hosts Edna and Robert on the Chênière Caminada.

Miss Mayblunt

minor

Also known as a Miss Mayblunt

A young woman who attends Edna's dinner party.

Beaudelet

minor

Also known as Only Beaudelet

A boatman who ferries characters between Grand Isle and the mainland.

Tonie

minor

A fisherman who helps Edna during her swim.

Klein

minor

A hotel keeper on Grand Isle.

Gouvernail

minor

Also known as Mr. Gouvernail

A journalist friend of Arobin who attends Edna's dinner.

Joe

minor

A servant at the Pontellier household.

Mrs. Belthrop

minor

Also known as Belthrop

A society acquaintance of Edna's in New Orleans.

Mr. Highcamp

minor

Husband of Mrs. Highcamp, a minor social figure.

Catiche

minor

A servant at the Lebrun cottage on Grand Isle.