# Who is Mademoiselle Reisz?

> The Awakening by Kate Chopin

## Answer

Mademoiselle Reisz is a minor-key mentor in The Awakening — a pianist living alone in New Orleans, tolerated for talent and ignored for rudeness. Her playing at Grand Isle makes Edna cry before Edna can name why. Reisz tells hard truths: romantic illusions need strong wings; the artist must be brave.

She also carries Robert’s letters and facilitates their New Orleans meeting, tying art to desire without conflating them. Reisz embodies art and creativity as liberation — a life Edna glimpses but cannot copy because she lacks Reisz’s vocation and tolerance for isolation. Students sometimes overlook her because she is not a lover; she is the book’s clearest voice about what awakening costs. Cite ix and the late New Orleans visits when summarizing her role.

## Evidence

- [ix](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_awakening_se/chapters/ix.md): Reisz’s music opens Edna’s emotional and aesthetic awakening.
- [xxvi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_awakening_se/chapters/xxvi.md): Reisz reads Robert’s letter and talks frankly with Edna.
- [xxviii](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_awakening_se/chapters/xxviii.md): Reisz warns that flying alone requires courage.

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