The Awakening In the novella The Awakening by Kate Chopin, two supporting characters, Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz, represent two distinctively different females of the Victorian Age. Madame Ratignolle serves as society’s idea of the ideal woman. “There [is] nothing subtle or hidden about her charms; her beauty [is] all there, flaming and apparent: the spun-gold hair that [neither] comb nor confining pen could restrain; the blue eyes that [are] like nothing but sapphires; …showed first 75 words of 745 total…

…showed last 75 words of 745 total…the perfect woman. She follows the mold and becomes what society wants her to be but loses her individuality in the process. Conversely, Mademoiselle Reisz is the type of woman that Edna wishes to be. Edna strives for the freedom and passion that Mademoiselle Reisz possesses. Mademoiselle Reisz holds tightly to her independence and liberty. She never allows anybody to control her. She defies societal rules and expectations, and she is consequently shunned for it.