The Portrayal of Men in The AwakeningWhen Kate Chopin develops the male characters in her novel, The Awakening, she portrays men in a very questionable light. For the most part, his men are possessive, cowardly and selfish. She seems a little unfair and biased in her portrayal of men, but this point of view is necessary for Chopin to get his point across. He uses the characters of Mr. Pontellier, Robert, Alcee and some other men to demonstrate his observations about the middle class man in the society of his times. First, Mr. Pontellier represents Kate Chopin's assumption that in society men objectify women. The wife is a property of the man, he "looks at his wife as one looks at a valuable asset that has suffered some damage"(44) and her possession, "he appreciated his possessions very much, above all because they were his"(99) . Mr. Pontellier treats Edna like a child, commanding and humiliating her: "Send him to do his business when he bores you," he ordered her husband" (45), also scolding her "he scolded his wife for her inattention, for her habitual negligence towards the children" (48). At the same time, he requests that she play the role of his wife, "Tuesday being the day of Mrs. Pontellier's reception...dressed in a beautiful dress, she remained in the drawing room all the afternoon to receive his visitors" (100). Chopin also uses Pontellier to indicate that he conceives of men as dominant, for example, on page 77 and 78, when Edna refuses to come in, Mr. Pontellier joins her outside and waits until she does not decide to enter. Chopin also shows Pontellier expressing his anger towards Edna for having gone out on Tuesday afternoon, complaining about the cook(108). Then, Alcee Arobin symbo...... half of the sheet...... confidence with me, maybe I could help you. I know I would understand, and I tell you there aren't many who would, not many, my dear(171), "I don't want you to blame yourself, no matter what"(172). Unfortunately, it is already too late, because when Ednare returns and finds Robert's note, his grief cannot be contained. After swimming, he looks back and thinks "maybe Doctor Mandelet would have understood if he had seen it, but it was too late" (176). Simply put, Kate Chopin uses The Awakening to practice her observations on the men in her life. society. Nowadays, it is difficult to believe that his accusations are accurate as society has changed significantly. But regarding the time and setting of her story, Chopin's opinions are quite accurate and fair, although unappealing to the men who read her book, which ultimately made her and The Awakening so unpopular..