Illogical, submissive and sensual are some of the words used to describe the views of women during the nineteenth century. In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin tells the controversial story of a woman, Edna Pontellier, and her spiritual growth. Throughout the story, Edna constantly struggles between the desires of her heart and the standards of society. The novel shows how the lives of two women influence Edna throughout the novel. Mademoiselle Reisz and Madame Ratignolle both exert, in their own ways, a strong, maternal influence in Edna's life. Mademoiselle Reisz is Edna, the mother who wants Edna to pursue her heart's desires. Madame Ratignolle, however, is the kind of mother to Edna who wants Edna to do what is socially right. How the two live their lives not only plays an important role in Edna's maternal role, but also represents the only two outcomes Edna thinks she has for her life. In the manner of most mentors, Mademoiselle Reisz supports Edna as she begins to achieve the responsibility-free life she desires. Mademoiselle Reisz is a free-spirited, hot-tempered, childless and unmarried woman. She is an outcast in her own town because of the way she lives her unconventional life. A neighbor of Mademoiselle Reisz says, "He really didn't want to know her at all, or anything about her, the most unpleasant and unpopular woman who ever lived in Bienville Street" (69). During the summer people's opinion of Mademoiselle Reisz is always the same. Everyone seeks her out because she plays the piano well, but no one besides Edna really likes her. As she enters the entertainment room at Grand Isle where everyone is seated, "A general air of surprise and genuine satisfaction fell over everyone as they saw... in the center of the paper... being a mother, devotes more time to her works of art and her art improves dramatically. Although Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz guide Edna through her awakening, Edna realizes that she could be neither. She wants to be free and without responsibility, but Edna really can't still the life that Madame Ratignolle has, although this pushes her to be free from responsibility. Edna still cares about what others think unlike Mademoiselle Reisz. Unfortunately, these factors lead to Edna's death escape without hurting her family, but she doesn't want to stay. Edna's choice says a lot about her, as a mother she was willing to give up her life rather than be with her children. Works Cited Chopin, Kate and Barbara H. Solomon . The Awakening: and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin. New York: Penguin, 1976. Print.