The Awakening MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 9, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 16 min

The Awakening MCQs

1. What creature repeats “Allez vous-en” at the start?

A. A little dog
B. A green parrot
C. A tropical crane
D. Mr. Pontellier

B. A green parrot.
The annoying green and yellow parrot constantly repeats French phrases outside the door of the cage.

2. Where are the Lebrun cottages located?

A. New Orleans
B. Mississippi
C. Grande Terre
D. Grand Isle

D. Grand Isle.
Mr Pontellier is reading a day-old paper because Sunday papers had not yet reached Grand Isle.

3. What is Mr Pontellier’s approximate age?

A. Around twenty
B. About forty
C. Nearing sixty
D. Thirty years old

B. About forty.
Mr Pontellier is described as being a man who is forty years old and of medium height.

4. What were the Farival twins playing on the piano?

A. “Solitude” piece
B. An opera duet
C. A waltz tune
D. “The Awakening” song

B. An opera duet.
The Farival twins were playing a duet from the opera titled “Zampa” upon the piano.
5. Who is Mrs Pontellier accompanied by when returning from the beach?

A. Mr. Pontellier
B. Léonce’s father
C. Young Robert Lebrun
D. The quadroon nurse

C. Young Robert Lebrun.
Mrs Pontellier arrives at the cottage, accompanied by young Robert Lebrun, beneath a sunshade.

6. How does Mr Pontellier view his wife’s sunburn?

A. A sign of health
B. Damage to property
C. Proof of folly
D. An amusing sight

B. Property damage.
He views her as a valuable piece of personal property that has suffered damage from the sun.

7. Where does Mr Pontellier go for billiards?

A. The main house
B. Klein’s hotel
C. Chênière Caminada
D. Robert’s room

B. Klein’s hotel.
Mr Pontellier suggests he might go over to Klein’s hotel to play a game of billiards.

8. What colour are Mrs Pontellier’s eyes?

A. Deep blue
B. Yellowish brown
C. Bright green
D. Dark hazel

B. Yellowish brown.
Mrs Pontellier’s eyes are described as quick, bright, and having a yellowish-brown colour.

9. Why does Robert Lebrun smoke cigarettes?

A. He prefers them
B. He cannot afford cigars
C. Cigars are scarce
D. They are forbidden

B. He cannot afford cigars.
Robert explains that he smokes cigarettes because he says he cannot afford to purchase cigars.
10. What is Robert always intending to do in the autumn?

A. Start college
B. Go to Mexico
C. Open a shop
D. Visit Kentucky

B. Go to Mexico.
Robert spoke frequently of his plan to go to Mexico in the autumn, seeking fortune there.

11. What describes the feeling that caused Edna to weep late that night?

A. Joyful anticipation
B. Indescribable oppression
C. Physical exhaustion
D. Moral outrage

B. Indescribable oppression.
An indescribable oppression, generating in her consciousness, filled her entire being with vague anguish.

12. What did Mr Pontellier send Edna from New Orleans?

A. A dozen cigars
B. A box of friandises
C. A sketch pad
D. A gold thimble

B. A box of friandises.
A few days after Léonce left, a box filled with friandises, fruit, and bonbons arrived for Edna.

13. What is Adèle Ratignolle described as?

A. Not a mother-woman
B. A mother-woman
C. An ambitious artist
D. A self-contained person

B. A mother-woman.
Madame Ratignolle is characterised as the embodiment of charm and grace, prevailing as a “mother-woman”.

14. What garment was Adèle Ratignolle sewing?

A. A silk dress
B. A lawn skirt
C. Winter night-drawers
D. A tapestry

C. Winter night-drawers.
Madame Ratignolle was sewing upon a diminutive, heavily fashioned pair of winter night-drawers.
15. What characterises the Creole women’s conversations, shocking Edna?

A. Complete silence
B. Intense prudery
C. Freedom of expression
D. Lack of education

C. Freedom of expression.
Edna was shocked by the Creoles’ freedom of expression and overall absence of prudery in conversation.

16. What does Edna do to the sketch she made of Madame Ratignolle?

A. Frames it nicely
B. Rips it up
C. Draws a smudge across it
D. Gives it to Robert

C. Draws a smudge across it.
After surveying it, Edna drew a broad smudge of paint across the picture’s surface.

17. What theme does the voice of the sea represent for Edna?

A. Seduction and solitude
B. Danger and cold
C. Silence and fear
D. Commerce and travel

A. Seduction and solitude.
The voice of the sea is seductive, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude and contemplation.

18. What influence most encourages Edna to loosen her reserve?

A. Léonce’s absence
B. Mademoiselle Reisz
C. Robert Lebrun
D. Adèle Ratignolle

D. Adèle Ratignolle.
The most obvious influence encouraging Edna to speak freely was the extreme candour of Adèle Ratignolle.

19. What term describes Edna’s innate tendency for emotional seclusion?

A. Outward conformity
B. A dual life
C. Vague anguish
D. Artistic aptitude

B. A dual life.
Edna had instinctively apprehended the “dual life”: outward conformity and questioning inward life.
20. Why did Edna marry Léonce Pontellier?

A. For great passion
B. Because of opposition
C. For shared interests
D. To gain property

B. Because of opposition.
She married Léonce due to the violent opposition from her father and sister to her marrying a Catholic.

21. Who warns Robert against taking Mrs Pontellier seriously?

A. Madame Lebrun
B. Adèle Ratignolle
C. Mr. Pontellier
D. Alcée Arobin

B. Adèle Ratignolle.
Adèle Ratignolle warns Robert to “Let Mrs Pontellier alone” because she fears Edna might take him seriously.

22. How does Robert react to the warning about Edna?

A. He is indifferent
B. He is relieved
C. He is annoyed
D. He agrees readily

C. He is annoyed.
Robert flushed with annoyance and sharply demanded why she shouldn’t take him seriously.

23. Where is Madame Lebrun’s room located?

A. Near the kitchen
B. Ground floor
C. Top of the house
D. The main parlour

C. Top of the house.
Madame Lebrun’s room is situated at the top of the house, looking out toward the Gulf.

24. What colours are the clothes of the Farival twins?

A. Yellow and green
B. Red and black
C. Blue and white
D. White and gold

C. Blue and white.
The Farival twins are always clad in the Virgin’s colours, which are described as blue and white.
25. What emotion does Mademoiselle Reisz’s playing first evoke in Edna?

A. Material pictures
B. Passion and tears
C. Boredom and fatigue
D. Artistic inspiration

B. Passion and tears.
The music aroused passions within her soul, and she trembled and was choked with tears.

26. What natural accomplishment does Edna achieve during the night swim?

A. Floating peacefully
B. Regaining the shore
C. Learning to swim
D. Finding a treasure

C. Learning to swim.
Edna suddenly realised her powers and learned to swim, feeling immense exultation and confidence.

27. What natural item does Edna refuse to give up, insisting on staying outside?

A. Her satin mules
B. The white shawl
C. The wicker rocker
D. The hammock

D. The hammock.
Edna settles more securely in the hammock, resisting Léonce’s commands to come inside.

28. What awakens in Edna during the silence with Robert in the hammock?

A. Deep fatigue
B. Throb of desire
C. Sudden anger
D. Fear of Léonce

B. Throb of desire.
The silence between them was pregnant with the first-felt throbbings of desire in Edna’s soul.

29. Who does Edna send to awaken Robert early the next morning?

A. Her husband
B. A little negro girl
C. Madame Lebrun
D. The quadroon nurse

B. A little negro girl.
Edna sends the little negro girl, who typically operates Madame Lebrun’s sewing machine, to awaken Robert.
30. What condition overcomes Edna during the church service?

A. Intense joy
B. Oppression and drowsiness
C. Profound faith
D. Extreme hunger

B. Oppression and drowsiness.
Edna feels an oppression and drowsiness, causing her head to ache, forcing her to leave the church.

31. Where does Robert take Edna to rest after she leaves the church?

A. Klein’s hotel
B. Grande Terre
C. Madame Antoine’s
D. The Lebrun house

C. Madame Antoine’s.
Robert leads Edna away from the stifling church atmosphere to rest at Madame Antoine’s cot.

32. How does Edna describe the feeling of resting alone in the strange bed?

A. Luxuriously restful
B. Cold and cramped
C. Full of anguish
D. Disappointingly strange

A. Luxuriously restful.
Edna stretched her tired limbs and found resting in the quaint bed felt luxurious and pleasing.

33. What song did Robert sing that haunted Edna’s memory?

A. “Zampa” duet
B. “The Impromptu”
C. “Ah! Si tu savais”
D. “The Poet and the Peasant”

C. “Ah! Si tu savais”.
As Edna waited for Léonce, she sang softly a little song Robert had sung: “Ah! Si tu savais”.

34. Why does Robert claim he is going to Mexico?

A. Financial prospects
B. Family emergency
C. To meet Montel
D. He always intended to

A. Financial prospects.
Robert cried out that he had been saying he was going to Mexico for years.
35. How does Edna react to Robert’s sudden departure for Mexico?

A. With happiness
B. With indifference
C. With bewilderment
D. With gentle sadness

C. With bewilderment.
When Edna hears the news, her face is a blank picture of bewilderment, and she is surprised.

36. What happens when Edna refuses to receive callers on Tuesday?

A. Léonce ignores it
B. Léonce praises her
C. Léonce is disturbed
D. Léonce cancels dinner

C. Léonce is disturbed.
Edna’s husband expresses genuine consternation upon learning she was “out” during her reception day.

37. What does Edna try to crush under her heel in a sweeping passion?

A. A glass vase
B. Her wedding ring
C. A statuette
D. A silk garment

B. Her wedding ring.
Edna seized a vase and flung it, then threw her wedding ring and stamped her heel upon it.

38. Who is Doctor Mandelet?

A. Léonce’s business partner
B. The family physician
C. A famous psychologist
D. Edna’s artistic tutor

B. The family physician.
Doctor Mandelet is identified as Mr Pontellier’s old friend and the family physician.

39. What does Léonce think is causing Edna’s odd behaviour?

A. Infidelity
B. Hereditary disease
C. Mental unbalance
D. Artistic obsession

C. Mental unbalance.
Mr Pontellier wonders if his wife is growing mentally unbalanced because she is abandoning her duties.
40. What physical feature does Edna’s father emphasise using padding?

A. His feet
B. His shoulders and chest
C. His arms
D. His stomach

B. His shoulders and chest.
The Colonel wears coats that are padded, which gives a fictitious breadth and depth to his shoulders.

41. Who accompanies Edna to the races along with Alcée Arobin?

A. Mrs. Merriman
B. Mrs. Highcamp
C. Madame Ratignolle
D. Miss Mayblunt

B. Mrs. Highcamp.
Alcée Arobin and Mrs Highcamp call for Edna to join them at the Jockey Club to witness the turf event.

42. What is the significance of the scar Arobin shows Edna?

A. Injury from a duel
B. A childhood mark
C. Military service
D. A hunting accident

A. Injury from a duel.
Alcée Arobin shows Edna the scar he received in a duel outside of Paris when he was nineteen years old.

43. What happens to Edna when Arobin kisses her?

A. She feels remorse
B. It kindles desire
C. She rejects him
D. She thinks of Léonce

B. It kindles desire.
The kiss was the first to which her nature truly responded; it was a flaming torch that kindled desire.

44. What name does the housemaid Ellen give the new small house?

A. The studio
B. The hideaway
C. The pigeon-house
D. The cottage

C. The pigeon-house.
The small four-room house where Edna moves is referred to as the “pigeon-house” by Ellen.
45. What does Léonce worry people will say about Edna’s move?

A. She is unfaithful
B. They have met reverses
C. She is ill
D. They are separating

B. They have met reverses.
Léonce worried people would think the Pontelliers had met reverses, forced to live on a humbler scale.

46. What is Mademoiselle Reisz’s requirement for a successful artist?

A. Wealth and fame
B. A devoted mentor
C. The courageous soul
D. Innate physical beauty

C. The courageous soul.
Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna that the artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and defies.

47. Why did Robert say he didn’t write to Edna from Mexico?

A. He was too busy
B. He was fighting against loving her
C. He thought she didn’t care
D. Léonce forbade it

B. He was fighting against loving her.
Robert confesses he was fighting against his love for her because she was Léonce Pontellier’s wife.

48. What does Edna assert about herself to Robert, contrasting with Léonce?

A. She is still married
B. She belongs to herself
C. She will wait
D. She is financially free

B. She belongs to herself.
Edna states, “I am no longer one of Mr Pontellier’s possessions,” asserting her self-ownership.

49. What does Adèle Ratignolle whisper to Edna during her childbirth agony?

A. Go to Robert
B. Think of the children
C. Be a good wife
D. Find happiness

B. Think of the children.
As Edna leaves Adèle, Adèle presses her cheek and whispers the imperative, “Think of the children”.
50. What realisation drives Edna to swim fatally into the Gulf?

A. Robert’s abandonment
B. Her strength was gone
C. Children’s possessiveness
D. Mademoiselle Reisz’s laugh

C. Children’s possessiveness.
She sees the children as antagonists who had overpowered her, dragging her into “the soul’s slavery”.

Brief Overview

The Awakening is a landmark novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. It is widely recognized as an early work of feminist literature. The novel details the emotional and sexual liberation, and eventual demise, of its protagonist, Edna Pontellier.

The story centers on Edna Pontellier, a married woman and mother of two sons. While spending a summer at Grand Isle, she feels a new sense of freedom and realizes she is “not a mother-woman.”

Edna becomes deeply attached to Robert Lebrun. Her act of learning to swim gives her a profound feeling of self-power. Robert leaves suddenly for Mexico to seek his fortune, leaving Edna feeling immense sadness and longing.

Back in New Orleans, Edna begins to ignore her social duties. She pursues her passion for painting and seeks physical independence by moving into a small house she calls the “pigeon-house.” She also starts a physical relationship with Alcée Arobin.

Robert returns because he loves her. He explains he left earlier only because she was Léonce Pontellier’s wife. Edna asserts her independence, declaring that she is no longer property and will choose where she gives herself. Robert leaves again, leaving a note that says: “I love you. Good-bye—because I love you.”

Edna returns to Grand Isle and walks into the sea. She decides she will not sacrifice herself for her children or conform to societal roles. Believing an artist must have a “courageous soul,” she swims far out into the Gulf of Mexico. Overcome by tiredness and the vast indifference of the sea, she tragically drowns.

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