Perspectives on Love in Awakening Although Kate Chopin wrote her novel, Awakening, in the late 19th century, her view of things such as Love, romance and relationships is remarkably modern. Through M. Pontellier, Edna Pontellier, and Robert Lebrun, Chopin presents his views on love in relation to "romantic love." Chopin uses Pontellier's marriage to predict the modern view of love and the relationship between Edna and Robert to describe the concept of romantic love. These relationships are Chopin's acute perceptions of attitudes toward love and romance nearly a century later. In the novel, Mr. Pontellier and Edna seem to have a very superficial relationship. They realize each other's needs, but neither feels obligated to extend more than necessity into their marriage. For example, at the beginning of the story, Mr. Pontellier decides to go to a club called Klein's. When Edna asks if he will come back in time for dinner, he just shrugs and they both understand that he probably won't come to dinner. They understand each other well enough to accept this as part of their marriage, but they don't make more of an effort to improve their relationship, nor do they seem to want to improve it. Communication, which is an essential part of a healthy relationship, is of little concern to them. They simply accept their marriage as a part of life, almost as a duty. Their marriage seems to be a product of convenience and societal norms, not love and passion. This type of relationship tends to lead to the objectification of the man or the woman, or both, within the marriage. In the present case, Mr. Pontellier considers his wife as his possession. On page 44, Mr. Pontellier tells his wife that ... middle of paper ...... if such infatuation dies, the true emotions between the couple are sometimes called into question. Robert realized that their relationship could not move beyond romantic love to true love. However, if romantic love is treated with maturity and understanding, it does not have to be unhappy. While romantic love can sometimes seem frivolous but exciting, the love found in today's marriages can be quite the opposite. Sometimes it becomes routine. A spouse can get caught up in the duties of their marriage and forget that true love should also be invigorating. Daily habits, such as working, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, can become tedious, distracting from the love found in marriage, leaving the impression that the problem is in the marriage and not them- same. It's easy to forget that love is a two-way street.