 This seems to verify the symbolism in Edna’s acts of visiting resorts, and the tropical oceanic environment of the Gulf Coast seems to be the catalyst of her awakening.  She figuratively likens herself to a bound vessel freed to “drift” the ocean (56).  (I assume the narrator is relating Edna’s metaphor).
        Adelle is a character who demonstrates society’s expectations for Edna.  Unlike Riesz, Adelle represents the Edna that could be should she be able to embrace convention.  The narrator echoes Mr. Pontellier’s feeling that Edna is “not a mother-woman” (29).  We assume this pre-dates her awakening.  “They were women who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands, and…one of them was the embodiment of every womanly grace and charm…Her name was Adelle Ratignolle” (29).  The narrator makes a point to differentiate her from Riesz in physical appearance.  While Riesz is “homely” (84), Ratignolle has “spun-gold hair,” eyes “like…sapphires,” and lips like “cherries.”  Her “beauty” is “flaming” (29).  She is consumed by domestic pursuits, as “she sewed away on the little night-drawers or fashioned a bodice or a bib” (29).  Chopin connects womanly self-esteem and popularity to the mother and wife role dictated by culture, by creating a difference between the supposedly undesirable pianist and the domestic “fair lady of our dreams” (29).  Meanwhile, Edna does not see the point in spending her time “making…night garments” (30).
        Adelle’s marriage, as well as Edna’s reaction to witnessing it, is an important revelation about the ideal vision of a woman who would ultimately find happiness and purpose as a wife.  Chopin’s description of the Ratignolles during Edna’s visit states:  “If ever the fusion of two human beings into one has been accomplished on this sphere it was surely in their union” (78).  With a perfect dinner and Adelle’s support of her husband’s every word, a sharp contrast to Edna’s own marriage is pronounced by the narrator.  We are told that Edna is repulsed by this scene, and the idea of living such a life.  In fact, she is disgusted by traditional wife and mother constructions of duty and identity.  By the time we see the Ratignolles, it has become clear that Edna will not be able to find peace in a domestic future.  Edna’s marriage is an attempt to “take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality” (40).
        There is a hint, in the husband’s constructed assessment of the wife’s mental state, of the consequences of individuality.  The group ideology defines existence for its subjects, the group is patriarchal, and someone who questions the role defined for them may be punished if they stay among the group.  If she were willing to leverage sex as a negotiating tool with him, she might assume the identity of someone who manipulates the powers-that-be for personal freedom.  But she doesn’t seem willing to prostitute herself. 