Envy

Envy tends to be the strongest element that comes up in a marriage. In The Awakening it is the base of most conflicts including that of Robert and Adéle Ratignolle in the beginning of chapter 8 when she asks him to stay away from Edna. From here on in, an argument comes concerning why he should stay away from Edna and whether Adéle is jealous or not. Taking into consideration the fact that she and Edan are good friends, there is little room for a valid excuse on why she is not jealous. Very few times will envy come in front of true friendship in this form. In other worlds, Adéle has taken out of consideration the idea of friendship for the sake of her own convenience. She wants the same relationship that Robert and Edan will develop in the future and that by definition is envy.

With envy, comes a set of mistakes that typically break out into the continuation of the same heated argument. "You are not thinking of what you are saying (P46)" is a sign of desperation on Adéle's part and is perhaps one of the most ironic quotes in the book. She is the one speaking without correct processing and the one that is simply not being herself taking into consideration that she is kicking out her best friend to keep the man she wants. She is becoming mad with the power that she does not have. She is becoming the villain of the story that will end with the words of "envy is wrong."