ibes herself walking through a meadow as a young girl. She says, Likely as not it was Sunday... and I was running away from prayers, from the Presbyterian service, read in a spirit of gloom by my father that chills me yet to think of it (480). Similar to the description of her fathers service, the lady in black is serious and serene. After that day at the beach Chopin describes the lady in black as follows: [she], creeping behind [the lovers], looked a trifle paler and more jaded than usual(483). The lady in blacks representation of religion is not one of heaven or angles, but instead, her image resembles death. The lovers however, represent something entirely different. I believe that Chopin uses the lovers to contrast the relationship between Edna and her husband. The first time the lovers are mentioned is just shortly after weve learned that Mr. Pontellier is the best husband in the world, although Edna is forced to admit that she knew of none better (472). Edna and Madame Ratignolle are at the beach when they notice the lovers. Chopin writes, Two young lovers were exchanging their hearts yearnings beneath the childrens tent, which they had found unoccupied(479). This is the beginning of Ednas awakening. The lovers are young, beautiful, and hopeful to the future. Chopin may have decided not to fully developed the lovers because they are in the infatuation stage of love, which is fleeting. I believe that this is the implication of Roberts answering of course not to Mariequitas asking him if the two lovers are married (494). They represent the beginning of Ednas relationship with her husband, a fantasy which did not turn out the way she had hoped. After their initial introduction the lovers and the lady in black are always juxtaposed. Chopin doesnt mention the lovers without then speaking of the lady in black. Coming back from the beach the lovers are leaning toward each other as the water-oaks bend from the sea. There was not a partic...
