In The Awakening, a novel by Kate Chopin, the character of Mademoiselle Reisz is first introduced by the narrator as, "a disagreeable little woman, no longer young, who had quarreled with almost everyone, owning to a temper which was self-assertive and a disposition to trample upon the rights of others." Mademoiselle Reisz, a pariah of society, serves to display society's assumptions and moral values during the late 1800's.
             Mademoiselle Reisz embodies the life choice of selfishness, operating as the complete antithesis of Madame Ratignolle. In being an artist she chooses self-alienation, it seems, for to be a female artist is to exist outside the naturalized dominant ideology. She resists being pressed into the mold of the compliant woman by behaving in an abrupt, hostile manner on most occasions." Her actions in the novel reveal her segregation and self-imposed isolation from "polite" Creole society. We learn she has no fashion sense or looks. When she finishes playing one evening on Grand Isle, she ignores the praise of the guests and only speaks to Edna, saying, "[you are] the only one worth playing for".
             Throughout the novel, our impression of Mademoiselle Reisz as a mirror image of Madame Ratignolle sharpens. She has no set home; when Edna tries to find her apartment in New Orleans, Mademoiselle's old landlord reveals, "he did not want to know [Mademoiselle Reisz] at all, or anything concerning her-the most disagreeable and unpopular woman who ever lived in Bienville Street". Her living quarters are unkempt. A very striking moment of contrast between Madame Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz involves scenes where they each hold Edna's hand. Madame Ratignolle's touch is comforting, but Mademoiselle Reisz's hand is "without warmth".
             When Edna tells Mademoiselle Reisz she is moving to the Pigeon House, the pianist's response is "nei...