The Colonel in The Awakening

Who is The Colonel?

The Colonel is Edna Pontellier’s father, a retired Kentucky officer who arrives in New Orleans for a several-day visit. He is courtly, opinionated, and carries a strong military bearing—white hair, mustache, padded coats—and he takes pleasure in the attention his presence draws. He delights in showing pride in his daughters’ abilities when Edna sketches him and enjoys social gatherings where he is treated as an honored guest. Throughout his visit he expects Edna to conform to family and social expectations; when she refuses to attend her sister’s wedding he scolds her as unfilial and urges Léonce to enforce compliance. He presides over convivial moments—outings with Edna, attendance at a soirée musicale, and dinnertime conversation—trading stories and cigars with Léonce and others. His commands and old-school courtesy create friction with Edna’s growing independence, making him a source of pressure rather than sympathy during her emergent self-possession.

In the book: He’s Edna Pontellier’s father, a retired Kentucky colonel who sweeps into New Orleans to visit his daughter. From the first conversation he’s all command and courtesy—old-school, opinionated, and used to being obeyed—trading stories and cigars with Léonce while expecting Edna to fall in line.

Personality

Authoritative

He scolds Edna for refusing to attend her sister’s wedding and urges Léonce to coerce her into compliance.

Old-fashioned

He displays an old-school military bearing, padded coats, and expects obedience and filial behavior from Edna.

Socially proud

He delights in the attention he receives at the Ratignolles’ soirée and is installed as guest of honor.

Fond/familial

He takes pride when Edna sketches him and congratulates what he sees as inherited capability in his daughters.

Character arc

The Colonel arrives as a conspicuous, commanding presence whose manners and expectations represent the conventional family authority surrounding Edna. Early in his visit he engages companionably with Edna—going on outings, posing for her sketch, and enjoying social honors—showing a proud, affectionate side. Yet when confronted with Edna’s refusal to conform (her refusal to attend her sister’s wedding), he quickly reasserts his authority, scolding her as unfilial and urging Léonce to make her comply. This reaction crystallizes his role: he remains a figure of patriarchal expectation rather than someone who understands or adapts to Edna’s changing temperament. He does not alter his stance in response to Edna’s private experiments with solitude and self-possession; instead, his visit intensifies the contrast between Edna’s growing independence and the traditional obligations he embodies. By the end of his stay he returns to being the exemplar of social order and familial command, unchanged and still insisting on conventional duty.

Relationships

• Edna Pontellier Her father; a proud, commanding presence who expects filial obedience and criticizes her refusal to attend a wedding.
• Léonce Pontellier His son-in-law; he trades stories and cigars with Léonce and urges him to coerce Edna into compliance.
• Mademoiselle Reisz An acquaintance Edna wishes him to meet, though Reisz declines the introduction.
• Adèle Ratignolle Hostess at the soirée where Adèle flatters the Colonel and installs him as guest of honor.
• Doctor Mandelet A fellow diner and observer who notes Edna’s altered, animated condition during the Colonel’s stay.

Why The Colonel matters

The Colonel functions as a concentrated symbol of patriarchal authority, social convention, and familial expectation. His presence highlights the pressure Edna faces to conform—to behave as dutiful daughter, wife, and hostess—and his inability or unwillingness to understand her emergent independence underscores the cultural forces she resists. By embodying old-fashioned courtesy mixed with coercive expectation, he helps dramatize the conflict between individual self-discovery and inherited social roles central to the novel’s examination of freedom, duty, and women's autonomy.

Chapters with The Colonel

• XXIII
• XXIV
• 30

More The Awakening characters

• Edna PontellierProtagonist
• Robert LebrunMajor character
• Léonce PontellierMajor character
• Adèle RatignolleMajor character
• Madame LebrunMinor character
• Mademoiselle ReiszMajor character
• Alcée ArobinMajor character
• Raoul PontellierMinor character