How ironic that this chapter opens with Léonce's strong objections to Edna's moving when the previous chapter provided far more serious grounds for his displeasure. Léonce, true to his character, places prime importance on their reputations, seeking to shield his reputation in the business world. He is not concerned with Edna's feelings, the emotional causes of her move, but implores her "to consider first, foremost, and above all else, what people would say." Handicapped by a lack of jealousy or understanding of passion, he never considers that his wife might have undertaken the move to free herself of him. Instead he acts quickly and decisively to stage an alibi for Edna's inexplicable action, arranging long-distance a renovation of the house. Chopin employs a rarely used and well-placed exclamation point to convey his relief at effectively remedying the situation (and to indicate his main priority): "Mr. Pontellier had saved appearances!"
Contrasting sharply with Léonce's frenetic materialism is Edna's quiet, decisive growth towards realizing her true self. "There was with her a feeling of having descended in the social scale, with a corresponding . . . [ascent] in the spiritual." In her small house filled with a few simple items, having shed not only the large house but the public-relations lifestyle that came with it, she is freed to "look with her own eyes . . . to apprehend the deeper currents of life."
