In addition, one of the first descriptions of Léonce, gives the reader an idea of the sort of man he is, “His hair was brown and straight, parted on one side. His beard was neatly and closely trimmed.” Here Chopin has inserted fine details, in an attempt to see Léonce as more than just a well-kempt man and who seemingly takes pride in his appearance.
Mr. Pontellier treats Edna like a child, commanding and demeaning her, "Send him about his business when he bores you,' instructed her husband" while also scolding her "he reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children". At the same time, he requires that she play the role of his wife, "Tuesday being Mrs. Pontellier's reception day..attired in a handsome gown, she remained in the drawing-room the entire afternoon receiving her visitors.” Chopin utilises Pontellier to indicate that she conceives men as dominating, for example when Edna refuses to go inside, Mr. Pontellier joins her outside and waits until she decides to go in.
Chopin also shows Pontellier taking out his anger at Edna for going out on Tuesday afternoon, by complaining about the cook, “This soup is really impossible: it’s strange that woman hasn’t learned yet to make a decent soup.” Cleverly Chopin uses diverse objects in order for Leonce to unleash his anger at Edna’s behaviour, therefore Chopin is not directly faulting Léonce’s behaviour but allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. This could be perceived as a conscious decision by Chopin not to criticise Leonce.
Chopin presents Léonce in such a way that the reader has no great to desire to criticise him. He cannot be criticised for being not realising his downfalls. Furthermore, one could not argue with his attempt to understand Edna’s need to not conform to the ridged confines of society and equally his totally oblivious nature. Chopin simply refuses to make Léonce the central target of her Edna’s despair, merely utilised him in order to add depth to the plot.
In “At the ‘Cadian Ball,” aristocratic Alcee Laballiere loves Clarisse, his cousin. He places her far above him and accepts her cold indifference. In fact, her reserve makes him love her even more. However, he has to have release, so he attends the ‘Cadian Ball’ and meets Calixta. He and other characters refer to a time in Assumption, which indicates to the reader that he and Calixta shared a brief liaison there once. He is intimate and roguish with Calixta, a woman beneath him in social standing, but with Clarisse he is uncertain. When Clarisse confronts him at the ball, he immediately forgets Calixta because his future is with a woman of his own class and the refined love she offers him. The story, told primarily in his point of view, offers no overt criticism of this system. Alcee happily accepts his fate without a thought to Calixta’s feelings. Nor does he question Clarisse’s sudden interest in him.
Alcee is not a ‘bad guy’; in fact, he probably evokes pity and compassion in many readers because he seems to be completely at the mercy of Clarisse. Only his actions to Calixta make us question his honour, but because Calixta herself does not behave very well, it is easy to dismiss her. He seems just as passionate as Calixta, but he can’t make up his mind which woman he wants. He seems to recognize Calixta as the more passionate one; he goes to her when he is frustrated and in the mood. His attraction to Clarisse may be because she is effectively playing hard-to-get–she is everything that was aggravating to Alcee. He forgets Calixta once Clarisse comes for him and regards her "like a myth."
Bobinot on the other hand, seems to be aware that he’s not very good-looking–he is presented as being quite dull-looking and clumsy and jealous of Alcee, the "handsome young planter.” Bobinot’s insecurity is also seen in his acceptance of Calixta’s willingness to marry him even though she doesn’t care. He is "satisfied" with her acceptance of the proposal even though she tells him that she doesn’t want to kiss him.
It is important to note that very few of the men playing prominent roles in her stories are actual villains. Chopin’s writing, makes it clear that in treating this issue as a social problem rather than an individual one, Chopin again subverts the patriarchy. Usually, men try to make women into ‘monsters’ when they do not conform. Chopin, though, reveals that men are as much victimized by this system as women are.
Personally, I feel that it is the workings of this society, which Chopin sets out to criticise, not the individual. But at no point does Chopin direct any resentment toward men. She simply refuses to make men the central target of her heroines’ despair. Chopin’s interests lie in the social framework within which both man and woman are trapped.
Using the male point of view as a means to mock how men believe women feel and think, Chopin therefore, plays out the story in accordance to a man’s worldviews, when a man is the primary, point of view, character. This is evident through Chopin’s presentation of Léonce Pontellier.
The stories that do not allow us to wrap them in sentimentality on any level generally see the world through the woman’s point of view almost exclusively. Though this woman may not have completely articulated her feelings, or even know why she is unhappy, she still begins questioning the role she has always accepted. “The Story of an Hour” and “A Respectable Woman” are both examples of this questioning. In the former, we see what happens to a woman when she spends one hour free from her existence. When she realizes she is not free after all, the heroine dies. Ironically, everyone around her believes she has died from happiness when she discovers that her husband still lives. The irony in both stories is that neither husband mistreats the women in ways we generally consider abuse or cause for adultery or divorce. Louise’s husband in the first story simply seems to love her too much. Moreover, Mrs. Baroda’s husband appears as a loving, indulgent, kind man. Chopin does not make these women victims in a romantic, melodramatic sense. They are victims of a more subtle, sinister evil; the kind that if one points it out, others generally do not understand.
In Conclusion, Chopin is by no means consistent in her depiction of him. All of the men present in her novels serve different purposes and therefore cannot be identical in character. Chopin, quite often, utilises men by presenting what they say as fact because that is the only way she could acceptably do so.
