Impressionism

In her article for Modern American Women Writers, Wai-chee Dimock notes Chopin's impressionistic style in many of her works including The Awakening. She argues that "things are transitory in her writings—nothing is fixed, irrevocable, or predetermined." As a result, Dimock insists, "there is no last word in Chopin. Light and shadows play in her fiction; moods come and go. Nothing stands still, and everything could have been otherwise." Chopin uses this technique in "A Point at Issue!" when she focuses on Eleanor's experiences in Paris. The impressionistic vision she supplies never allows the reader to determine the causes of Eleanor's despair or what motivates her to leave Paris. Her relationship with the artist who paints her portrait is also left vague. As a result, readers are unable to judge her actions, which was most likely Chopin's intention. Chopin's narrators rarely comment on characters' behavior, which effectively...