Forbidden Fruit

When I say "forbidden fruit" I'm using it as an analogy to describe the relationship between Robert and Mrs Pontellier in Chopin's story "The Awakening". Robert is a young man who enjoys befriending and flirting with the married women around his mothers resort. Everybody besides Mrs Pontellier believes he is joking around when he is flirting. I think that he actually was being truthful but played it off in a joking manner when brought up in conversation. I also believe that once he realized Mrs Pontellier was falling for him he got scared and realized how awkward it might be for him to give into his lust for Mrs Pontellier. I do think it is best though that they didn't give into their lustful thoughts because if they had would it have caused a great disturbance in the resort community. On top of that since they hadn’t they could always look back on those memories and think of them as a joyful period during their lives. It would be depressing only remembering people being mad at you and feeling like you were shunned from a community because of actions you knowingly took. All the people you would hurt, the relationships you would break, and the reputation you would set for the resort…all for just one stupid move. So I say leave the fruit alone.