Alcee Arobin Gib, Marena, and Rachel

Robert: "'Now if I were like Arobin- you remember Alcee Arobin and that story of the consul's wife at Biloxi?' And he related the story of Alcee Arobin...till Mrs. Pontellier and her possible propensity for taking young men seriously was napparently forgotten." (VIII) From early on, Alcee maintains a reputation for being a womanizer, specifically to older married women. Into to character: Gossip

"There was a perpetual smile in his eyes, which seldom failed to awaken a corresponding cheerfulness in any one who looked into them and listened to his good-humored voice... He possessed a good figure, a pleasing face, not overburdened with depth of thought or feeling; and his dress was that of the conventional man of fashion." (XXV) Clearly an attractive man that effectively seduces Edna early on. Enter: Arobin

Called by Mrs. Highcamp and Alcee Arobin, Edna goes to races multiple times. "The fever of the game flamed in her cheeks and eyes, and it got into her blood and into her brain like an intoxicant... Arobin caught the contagion of excitement which drew him to Edna like a magnet." (XXV) Arobin's affection begins early in his relationship with Edna and will increase throughout. Bucking the Norm of Approved Flirtation

"He was a familiar figure at the race course, the opera, the fashionable clubs." (XXV) "Alcee Arobin wrote Edna an elaborate note of apology, palpitant with sincerity." (XXVI) Arobin is very comfortable with the confines of the Creole society as he enjoys the luxuries and entertains himself with married women. Alcee in New Orlean Society

"Alcee Arobin was absolutely nothing to her. Yet his presence, his manners, the warmth of his glances, and above all the touch of his lips upon her hand had acted like a narcotic upon her." (XXV) "And then there was scarcely a day which followed she did not see him or was not reminded of him. He was prolific in pretexts. She grew accustomed to him. They became intimate and friendly by imperceptible degrees, and then by leaps. He sometimes talked in a way that astonished her at first and brought the crimson into her face; in a way that pleased her at last, appealing to the animalism that stirred impatiently within her..." (XXVI) He's Just a Body

"There was no one thing in the world that she desired. There was no human being whom she wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come when he, too, and the thought of him would melt out of her existence." Ultimately she realizes that such sexual enjoyment and even love's passion will fade over time. She also runs the risk of becoming trapped like she was with Leonce. Resounding Influence

It is doubtful that the death of Edna would be devastating to Alcee by the relative nonchalant nature that he truly treats their relationship. From the offset, Alcee's trend is a string of relationships with married women and ultimately he must either bore of them or they turn him down as Edna will inadvertently do. When he says to Edna that he only lives when he is near her, she replies if he uses it on all his women, and he continues by saying, "I have said it before, but I don't think I ever came so near meaning it." -Hardly convincing of total love when it does seem practically a game to him still. Most of his acts of affection are among company (such as the flattering toast) or in hopes of furthering the possibility of romance with her. Thus, his affection does not seem deeply enough entrenched to be permanently hampered by her death. In addition, towards the end of their relationship, he senses her distracted thoughts and must realize the jig is up (thus preparing to separate himself.) Does he really give a crap?