"Edna did not know when the Impromptu began or ended. She sat in the sofa corner reading Robert's letter by the fading light. Mademoiselle had glided from the Chopin into the quivering love notes of Isolde's song, and back again to the Impromptu with its soulful and poignant longing.
(The tone of this part and the description really lays the scene about how sad Edna is about Robert being gone, "fading light"; something slowly burning out but you still need it desperately.)
The shadows deepened in the little room. The music grew strange and fantastic--turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty. The shadows grew deeper. The music filled the room. It floated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air.
(Darkness is surrounding Edna, there is no light without Robert, who was the only person that truly understood her.)
Edna was sobbing, just as she had wept one midnight at Grand Isle when strange, new voices awoke in her. She arose in some agitation to take her departure. "May I come again, Mademoiselle?" she asked at the threshold.
(Trapped in this emotional enclosure that she can't escape from, she is depressed.)
"Come whenever you feel like it. Be careful; the stairs and landings are dark; don't stumble."
Mademoiselle reentered and lit a candle. Robert's letter was on the floor. She stooped and picked it up. It was crumpled and damp with tears. Mademoiselle smoothed the letter out, restored it to the envelope, and replaced it in the table drawer."
This passage is really emotional. Part of the reason that this passage is so emotional is how Kate Chopin uses symbols and exceptional description. "She sat in the sofa corner reading Robert's letter by the fading light"; this is a great example of a symbol Chopin uses. We take for granted light and the pleasure of having light, and when it is fading we yearn and desperately try to save the light that was initially burning with force. This is a great symbol to express what Edna is going through; she deeply misses Robert, he hasn't made any effort to contact her or write to her, and she is slowly beginning to think that he never will. Their mutual love and companionship with each other is the fading light; it began so strong and now through less and less communication it is fading and becoming dimmer. Also, the use of description in this passage is well-thought out; Chopin uses "soulful and poignant longing" and "shadows deepened" "crumpled", all of these descriptive words used are melancholy and sad or dark. The melancholy, sadness, and darkness can be tied to what Edna's demeanor is becoming. She is dwelling on Robert and is constantly remaining in the past, and is remaining in her own world of darkness and depression. So much so that other people are becoming concerned and worried for her mental health.
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