“This may seem like a ponderous weight of wisdom to descend upon the soul of a young woman of twenty-eight—perhaps more wisdom than the Holy Ghost is usually pleased to vouchsafe to any woman.”Complex sentenceSubjects: This; Holy GhostClauses: “This may seem like a ponderous weight of wisdom to descend upon the soul of a young woman of twenty-eight” and “—perhaps more wisdom than the Holy Ghost is usually pleased to vouchsafe to any woman.”

Repetition of Prepositional PhrasesPrepositional phrases are short and to the point and they help the author show how women were treated with little respect. Prepositional phrases may be small, but they are really important when an author needs to provide more explanations within his/her sentences. Women may have been treated like dirt, but what was not realized was that they play a vital role in society.

“In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the world as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and around her.”Simple sentenceSubject: Mrs. PontellierThe sentence has a compound verb “was beginning to realize…and to recognize.”Many prepositional phrases are used In the sentence as modifiers to explain Mrs. Pontellier and the feeling that she had overcome her mind about her place in the universe.

Cumulative SentenceA cumulative sentence is used to add more meaning on how women were viewed as insignificant, and to help explain that Mrs. Pontellier was right about the need to be treated better and more equally.

AllusionThe wisdom descending upon her soul is an allusion to when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and a dove descended from the heavens. It was a sign to Mrs. Pontellier that she was right about how she should be treated. She was tired of being treated as property and was beginning to realize she should be treated equally and that women had a bigger role in society than they had been playing.