Mrs. Pontellier's "Inadequate" Artwork

While I was reading the first forty pages of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, I was approached by an interesting idea (please keep in mind that my thoughts are based only on the first section of reading). So far, it seems to me that the only character who can be labeled “faulty” is Mrs. Pontellier. There is no strong evidence that her husband has done anything that would cause her severe aggravation or inconvenience. In fact, he provides for her and the children very thoroughly (his generosity is verified when all of Mrs. Pontellier’s friends label him the “best husband in the world”) (7). The concept of Mrs. Pontellier as the flawed character is reinforced when we learn that her children have been conditioned to rely on themselves during situations that other children would cry and require help from their mothers. However, the line that most emphatically strengthens my idea of Mrs. Pontellier’s unjustified discontent can be found near the end of chapter five. Mrs. Pontellier is painting and relaxing with Madame Ratignolle and Robert when she demonstrates skewed sensibility. After the narrator reveals that the painting was “in many respects satisfying,” we find that Mrs. Pontellier is so displeased with it that she ruins the picture by smearing paint across the page (12). Even though some people can be hypercritical of their own artistic ability, this reaction is excessive. If one were to paint during a vacation, it would be for the pleasure of painting, not an attempt to create something that would exceed the bounds of what we would call “good artwork.” As we can see through the seeming insufficiency of the painting, Mrs. Pontellier is not satisfied with what she has. So far, from what I have read of this book, it seems that she has nothing to complain about. What do you think? Can Mrs. Pontellier be the one to blame for Mrs. Pontellier’s distress?