I'm reading an article about two pets rescuing their owners. After the cat managed to wake up the mother, she tried to wake up other members but they wouldn't wake up.
Cathy tried to tell her husband and son to leave the house, but they wouldn't wake up.
Why wouldn't and not didn't?
(I checked possible duplicates but they weren't convincing at all. Besides, none of the answers were confirmed. One said would is used for permission and another said it's for emphasis!)
Answer
Wouldn't, in such sentences, means roughly "couldn't be caused to"; that is, "X wouldn't Y" means roughly "[someone] couldn't get X to Y". For example:
Cathy tried to tell her husband and son to leave the house, but they wouldn't wake up.
≈ Cathy tried to tell her husband and son to leave the house, but she couldn't wake them up.I knelt on the seat and tried to pull up on the window, but it wouldn't budge. [link]
≈ I knelt on the seat and tried to pull up on the window, but I couldn't budge it.She wouldn't give me a straight answer on whether or not she was going to pay the rent and she wouldn't give me the keys; she just left. [link]
≈ I couldn't get a straight answer on whether or not she was going to pay the rent, and I couldn't get her to give me the keys; she just left.
Likewise, won't means roughly "can't be caused to":
I try to will my voice from shaking, but it won't stop. [link]
≈ I try to will my voice from shaking, but I can't get it to stop.
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