All 4 Uses

motive
in
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
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Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we need seek no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband.†
Chpt 7

motives = reasons for doing something
I don't understand your motive for silence and mystery, never saying a word to me about it this morning.†
Chpt 15 *

motive = reason (for doing something)
She recapitulated the motives which no doubt explained Robert's reserve.†
Chpt 35

motives = reasons for doing something
You save yourself something—I don't know what—but there is some selfish motive, and in sparing yourself you never consider for a moment what I think, or how I feel your neglect and indifference.†
Chpt 36

motive = reason (for doing something)

Definitions:

(1) (motive as in: What is her motive?)
a reason for doing something
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Less commonly, motive can refer to something that causes motion in an inanimate object. Even less commonly, it can refer to a distinctive feature in music, art, or literature.