Analysis Of ' The Awakening '

In the opening scene Chopin introduces “a green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door” and speaks a “language which nobody understood…” (1). This caged bird is used as a symbol for Edna. The parrot speaks in a foreign language, revealing how Edna feels misunderstood by society due to the differing expectations of Edna’s role. Her friends and family expect Edna to be the perfect mother, devoting all of her time to her children. They are not able to comprehend Edna’s rejection towards her role as a mother, her husband even calling upon the doctor. Yet while the parrot is kept captive by the cage, Edna is bound by her children. The parrot “suggests her feeling of being trapped by traditions” (Schraufnagel 1). The tradition that all women during this time period were to become mothers is what has enslaved Edna. In contrast, Edna’s husband has “the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining” (Chopin 1). In this case, the birds represent Mr. and Mrs. Pontellier’s two children. Mr. Pontellier often leaves his children behind as he goes on business trips or to the club, yet expects Edna to take care of the children at all times. Because of biology, Edna is not afforded the luxury of freedom that her husband has. Mr. Pontellier is a fine husband and he treats Edna well. Yet because of the freedom he has that Edna does not possess, he

The stepping stones in Edna’s awakening can be seen through symbols: birds, clothes, and even the ocean. The symbols of caged birds in The Awakening represent Edna’s entrapment as a wife and mother, along with all of the other Victorian women. When Leonce is sitting by the parrots reading his newspaper, the parrot spoke, “a language which nobody understood” (Chopin 5). Edna, just like the parrot, can not be understood. Edna can not communicate her feelings with others, her feelings being the “language” that nobody

To start, many comparisons can be drawn between Edna and an imprisoned bird. The first lines of the novel describe “[a] green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door” (Chopin 5). Starting at the bird’s physical description, the brightly colored feathers of this creature strongly represent the power and

An important theme in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening is the desire for some women to abandon their dull lives as only mothers and wives. In other words, solitude. The main character, Edna Pontellier is a woman with such desires. She has two sons with her husband, Leonce Pontellier, whom she would rather not be with. The theme mentioned earlier is seen all throughout the novel, by means of several different symbols, including birds. There are three examples of birds used within the story, two of which in the very first chapter. The story opens with a loud parrot repeating the phrase: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapriste!” (Chopin 1) This roughly translates to “Go away! Go away! For God’s sake!” These words

The theme of The Awakening is centered on Edna’s journey of individual identification and independence. Chopin condemns gender roles and pleads to the public to look at women as equals and not just commodities to be married off. Women should have all the

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening controversial protagonist - Edna Pontellier - lives a personally unsatisfying life with her idealistically perfect husband; a marriage that exists solely on the satisfaction of the Creole society they live in. In the beginning of the novel, she starts to struggle with the dominance of her outer identity that consists of how everyone sees her as the beautiful wife to a perfect, rich husband. But, when she is alone or with Robert, she begins to self-reflect on her inner identity that consists of how she sees herself and the new, rebellious freedoms that she desires. In The Awakening, the frequent symbolization of birds and the manner with how Edna interacts with music and the different men in her life illustrates

This is represented by Madame Lebrun's parrot and mocking-bird. Mr. Pontellier is annoyed by the birds' incessant chatter. However, "they had the right to make all the noise they wished" (43). Edna is caged, and she is doing what ever she can to be free within her limits. Mr. Pontellier is upset by his wife's struggles for freedom. She allows herself to fall in love with Robert, and purchases her own house, despite the wishes of her husband. Just as the birds have no concern that their singing may bother those outside their cage, so Edna does not care that her actions may negatively affect others. Just before Edna kills herself, she sees a "bird with a broken wing...beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water" (175). Edna is this bird; disabled and heading to her death in the water. Her freedom is not total, and causes her death.

In the iconic debated novel “The Awakening”, Kate Chopin’s novel takes place in the Victorian Era, which is in the 19th- century, similarly the novel was published in 1899. Edna is depicted as a woman longing for more, a woman who was looking for more than just a life of complacency and living in the eyes of society. The story uses Edna to exemplify the expectations of women during this era. For example, a woman’s expression of independence was considered immoral. Edna was expected to conform to the expectations of society but the story reveals Edna’s desires which longed for independence in a state of societal dominance. Throughout The Awakening, Chopin’s most significant symbol,

Symbolism also plays an enormous role, birds, oceans, and sound are three different interpretations of Edna. Throughout the entire story, caged birds appear quite often resembling the trapped society of Mrs. Pontellier, it also serves as a reminder that she's caged like a bird wanting to escape and also the entrapment of women in that specific time. In the beginning, the parrot talking to Mr. Pontellier saying to leave in French represents as Edna’s

Sacrifices can define one’s character; the definition can either be the highest dignity or the lowest degradation of the value of one’s life. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin implicitly conveys the sacrifice Edna Pontellier makes in the life which provides insight of her character and attributions to her “awakening.” She sacrificed her past of a lively and youthful life and compressed it to a domestic and reserved lifestyle of housewife picturesque. However, she meets multiple acquaintances who help her express her dreams and true identity. Mrs. Pontellier’s sacrifice established her awakening to be defiant and drift away from the societal role of an obedient mother, as well as, highlighting the difference between society’s expectations of

The brand of education amongst slaves from the Great Awakening takes on several faces, some prove to be profitable to the ideas spread by Whitefield while others prove to be detrimental to the perception of educating slaves in Christianity that prevent the further expansion of evangelization to slaves. Two portrayals of implementation of Awakening rhetoric are with the Bryan family, southern planters in South Carolina, and Samuel Davies, a minister in Virginia. The Bryan family had a connection with George Whitefield because they would provide assistance to evangelicals and in particular with Whitefield’s Bethesda orphanage in Georgia. They owned a plantation in South Carolina that helped provide financial support for the orphanage and they were zealous about the new wave of evangelicalism in the colonies and were seeking ways that they could implement the new teachings into their lives. Jonathan Bryan began to seek reforms in the institution of slavery in South Carolina by following the teachings of Whitefield. Their critiques of South Carolina were that there was no time for slaves to convert to Christianity because they would generally work seven days a week and not have the opportunity to hear about Christianity.

Throughout “The Awakening”, Edna is immersed in a constant clash with society over the significance of the difference between her life and her self. To Edna, the question of whether or not she would die for her children is somewhat simple. Edna attempts to explain this concept to her good friend, Adele Ratignolle, but to no avail, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin 62). Not only does Edna consider her life unessential, she categorizes it as equal with material objects such as money. The idea of self, on the other hand, lies on a completely different level in Edna’s mind. The most important goal to Edna in her life is the journey to discover her true character. The idea that her inner self is more essential than life or even her children causes Edna to stray farther from the social constraints of the typical domestic woman. Kathleen M. Streater weighs in on Edna’s situation and placement in

Edna’s awakening is strongly influenced and catalyzed by the impact of her swim. This early act of independence that she experiences during her swim empowers her to push for her independence from societal norms that were holding her back. The diction that Chopin uses to specify Edna’s desire to “swim far out, where no woman had swum before” is significant to the ideals of feminism. She specified “woman” rather than saying "people". By harnessing her independence in the ocean she fights against the mental fear that previously kept her from swimming in the ocean. This symbolically connects to women finding their inner power and pushing out of society’s constraining conventional values and ideals for a Creole woman. (LEAD.IN) "bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth" (PGS.chptr 27?). The metaphor of the birds connects to Edna’s characterization. As Edna is caged in by the conventional ideals that society pre-prescribed for women, her independence, is her method of flying as a

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the constant boundaries and restrictions placed on Edna Pontellier by society will lead to her struggle for freedom and her ultimate suicide. Her husband Leonce Pontellier, the current women of society, and the Grand Isle make it evident that Edna is trapped in a patriarchal society. Despite these people, Edna has a need to be free and she is able to escape from the society that she despises. The sea, Robert Lebrun, and Mademoiselle Reisz serve as Edna’s outlets from conformity. “Edna's journey for personal independence involves finding the words to express herself. She commits suicide rather than sacrificing her independent,

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a novel full of symbolism which reveals much of the deeper meaning in the story. Within each narrative segment there is often a symbol that helps to add meaning to the text, and the understanding of these symbols is essential to a full appreciation of the story. These symbolic elements help the reader to make a connection between Edna’s world and her eventual awakening. Throughout the novel there are a huge number of symbols but three of the most meaningful symbols used are birds, houses and the ocean.