How Does Kate Chopin Use Symbols In The Awakening

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

The idea of owning one’s destiny, to be one’s own master, remains the dream and desire for many. This very thought of obtaining a unique stroke and carving a new path from society’s traditions is a condition rooted in everyone. However, what makes an individual truly exemplary is their ability to pursue this feeling. Edna, the main character in Chopin’s The Awakening, represents the very definition of a struggle in finding one’s identity. Kate Chopin specifically points to this theme of an inner struggle to find one’s identity in Chapter XXVIII by utilizing word repetition, figurative language, and striking descriptions.

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,

The Awakening by Kate Chopin introduces the reader to the life of Edna Pontellier, a woman with an independent nature searching for her true identity in a patriarchal society that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers.

In The Awakening, Chopin uses “literary techniques”(change to the specific techniques later) to characterize Edna’s individual, yet stubborn and cowardly nature, proving her flawed character traits to be the cause of her suicide. Chopin displays Edna’s individuality as she moves into the “pigeon house”(144), showing her individuality and causing separation between her and her family, as well as between her and society. Edna’s individuality is truly shown as she states the true motive behind the move—“the feeling of freedom and independence”(122). Edna’s diction of “freedom” and “independence” convey her desire for these qualities, and prove her move into the “pigeon house” to be driven by “individuality”(122).Chopin describes the “intimate

In the story when Armand first laid his eyes on her, he fell in love. So he orders her very fine clothes and ladies’ accessories from Paris in hopes to win her affection and marring Desiree. These objects that Armand bought for Desiree are symbols that shows how very wealthy he is.

As the novel begins we are shown Edna’s life before her escape from society’s standards. At the beginning we are shown that Edna is valued by society because of her physical appearance and is portrayed as a housewife married to a wealthy husband. On only the seventh page of the novel we are shown the lack of individuality women had during this time period. We are first introduced to Edna and Edna’s husband, Leonce. Leonce creates the income for the family as well as viewing his wife more of a possession rather than a partner. Leonce notices Edna is sunburned when she has come back from swimming and views her as “a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage” (7).

“Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with an expression and an exclamation of disgust… The parrot and the mocking-bird were the property of Madame Lebrun, and they had the right to make all the noise they wished. Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting their society when they ceased to be entertaining” (pg.1). Add sentence here. The only character to truly understand Edna's desire to be independent mentally and physically is Mademoiselle Reisz.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a powerful story of a woman named Edna Pontellier who does not harmonize well with the Creole environment around her. The story explores Edna’s desire to stay true to herself; even if it means disregarding societal rules and causing friction between friends and family. Kate Chopin uses a variety of symbols to help the reader get a deeper understanding of the story. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the definition of the term symbol is “an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality”. Symbol is derived from the Greek word meaning “to throw together”; it creates an equation between a specific object, scene, character or action and an idea. Throughout the

In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening a wife and a mother of two, Edna Pontellier, discovers her desires as a woman to live life to the fullest extent and to find her true self. Eventually, her discovery leads to friction between friends, family, and the dominant values of society. Through Chopin's use of Author’s craft and literary elements, the readers have a clear comprehension as to what the author is conveying.

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,

In the novel The Awakening, Kate Chopin (2005) uses deep symbolism to show how the main character, Edna Pontellier, discovers her own independence in the society in which she lived. Edna was a traditional mother and wife seeking freedom and independence throughout her adult life. Chopin portrays Edna as being a rebel against her own life. The story takes place in the 1960s when women were to follow certain rules made by the society they lived in. Chopin also foreshadows the things that occur in Edna’s life through nature and death itself. Based on the many ways Chopin uses symbolic meanings through the novel, we can see the events of Edna’s life as one that rebels against society. Throughout this novel, Chopin proves that Edna’s actions

    One theme apparent in Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, is the consequence of solitude when independence is chosen over conformity. The novel's protagonist, Edna Pontellier, is faced with this consequence after she embarks on a journey of self-discovery. "As Edna's ability to express herself grows, the number of people who can understand her newfound language shrinks" (Ward 3). Edna's awakening from a conforming, Victorian wife and mother, into an emotional and sexual woman takes place through the use of self-expression in three forms: emotional language, art, and physical passion.

Ranging from caged parrots to the meadow in Kentucky, symbols and settings in The Awakening are prominent and provide a deeper meaning than the text does alone. Throughout The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbols and setting recur representing Edna’s current progress in her awakening. The reader can interpret these and see a timeline of Edna’s changes and turmoil as she undergoes her changes and awakening.

an influence on Edna’s final choice, drowning herself after she has her final awakenings. The