Themes and Images in The Awakening

Throughout most of her life, Edna Pontellier’s true self was majorly suppressed by her husband, as well as her duties as a mother, and society’s image of

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).

Edna's feelings of despondency fade as the sea's spell reaches out for her again. The narrator points out that "[the] voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, is the story of a woman who is seeking freedom. Edna Pontellier feels confined in her role as mother and wife and finds freedom in her romantic interest, Robert Lebrun. Although she views Robert as her liberator, he is the ultimate cause of her demise. Edna sees Robert as an image of freedom, which brings her to rebel against her role in society. This pursuit of freedom, however, causes her death. Chopin uses many images to clarify the relationship between Robert and Edna and to show that Robert is the cause of both her freedom and her destruction.

The humanly gift of imagination is a unique power within that subconsciously is a locomotor to both the body and spirit to a person 's individual Elysium. It goes far and beyond our cognition into an exuberant fantasy molded by our wants and desires, reaching untamed worlds. Turning imagination into realism is denounced as an impossible being, but it 's in fact the awakening to our lucid dreaming. Edna Pontellier is a woman with a heart that soared beyond the horizons into a limitless world, forced into cage by the inevitable way of life. Kate Chopin through the beautifully sculpted novel “The Awakening” condemned Edna with a mindset beyond her years, finding meaning through her unsocial actions shunned by the eyes of others. Edna used her

The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, is full of symbolism and metaphors. Most of the metaphors in The Awakening are about the change in Edna Pontellier and about the way she feels in society. In The Awakening, symbolism is often used to describe the current state of mind of Edna, some of these symbols include art, houses, music, the sea, and birds. Throughout the story, the way Edna feels in society is often shown in the form of a bird. At the beginning of the story she is like a bird in a cage, but at the end she is shown to now be a free pigeon.

We find the same imagery of somebody standing solitary and naked on a beach. Throughout the novel Edna has searched for someone to be close to and the only one she thought she could find that closeness with was Robert Lebrun. The words of his note “Good-by—-because I love you” (139) are still on her mind when she is swimming out into the ocean. She has finally accepted that there will not be a union of souls for her with anybody and that everybody is alone in the end.

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.

            The link between Edna's awakening and the ocean becomes even clearer when after several attempts she finally learns to swim.  The first time she ventures out into the ocean alone is the first step toward her independence.  She panics when she realizes    how far she has gone alone and fears drowning.  This incident represents Edna gaining    control over her body and becoming more aware of her full potential.  The ocean helps her recognize that her body is her own and she awakens to her physical, mental, and     emotional capabilities.  "But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with overconfidence." (Chopin 47).   Edna's sudden terror in the middle of the ocean signifies that she may not be able to venture out as far as she wants to and may have  to turn back. "She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before...A    quick

Edna Pontellier is a woman of great needs. Although she has a husband who cares for her and two children, she is very unhappy. She plays her roles as a mother and wife often, but still keeps doing things unmarried, barren women should do: enjoy the company of other men, ignore her children's cries, dress unladylike for the times. The story is set in the late 1800's, when women were to be in the kitchen preparing a meal for their family, giving birth to more children to help with daily chores, or sitting quietly at home, teaching the children while the husband was at work. Edna Pontellier was a woman not of her time. At only 28, she would have rather been out gallivanting with different men, traveling with them, and painting

Symbolism in both narrations helped the reader along the story as well. They were used to describe the characters feelings and/or were used to represent the characters themselves. In The Awakening, birds were described several times throughout the story. These birds were used to represent Enda’s state of mind or what may happen to her next in the story. For example, the parrot was used to symbolize Enda’s feeling that she is misunderstood.

In the awakening is a book filled with insight to many themes and important topics, some that I think are the most important are independence and identity. In history women couldn't do as they pleased or live their own lives. Women were property of men and did as the man said. Today that isn't an issue and is it because of people standing up like how Edna did in the book. She didn't listen to her husbands every wish and it made her different than most girls of the time. Throughout the book Edna finds out who she really wants to be. In the book her husband says he can't even tell who she is when really she is becoming herself. Today a lot of people struggle with identity problems and standing out can be hard.

The Awakening was a very exciting and motivating story. It contains some of the key motivational themes that launched the women’s movement. It was incredible to see how women were not only oppressed, but how they had become so accustomed to it, that they were nearly oblivious to the oppression. The one woman, Edna Pontellier, who dared to have her own feelings was looked upon as being mentally ill. The pressure was so great, that in the end, the only way that she felt she could be truly free was to take her own life.  In this paper I am going to concentrate on the characters central in Edna’s life and her relationships with them.

    The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is full of ideas and understanding about human nature. In Chopin's time, writing a story with such great attention to sensual details in both men and women caused skepticism among readers and critics. However, many critics have different views with deeper thought given to The Awakening. Symbolism, the interpretation of Edna's suicide, and awakenings play important roles in the analysis of all critics.

Edna, the protagonist in The Awakening, experiences this ongoing battle within herself. Besides this ongoing battle inside, she also has a tough time fitting into society and nature as well. In the following quote, Edna is referred to as Mrs. Ponteiller. “ Mrs. Ponteiller was not a woman given to confidences, a characteristic hitherto contrary to her nature” (Chopin, 1263). Edna starting at an exceedingly young age had been very beside herself. However, there are certain people who influenced her as she grew older. She sees women like Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz and wonders why she cannot be more like them as they fit into society without any problem. The “her”