Essay about Symbolism in the Awakening by Kate Chopin
Words: 1355
Pages: 6
Symbolism in The Awakening by Kate Chopin
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.
Birds often represent freedom and the ability to fly but are also symbols for something that goes one step further. Several kinds of birds appear throughout So Edna clearly lacks those strong wings and she finally drowns in the sea. There are also others interpretations such as the one that says that Edna’s suicide is a rejection of Victorian womanhood and the bird’s fall clearly represents the fall of convention achieved by Edna’s death.
Houses reflect the soul of the inhabitant and the fact that Edna has several houses reflects the idea that she’s changing her state of mind, her progress in her awakening. There are four important houses throughout the novel: the one on Grand Isle, the one in New Orleans, the one on Chênière Caminada and the pigeon house. The first two houses represent repression for Edna, as if it were cages. On Grand Isle she’s expected to be a proper ‘mother-woman’ and in New Orleans to be the perfect social hostess. The other two houses are places of freedom, on Chênière Caminada she can dream whatever she wants and on the pigeon house she can create her own world.
On Grand Isle the vacationer’s cottages are also symbolic. They are the representation of the families which stay there. All of them are identical, meaning that all the families which stay on the cottages are stereotypes of an upper-class family at that moment. Edna doesn’t like being in the cottages, she prefers spending her time on the
Related Documents: Essay about Symbolism in the Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Awakening Reviews on “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin Essay April 30, 2013 This paper is a discussion regarding two reviews of The Awakening. A woman’s view of The Awakening compared to a man’s is very different. Katy (female reviewer) states, “She went a bit further than I would be comfortable with. She became so focused on herself that she seemed to neglect her children and didn’t consider the consequences of her choices” (Katy 2010). The male reviewer (Brother Odd) on the other hand…
6 November 2014 La mer In literacy, the sea seems to be used as a symbol lots of times. This has proven to be the case, in The Awakening by Kate Chopin, where the author used the sea as a symbol it was referred to at the beginning, when the awakening for Edna first started; it was also the final destination for Edna. The story is rich in description and uses a lot of symbolism. The sea symbolizes both the birth and death of the ideas of freedom, liberalism, and romanticism; the sea interestingly…
“Kate Chopin uses powerful and significant symbolism in The Awakening to depict the feminist idea involving women’s longing for sexual and personal emancipation through the development of the main character, Edna Pontellier”1 Explore the relevance of this statement to Edna’s Awakening and show how your reading of the yellow wallpaper illuminates this understanding. The Victorian era was an age of confinement for women in their rights and their social lives, but it was perhaps the beginning of the…
3 October 2013 The Awakening For as long as the art of literature has been practiced, esteemed authors have prided themselves in their keen use of symbolism. A symbol can be any person, place or thing within a story that is representative of something else; symbols often appear to be insignificant when first mentioned, but are ultimately brought full circle and expounded upon, their deeper meanings exposed to the reader. This is done through recurrence. The Awakening by Kate Chopin is an ex…
Part I: Title – The Awakening Author:-Kate Chopin Date of first publication- 1899 Date of Publication- 1989 Time Period- American Modernism Part 2 Main characters: Edna Pontellier- the wife of Leonce Pontellier, and the main character of the book. She rejects the norms of society, and strives to find her own identity. Leonce Pontellier- Edna’s husband. He is successful, and respected, but attempts to fit his wife into acceptable standards by society, rather than care about her own happiness…
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Themes and Analysis by Ryan Cofrancesco When we meet Edna Pontellier early in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening she is living a prescribed life of nearly automatonic service. Although she is living in the upper echelons of New Orleans’ Creole society, she is not happy. She is bonded to the prominent aspects of her life by social obligation. Child care and social appearance attempt to act as a replacement in her life for aesthetic experience and personal accomplishment…