Kate Chopin’s turn of the century novel, The Awakening, emphasizes the subtle yet significant change in the South as women began to challenge the conventional views on their role in society and in the household. In order to mark this change, Chopin presents her readers with the story of Edna Pontellier and her journey to try and ABANDON her life as an obedient mother and wife IN EXCHANGE for a new life full of personal freedom and authority over herself. When readers first meet Edna, she is on vacation with her husband, Léonce, and their two sons, Etienne & Raoul, at Grand Isle. Setting her story near a body of water, Chopin uses the symbol of the open sea to establish a theme of renewal and rebirth that is used to initiate a change in Edna
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As she makes her way to the beach she can “hear” the seductive voice of the sea “whispering clamoring, murmuring, inviting [her] soul to wander for a spell in [the] abysses of solitude; to lose [herself] in mazes of inward contemplation” (Chopin 12). The touch of the sea is as compelling as its voice as it has the power to enfold bodies in its intimate embrace, but unfortunately Edna cannot experience this embrace because she cannot swim. Her inability to swim represents her lack of freedom and how she is barred to shore, buried in her domestic responsibilities which, to her, number as many as the grains of sand beneath her feet. It was in this moment Edna began to “recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her”, this change sparked her determination to learn how to swim (Chopin 12). It was upon her next visit to the beach that Edna released any bottled-up courage she had and entered into the open sea. As her body rose to the surface “a feeling of exultation over took her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (Chopin 24). Edna learning to swim symbolizes her realizing her own strength, causing her to want to venture far out. Swimming as far out as she pleased, further …show more content…
For Edna Pontellier, she experienced all of what the sea had to offer her. Upon learning to swim she was reborn and the sea presented her with the endless possibilities that came with her newfound independence. HOWEVER, the sea, although Edna’s safe SPACE, ultimately ended up causing her death. Chopin’s symbolism of the open sea represents a form of baptism that caused Edna’s rebirth. Learning to swim sparked a renewal in her that allowed her to take control of herself in a controlling society, while drowning bore her into full freedom. Edna trusted the sea TO KEEP HER ALIVE THE FIRST TIME SHE SWAM AND TO TAKE HER LIFE. It was this relationship with the sea that allowed her to grow, mature, and develop a sense of individuality that provoked her
As she makes her way to the beach she can “hear” the seductive voice of the sea “whispering clamoring, murmuring, inviting [her] soul to wander for a spell in [the] abysses of solitude; to lose [herself] in mazes of inward contemplation” (Chopin 12). The touch of the sea is as compelling as its voice as it has the power to enfold bodies in its intimate embrace, but unfortunately Edna cannot experience this embrace because she cannot swim. Her inability to swim represents her lack of freedom and how she is barred to shore, buried in her domestic responsibilities which, to her, number as many as the grains of sand beneath her feet. It was in this moment Edna began to “recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her”, this change sparked her determination to learn how to swim (Chopin 12). It was upon her next visit to the beach that Edna released any bottled-up courage she had and entered into the open sea. As her body rose to the surface “a feeling of exultation over took her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (Chopin 24). Edna learning to swim symbolizes her realizing her own strength, causing her to want to venture far out. Swimming as far out as she pleased, further …show more content…
For Edna Pontellier, she experienced all of what the sea had to offer her. Upon learning to swim she was reborn and the sea presented her with the endless possibilities that came with her newfound independence. HOWEVER, the sea, although Edna’s safe SPACE, ultimately ended up causing her death. Chopin’s symbolism of the open sea represents a form of baptism that caused Edna’s rebirth. Learning to swim sparked a renewal in her that allowed her to take control of herself in a controlling society, while drowning bore her into full freedom. Edna trusted the sea TO KEEP HER ALIVE THE FIRST TIME SHE SWAM AND TO TAKE HER LIFE. It was this relationship with the sea that allowed her to grow, mature, and develop a sense of individuality that provoked her