We all have things we want but may never have. It is human nature to harbor fantasies that will never come to fruition, dreams that will never be followed. In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, Edna Pontellier struggles to accept the fact that she may never live the life she truly wants. She finds herself trapped by her daily life: trapped by her children, her husband, and the expectations set upon her by the crushing society she lives in. Once she becomes aware of the fate she is confined by she becomes haunted by it. The only time she finds peace is in the water; at the opening of the novel she cannot swim, yet she keeps finding herself tempted by the waves. Chopin frequently uses inviting and even sexual language when describing the water,
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When Edna visits the beach with Robert, she begins to realize who she is as a person as opposed to simply an object of her husband, and is overcome with the weight of such a realization. She is lost in deep thought, and suddenly decides to begin following her impulse to live life the way she sees fit instead of how society expects her to. In this moment, the narrator describes the sea as “seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation… The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (Chopin 13). For what is quite possibly the first time in her life, Edna decides to follow her desires instead of her conditioning, and this emotional discovery is paralleled in the personification of the water. The sea has transitioned from a “shadowy anguish which had overcome her” (Chopin 13) to something sexual; it has become tempting to Edna and she finds herself wanting to become metaphorically lost in it. It is described as “seductive” and “sensuous,” intimating at Edna’s desire to follow this new course she has discovered. When Edna discovers that she can be more than just a housewife, the sea correlates the discovery with its personification, and the …show more content…
Edna stands beside the water, completely naked and completely alone, thinking back to her life before her husband and children. She has decided that this is the only way to escape the destiny that has been set forth for her, and that by following through with this she will be freeing herself and finally achieving true happiness. In this moment, the narrator says that “the water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with the million lights of the sun… she stood naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze that beat upon her, and the waves that invited her” (Chopin 115), then repeats the quote from page 13 by saying once again “the voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude… The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (Chopin 115). In her final moments, a scene that could be depicted as somber and depressing, the narrator instead chooses to describe the water as sensual and full of light. This portrayal gives the scene a positive and hopeful mood. Edna is rebelling against society’s wishes and instead doing what she thinks will make her happy, and in doing so obtains her freedom. In this last act, Edna’s emotions once again
When Edna visits the beach with Robert, she begins to realize who she is as a person as opposed to simply an object of her husband, and is overcome with the weight of such a realization. She is lost in deep thought, and suddenly decides to begin following her impulse to live life the way she sees fit instead of how society expects her to. In this moment, the narrator describes the sea as “seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation… The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (Chopin 13). For what is quite possibly the first time in her life, Edna decides to follow her desires instead of her conditioning, and this emotional discovery is paralleled in the personification of the water. The sea has transitioned from a “shadowy anguish which had overcome her” (Chopin 13) to something sexual; it has become tempting to Edna and she finds herself wanting to become metaphorically lost in it. It is described as “seductive” and “sensuous,” intimating at Edna’s desire to follow this new course she has discovered. When Edna discovers that she can be more than just a housewife, the sea correlates the discovery with its personification, and the …show more content…
Edna stands beside the water, completely naked and completely alone, thinking back to her life before her husband and children. She has decided that this is the only way to escape the destiny that has been set forth for her, and that by following through with this she will be freeing herself and finally achieving true happiness. In this moment, the narrator says that “the water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with the million lights of the sun… she stood naked in the open air, at the mercy of the sun, the breeze that beat upon her, and the waves that invited her” (Chopin 115), then repeats the quote from page 13 by saying once again “the voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude… The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (Chopin 115). In her final moments, a scene that could be depicted as somber and depressing, the narrator instead chooses to describe the water as sensual and full of light. This portrayal gives the scene a positive and hopeful mood. Edna is rebelling against society’s wishes and instead doing what she thinks will make her happy, and in doing so obtains her freedom. In this last act, Edna’s emotions once again