The Symbolism of Birds in The Awakening
During the Victorian Era, women were forced to conform to unwritten rules created by society. Women were subordinate to men as they were expected to dress, behave, and live their life in the way that society believed to be correct. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin utilizes birds to symbolize Edna’s confined position in society and foreshadow her awakening. In doing so, Chopin conveys that women can transcend from the limitations set by their society and live without restraints and expectations. Chopin portrays the conflicts women in the late 1800s felt through the life of an upper class middle women by revealing Edna’s dreams, desires, and the identification crisis she goes through. To begin with, …show more content…
A phoenix burns itself to death and rises from the ashes, causing it to be reborn. Edna lives out the early stages of her life more so dead than alive. When Robert, Edna’s love interest, departs for Mexico, Edna’s heart wilts away from grief and depression. Without Robert, Edna “felt no interest in anything about her. The street, the children, the fruit vender, the flowers growing there under her eyes, were all part and parcel of an alien world which had suddenly become antagonistic” (49). From then on, she no longer viewed her life as colorful, but rather as a prison that she was confined in. After a period of darkness, the flame in her heart was rekindled along with the desire to become reckless. From then on, Edna acts spontaneously, putting little to no thought into the consequences of her actions. Although Edna’s awakening was brief, “she was happy without knowing why. She [Edna] was happy to be alive and breathing, when the whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (53). In that instance, Edna was no longer bound to her life’s position in the Creole society. Because she did not have to be reminded of her husband and children, she felt as if she “were walking
During the Victorian Era, women were forced to conform to unwritten rules created by society. Women were subordinate to men as they were expected to dress, behave, and live their life in the way that society believed to be correct. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin utilizes birds to symbolize Edna’s confined position in society and foreshadow her awakening. In doing so, Chopin conveys that women can transcend from the limitations set by their society and live without restraints and expectations. Chopin portrays the conflicts women in the late 1800s felt through the life of an upper class middle women by revealing Edna’s dreams, desires, and the identification crisis she goes through. To begin with, …show more content…
A phoenix burns itself to death and rises from the ashes, causing it to be reborn. Edna lives out the early stages of her life more so dead than alive. When Robert, Edna’s love interest, departs for Mexico, Edna’s heart wilts away from grief and depression. Without Robert, Edna “felt no interest in anything about her. The street, the children, the fruit vender, the flowers growing there under her eyes, were all part and parcel of an alien world which had suddenly become antagonistic” (49). From then on, she no longer viewed her life as colorful, but rather as a prison that she was confined in. After a period of darkness, the flame in her heart was rekindled along with the desire to become reckless. From then on, Edna acts spontaneously, putting little to no thought into the consequences of her actions. Although Edna’s awakening was brief, “she was happy without knowing why. She [Edna] was happy to be alive and breathing, when the whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (53). In that instance, Edna was no longer bound to her life’s position in the Creole society. Because she did not have to be reminded of her husband and children, she felt as if she “were walking