Allegory In The Awakening

Chopin is widely known for the support of female independence and self-fulfillment, and in her most influential and famous work, The Awakening, she depicts Edna’s desire to explore and find her true self. In Chopin’s writing, she incorporates plentiful amounts of figurative languages to portray Edna’s rebellion which include symbolism, foreshadowing, and imagery.

Out of the many methods Chopin used to depict Edna’s rebellion, the sea was a very prominent allegory to represent her freedom, rebirth, and her escape from expectations in society. In the beginning of the book, Chopin created a very despondent scene when Edna went out to the porch and cried by herself at midnight because of her limited freedom, but then, Chopin deliberately mentioned

(Chapter 3) In a later chapter, Chopin mentions the Edna being ”charged with the seductive odor of the sea” and “The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embraces.” to strengthen the idea of the sea’s voice calling out to her and saying it can help Edna become free from oppression. (Chapter 4) Eventually, Edna even mentions how the “water stretching so far away” just makes her want to sit and look out to sea. (Chapter 7) As we can see, Edna has already been attracted to the sea, but she has not really took into consideration what exactly was so alluring about it. But then, in Chapter 10, this is where Edna begins to take control of her soul, pursue her own desires, and understand why that sea is so beautiful to her. Edna could never swim before this chapter even when she was instructed numerous amount of times from peers and friends, but that day was different; she swam like she finally realized her

The first premonition expressed was right before Edna went and swam in the ocean without struggle. She was listening to Mademoiselle Reiz’s artistic music, and all of the pieces Reiz played where very extravagant and powerful to Edna’s imagination and desires. While Edna listened to the song called “Solitude”, she pictured “the [naked] figure of a man standing beside a desolate rock on the seashore” watching a bird slowly spread its wings and fly away gracefully. (Chapter 10) This is a scene very similar to the ending when she decides to take her own life. Edna, described as handsome woman rather than a feminine women, foreshadows herself standing at the seashore and swimming out to sea to be freed, like the bird flying away. The song title also foreshadows her lonely death and the solitary reflection she has to do in the future on this path. But when Edna swam out into the open ocean when she actually swam, she encountered “a quick vision of death smoke her soul.” This chapter just emits bad premonitions; it signifies that this path she is pursuing is extremely dangerous to where it may even lead to her death, and it did. Another premonition she saw was a “lady in black, with her Sunday prayer-book” following a couple and evidently herself and Robert later. She never took this into consideration that this lady represented death following her and how