ipl-logo

Allusions In The Awakening

566 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Kate chopin the awakening symbolism

The Awakening written by Kate Chopin, is a novella about a woman named Edna, who desires to be an independent woman and break free from the typical 1800’s mold of society. Allusions are used to show how the characters behave and are affected by their surroundings and emotions. Throughout the story, Chopin uses them to connect the characters to the plot and make each scenario recognizable to the reader. “The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents about her ankles. She walked out. The water was chill, but she walked on. The water was deep, but she lifted her whole white body and reached out with a long, sweeping stroke. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (Chopin, 87) This quote is a biblical allusion to baptism. In Christianity, baptism is a cleansing or rebirth. Edna was fully submerged in her awakening. She didn’t want to go back, she had already come so far. “All her beautiful hair...drawn back and plaited. It lay in a long braid on the sofa pillow coiled like a golden serpent.” (Chopin, 121) This is another …show more content…

Music alludes to the main theme of The Awakening as well as Edna’s personal awakening arousing new feelings. “Her playing had aroused a fever of enthusiasm. What passion! WHat an artist! I have always said no one could play Copin like Mademoiselle Reiz! That last prelude! Bon Dieu! It shakes a man!” (Chopin, 41) Author Kate Chopin uses pianist Frank Chopin to allude to herself as a great author, a compliment within her work. “...comprehend the significance of life, that monster made up of beauty and brutality” This is an allusion to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Victor had experienced the same “significance of life” and beauty when his creation came to life. However, he also experienced the brutality of his creation as the consequence of playing

Show More
Related

Edna Pontellier's Death In The Awakening

687 Words | 3 Pages

Kate Chopin develops Edna’s character so rigorously, she creates a whole new character by the end of the novel. Edna’s feat of overcoming her fears reveals the powerful message of being brave and finding

Read More

The Awakening Rhetorical Analysis

1266 Words | 6 Pages

The most rewarding attributes of this experience for Edna would be the feeling of satisfaction of conquering something in a world where woman are seen as nothing; much like a child’s excitement at their newly gained knowledge. In Chopin’s own word she describes “A feeling of exultation overtook her as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul” (page27). Although she is not ashamed of who she is becoming there is still a need to hide which is greatly caused by her surroundings. This can be seen when Edna takes her turn reading a shared book that has been passed around the cottages. Reading this book left her wonderstruck

Read More

Examples Of Diction In The Awakening

401 Words | 2 Pages

Keaton Anderson Mrs. McClain AP Lang 24 October 2016 The Awakening Diction The author’s use of words generally have a strong contribution towards the story’s purpose. Several diction strategies are used throughout “The Awakening.” Kate Chopin’s purpose in “The Awakening” is to inform the reader about a 19th century woman who defies her role in society.

Read More

Why Is Robert Lebrun In The Awakening

647 Words | 3 Pages

Kate Chopin’s novella The Awakening is about the young Edna Pontellier and her struggle with fitting into her role as a wife and a mother. During a vacation at La Grand Isle she meets Robert Lebrun, who is the man she later throws her love upon. Her newfound love and her growing desire to be independent from all aspects of society drives her further and further away from her husband and children, and the lengths she is willing to go to for her freedom expands dramatically. Robert Lebrun and Edna both have secret growing feelings for each other that they are unable to fulfill when they start developing, but when Edna has finally separated herself enough from her family to attempt a life with Robert, he is unwilling to follow her dream. All through

Read More

Imagery In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

844 Words | 4 Pages

Thesis- In The Awakening, Kate Chopin utilizes symbolic imagery to illustrate Edna’s inability to truly break from society, perpetuating her circular growth. 1)Hammock Scene Portraying Edna’s weakening resolve during her first attempts to break from society, the poster illustrates a breaking rope. Constantly limiting by society, she has experienced oppressed her entire life, causing a deep desire to escape to form an identity.

Read More

What Does Water Symbolize In The Awakening

946 Words | 4 Pages

The freeing sense of a bird’s flight and the vast expanse of the ocean’s opportunity are both liberating concepts for someone who feels trapped. Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening over time starts to feel trapped in her marriage and the social standards that come along with being a mother during the late 1800s. She starts to gain more freedom and independence as she searches for love with other men, particularly Robert Lebrun. Along with this journey for love and freedom, symbols of flight and water are presented to represent her evolution as a woman.

Read More

Edna's Roles In The Awakening

1386 Words | 6 Pages

In Kate Chopin’ s novel, The Awakening, there are three identities inside of the female leading role, Edna Pontellier, being a wife, mother and own self. Edna was born in 19th century at the Vitoria period, a patriarchy society, women have low freedom to achieve personal goal. She married with Léonce Pontellier, a wealthy man with Creole descent. After having a child, her life is still unchangeable and as bored as before. Until she encountered Robert Leburn, Mademoiselle Reisz, and Alcée Arobin, her value of self-cognition has changed.

Read More

Ocean Symbolism In The Awakening

925 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1800’s, the societal niche of married women was clearly defined: they were meant to devote every aspect of their lives to their husbands and children. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, struggles to adhere to these standards, and eventually rebels against them. The harsh standards placed on Edna and other women in the novel are like the cages around the metaphorical birds Chopin uses to represent them. Edna's unhappiness in her societal role is realized in the ocean, which symbolizes this awakening and her attempt to escape the gender roles of the nineteenth century.

Read More

The Role Of Individuality In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

425 Words | 2 Pages

The Awakening is a novel written by Kate Chopin that follows a woman named Edna Pontellier on her journey to self-awareness. Edna lived a comfortable lifestyle with her husband and two children in Louisiana during the 19th century. Despite obtaining all aspects to a perfect life, Edna became dissatisfied after meeting Robert Lebrun in Grand Isle. Robert sparked a desire for unlawful lust as well as a yearning for independence in a society full of conformed standards. Edna was unable to handle the pressures associated with achieving personal freedom which ultimately led to her death.

Read More

Freedom In Chopin's The Awakening

508 Words | 3 Pages

In addition to her actions demonstrating defiance against the social taboo of public nudity, they also symbolically represent her overall growth within the novel with her removing society’s shackles that held her the previous summer. Furthermore, Chopin introduces a contrast with the final bird motif that describes an injured creature “circling disabled down, into the water,” alluding to Reisz’s previous words encouraging Edna to fly above society instead of falling to its whims (115). Though this final symbol represents Edna’s ultimate failure to rise completely above social judgment, as she commits suicide instead of living alone as Reisz does, it also underscores work’s theme of the necessity of female freedom through denial of traditional expectations, as the current community still holds power over even those who attempt to live for themselves. Utilizing Edna’s development throughout the novel, The Awakening’s final chapters illustrate the culmination of her growth with her independent thoughts and desire for liberty, and with her act of suicide, the work highlights the pressure of society to conform and the need to resist such

Read More

Motherhood In The Awakening

919 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening was written at the end of the nineteenth century, where many roles for women began to change; therefore, the it appears to have been a turning point for females (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). These changes in female roles were mostly due to the actions of women themselves, motivated by their desires to break away from the limits imposed on their gender The nineteenth century was a critical point in time for women, in regards to their roles in society (“The Role of the Wife and Mother”). In The Awakening, Edna goes through noteworthy changes in the course of the novel, which reconstructs her into a woman who goes against societal ideals regarding motherhood and marriage . In the 1890s, motherhood was viewed

Read More

Character Analysis: The Awakening By Kate Chopin

784 Words | 4 Pages

Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is a piece of fiction written in the nineteenth century. The protagonist Edna is a controversial character, Edna rebels against many nineteenth - century traditions, but her close friend Adele was a perfect example in terms of a role of a woman, mother and wife at that time. Chopin uses contrast characters to highlight the difference between Adele and Edna. Although they are both married women in the nineteenth century, they also exhibit many different views about what a mother role should be.

Read More

Examples Of Patriarchy In The Awakening

884 Words | 4 Pages

In The Awakening, Edna represents desire, impulse, and rebellion. While Adele represents the socially accepted woman, she is submissive, obedient, and a homemaker. This drastic contrast facilitates Chopin's emphasis on Edna’s rebellion, and how drastic it was for the time period. “Edna's experience of self-discovery, "tangled" and chaotic and therefore "vague" or hard for her to comprehend, touches upon a core issue, of individual variation and the uncertainty involved in its creation, expression, and consequences.” (Glendening).

Read More

Edna Pontellier's Attitudes Toward Motherhood In The Awakening

1044 Words | 5 Pages

This novel, The Awakening, is about a woman named Edna Pontellier learns to think of herself as an independent human being. Also, Edna Pontellier refuses to obey against the social norms by leaving her husband Leónce Pontellier and having an affair with Robert Lebrun. Kate Chopin describes societal expectations and the battle of fitting the mold of motherhood in the Awakening by how Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle contribute to their family in different ways. Edna Pontellier’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is not a perfect mother-women. Adele Ratignolle’s attitude toward motherhood is that she is a perfect mother-women.

Read More

The Awakening A Psychoanalytic Approach Essay

1199 Words | 5 Pages

“There was nothing which so quieted the turmoil of Edna’s senses as a visit to Mademoiselle Reisz. It was then, in the presence of that personality which was offensive to her, that the woman, by her divine art, seemed to reach Edna’s spirit and set it free.” (Chopin

Read More

More about Allusions In The Awakening

Related Topics

Open Document