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Edna Pontellier As An Outlier In Kate Chopin's The Awakening

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It is often easy to spot an outlier. An outlier is the person or thing that acts, dresses, and is overall completely different from everything else around them. Edna Pontellier is a perfect example of an obvious outlier. Edna is an alien in her life of proper people. She is not like the others. In the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna is forced to face two different obligations in life, one to follow her passions and be an individual, and the other to be practical and follow the dictations of society. Through Edna’s struggle of passion versus practicality, it becomes clear that being an individual is better than conforming to society. It is better to be an outlier. Edna’s passions often get in the way of her duties in society, causing …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Edna is represented by a multitude of birds. She relates heavily to the multilingual parrot featured in the beginning of the novel who is constantly shot down for speaking its mind. Edna is also treated poorly for voicing what she believes. Another parallel between the bird and Edna is the cage. The parrot is left in a cage in the front hall, unable to spread its wings and fly. Edna is trapped in a metaphorical cage. Ironically, the house that she moves into toward the end of the novel is labeled the pigeon house. Many more instances in the novel relate Edna to birds, all showing how she is trapped in her bourgeois life and desires freedom. While she refrains from her duties as a typical Victorian woman, Edna finds joy in doing what she has a passion for. This joy is only affirmed by her closest friend who serves as the only encouragement received by Edna in the novel. Her friend, Mademoiselle Reisz, is the only character who truly understands Edna, she is the mockingbird to Edna’s parrot when relating the two to the original bird metaphor. Reisz lets Edna know that it is always better to do what you want than to fit into society. Edna follows this advice and continues to follow her dreams, despite that it makes her an outcast in

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In the context of the late 1800s, it was very unusual for a female of that time to be as courageous and rebellious as Edna Pontellier portrayed.  Edna Pontellier lived in a world where the free will of a woman was considered a fantasy. Thus, the dreamer Edna Pontellier began to uncover the possibilities of women after constant self-assessments initiating a spark to her awakening. A flying motif also conveys Edna Pontellier, as the feeling of being stripped of her freedom by society continues to broaden. " A GREEN AND YELLOW parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door," (Pg.1)

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It is common for people in everyday society to conform to society’s expectations while also questioning their true desires. In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the main protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess, "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In other words, Edna outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Kate Chopin, uses this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning to build the meaning of the novel by examining Edna’s role as a wife, mother, and as nontraditional woman in the traditional Victorian period. Edna outwardly conforms to society’s expectations by marriage.

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The bird, representing Edna, foreshadows her one-way trip into the sea as it, with an injured wing, falls into the water just as Edna, with a damaged mind, walks into the sea. She feels as though suicide is the only way to find a reprieve from the gender standards that have been forced onto her. As she stands underneath the bright sun “[s]he felt like some new-born creature” signifying her awakening (120). Edna departs this world with dignity as she ultimately found her freedom

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Edna begins as a wife unsatisfied with her married life and responsibilities as a mother. This entrapment is symbolized as a green and yellow parrot in a cage that has the right to make all the fuss it wants, although still stuck in a cage, void of the interactions that it longs for. The confines of Edna’s marriage are preventing her from flying out into the world so she can experience it for herself. Edna must escape from her caged existence and find her wings in order to soar. Building strength as an independent woman, Edna finds great value in her relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz who is an artist and inspirational female figure to Edna.

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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.

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Edna continually questions whether or not she is destined to live a life of subordination or if she can find her own freedom. Edna Pontellier’s defiant nature is brought out

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First, Edna is initially symbolized by the caged green-and-yellow parrot because like the bird she is confined. At the start of the book, the parrot shrieks and swears at Mr.Pontellier. Chopin writes, “A GREEN AND yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en!

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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.

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A woman with an independent nature can be described as rebellious, passionate, and courageous. In Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, the reader is introduced to Edna Pontellier, a female who epitomizes the qualities of a woman with such an independent nature. Living in a “patriarchal society” that expects women to be nothing more than devoted wives and nurturing mothers, Edna attempts to seek out her true identity as it becomes apparent how unsettled she feels about her life. Throughout The Awakening, Edna Pontellier, dissatisfied with her duties as a mother and wife, decides to pursue her own interests and express her true identity, resulting in an awakening and her finding the courage to make the changes she deems as necessary. Edna Pontellier had two young boys, Etienne and Raoul, who were ages four and five, respectively.

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However, Creole women were expected to be chaste, and would behave in a unreserved manner. The exposure to such openness is what frees Edna from her previously repressed emotions and desires and motivates her to become more independent. Because they are women, Adele and Edna do not have much freedom, as in comparison to men. However, Edna gains more freedom that is much closer to that of men when she abandons her household and social responsibilities. Edna’s refusal to follow and obey social conventions, allows her to spend her time on painting and sketching.

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Birds were always involved with any moment of significance, and they helped readers see what characters struggle with. The night of Edna’s awakening, an owl was depicted sitting in a tree. At a piano performance, where Edna awakens more, a parrot is mentioned in the text. All of these bird motifs pushed and stressed a specific theme. To distance oneself from expectation and societal norms one will sacrifice.

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From the first chapter of the book, there is a returning presence of birds. Chopin specifically points out how the first bird is caged. This imprisonment is symbolic of how Edna will soon start to feel. Furthermore, when this parrot swears loudly, it reflects Edna’s feelings. Chopin continues with a paralleling reflection through the birds with the mockingbird.

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