Swimming Symbolism In The Awakening

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Edna searches for freedom from society, her reinvention of the circle of female life and the perpetual oppression of women within cultural norms. To start, the beginning of Edna’s awakening and her new life arrives when she successfully swims for the first time, exclaiming, “Think of the time I have lost splashing about like a baby!” (Chopin 40). The interpretation of swimming can be a baptism of sorts. Water and the ocean are common symbols within the novel that demonstrate the reinvention of Edna’s blossoming freedom. Where a baptism marks the start of a commitment to Christianity and is a birth ritual, Edna follows a path of independence throughout the novel after her first awakening. Thus, likening this moment

Losing that connection hurts the same way as losing a spouse to death or separation. Divorce is arguable since Robert’s ideas for the relationship do not align with Edna’s need for freedom, but viewing this as a loss of life explains Edna’s decision to drown herself the following day. Her intense love for Robert leads her to despondency like many elders experience when their spouses die. As Edna stood at the shore before her final swim, “she felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known” (165), standing naked to then enter the sea and meet her death. Edna’s awakening at sea circles back to her final act of freedom through suicide. Being left alone in a world she never understood the rules of, Edna’s only escape from oppression is death. Edna died because she met the end of her awakening– at the very least, she had one final realization that society would not allow her the freedom she desires. Choosing to die on her terms, ends both her literal life and the life she led as a reborn individual searching for

However, her newfound freedom comes with another realization that she is alone in her stance, society punishing her search for independence by stripping away the safety it once offered. Because of this, Edna falls victim to manipulation and has her autonomy taken away once more by Arobin. Continuing her path in this new life, Edna's confession to Robert portrays the romantic love many women search for yet find the expectation of restriction instead. In favor of forcing women to be mothers by normalizing pain, the portrayal of childbirth demonstrates the gruesome nature that society tends to dismiss for its benefit. The later death of Edna’s relationship with Robert drives her into depression, making her realize that any choice she makes will fail, as demonstrated by Edna’s glamorous yet hopeless party. Thus, Edna escapes the oppression from society through death, the act of taking her life being the final awakening and stage of the cycle. Edna’s experiences tell the story of countless women who face the same type of oppression in real life, being deprived of choice by a society that does not value