What Does Water Symbolize In The Awakening

In nineteenth-century Louisiana, women are only seen as capable of being devoted mothers and obedient wives. In Kate Chopin's, The Awakening, Edna Pontillier and her husband, Leonce Pontillier, travel in the summer to Grand Isle, an island, which is also a Creole society. While spending time on the island, Edna realizes she no longer wants to be restrained by society's expectations of what a woman should be and do. Edna begins to indulge in abnormal behaviors such as neglecting her motherly roles and being disobedient to her husband. She also begins to talk to, and develop an interest in another man, Robert Lebrun, who further pushes her into her pursuit to find a life where she can live as she wants. Symbolism of birds and water represents

In the beginning, two parrots hang outside in a cage, trapped. The birds are representative of Edna and it shows how, from the beginning, she is trapped by society and held back from living her life to its fullest potential. Edna is disregarded by society because she is only seen as a wife and a mother, just like how the birds are only seen as SOMETHING. Edna feels neglected as a human being until she meets Robert, a man with who she develops romantic interests in. Roberts helps Edna combat her feelings of despair until he ultimately leaves because of the chemistry between them. However, later on, when talking to her close friend Mademoiselle Reisz, who gives Edna insight on Robert while he stays away, explains how “it is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth” (Chopin 112). Talking to Mademoiselle Reisz, she illustrates a bird with broken wings and a tired soul. She speaks of the bird reminiscent of

At first, Edna is scared of the water and she is unable to swim. She needs help and assistance from many people to accomplish her goal of swimming in the ocean. Initially, she is scared of the water, which is similar to how she is scared to break free from her role as a wife and a mother. Robert, specifically, is the one to teach her how to swim and, subsequently, helps her take the first step in finding her new freedom. Edna gets empowered by her new romantic interest and the possibility of distancing herself from her husband. She begins withdrawing herself from societal norms and finally becomes more content with life. After Edna learns to swim “a feeling of exultation [overtakes] her, as if some power of significant import [is] given her to control the working of her body and her soul…She [wants] to swim far out, where no woman [has] swum before” (Chopin 37). Edna develops new confidence in what she wants in her life after slowly retracting from societal expectations. Edna obtains a new mindset on how she will accomplish her goals. She becomes more determined and cares less about what others think. She begins to be more ambitious with her goals, for example, working on her art more and moving out of her family's house without permission. After a while, when Edna returns to the ocean again “the voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander