How Does The Caged Parrot Symbolize In The Awakening

Edna seeks occupational freedom in art, but lacks sufficient courage to become a true artist. As Edna awakens to her selfhood and sensuality, she also awakens to art. Originally, Edna “dabbled” with sketching “in an unprofessional way” (Chopin 543). She could only imitate, although poorly (Dyer 89). She attempts to sketch Adèle Ratignolle, but the picture “bore no resemblance” to its subject. After her awakening experience in Grand Isle, Edna begins to view her art as an occupation (Dyer 85). She tells Mademoiselle Reisz that she is “becoming an artist” (Chopin 584). Women traditionally viewed art as a hobby, but to Edna, it was much more important than that. Painting symbolizes Edna’s independence; through art, she breaks free from her

First of all, Edna's inability to make conscious decisions played an influential role in her accidentally committing suicide. Mary Bird, the author of "Recognizing Edna's Suicide and the Criticism Surrounding Kate Chopin's The Awakening", elaborates on the stance which states that Edna "in giving herself over to emotion" "has allowed her decisions to be made below the conscious level,. . . and

Finally, her decision to commit suicide can also be interpreted in several ways which come to my assistance to reaffirm the thesis statement that Edna does not reject her children but rejects her mother image. Her decision to commit suicide can be an act of cowardice, because, she finds herself all alone opposed in every way not to be what she wants to be. This proves that she hates the society that binds her in an unrealistic world that does not befit her nature. She does not want to be confined to the society and that she sees death as an escape from the society which is accompanied by the repercussion that she has to leave her children too (The Awakening: Themes, Motifs, & Symbols, n.d.).

The Awakening begins in the vacation spot of Grand Isle. At first we believe that Grand Isle is a utopia, wealthy families relaxing at oceanside, but it is here where Edna first begins to realize her unhappiness. The first sign of dissatisfaction is when Edna allows herself to feel that her marriage is unsatisfying, yet she must agree with the other women that Leonce Pontellier is the perfect husband. Edna asks herself that if she has a good husband

Throughout “The Awakening”, Edna is immersed in a constant clash with society over the significance of the difference between her life and her self. To Edna, the question of whether or not she would die for her children is somewhat simple. Edna attempts to explain this concept to her good friend, Adele Ratignolle, but to no avail, “I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Chopin 62). Not only does Edna consider her life unessential, she categorizes it as equal with material objects such as money. The idea of self, on the other hand, lies on a completely different level in Edna’s mind. The most important goal to Edna in her life is the journey to discover her true character. The idea that her inner self is more essential than life or even her children causes Edna to stray farther from the social constraints of the typical domestic woman. Kathleen M. Streater weighs in on Edna’s situation and placement in

The Awakening begins in Grand Isle, while Edna and her husband are on vacation from New Orleans. The society of the time dictated that Edna was tied to her husband, her children and her home. Many of the rules of New Orleans society are relaxed in Grand Isle and Edna is free to explore many new things. The simple act of learning to swim becomes liberating for Edna. When she is swimming, she feels as though she is completely free of the oppressive circumstances of her life. Edna’s relationship with Mademoiselle Reisz further helps her learn new things and empower herself. Mademoiselle teaches her basic artistry skills which allow her to fully explore her talent and creativity. This artistic freedom is part of the culmination of Edna’s freedom within society. The harsh constraints placed upon women in the society which Edna lives make total freedom and independence almost unattainable. Edna’s inability to escape her husband and her attachment to her children led her to her ultimate downfall. Having no place to turn or escape to, Edna commits suicide, which appeared to be the only possible means for achieving freedom and liberation.

But Mademoiselle Reisz doesn’t play just any music; she plays Chopin, who is the ideal Romantic composer. The style of the music fits the feelings and emotions pent up inside of Edna. “The music grew strange and fantastic - turbulent, insistent, plaintive, and soft with entreaty” (Chapter XXI). The motif of music is constantly there for Edna is constantly changing.

The voice of the sea pulls her back with reminiscence of her childhood. Edna recalls an incident of running through "a meadow that seemed as big as the ocean" (Chopin 60) This connection of the seemingly endless field and the wide expanse of the ocean leads to a realization for Edna. Her life is no longer as plain and simple as it had been for many years. Suddenly, she feels like a little girl running through an unending field, "unthinking and unguided" (Chopin 61). She does not know what she wants from life anymore. She has a husband and children, but the thought of them lacks the feelings of pleasure and love that she should have for them. Instead, they are holding her back, preventing her from running across that wide expanse of grass which symbolizes freedom. She realizes this when she returns home, despondent over what seems to be a loss of her new-found freedom and despondent over the realization that Robert will never gie up society's traditions to be with her, a married woman.

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace (loc 284). Through interactions with her some of her friends, Edna begins the journey into solitude and breaks away from her husband, discovers herself and decides that she wants to live alone, and moves away from her family into a nearby apartment to live independently.

Several times, birds are literally roaming about without being mentioned as some sign for Edna. But out of them all the parrot and the mockingbird are the matches that light up the symbolism between birds and feminism.. These two birds are caged but edna and the others can hear the birds mock from time to time. The bright colored parrot was the first thing to be mentioned in the novel, and all the bird could repeat was "Allez-vous en! Allez-vous en!

As the title of the novel reveals, awakenings are the most important as well as the most emotional parts of the story. Edna slowly awakens to her true self. She begins "daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world." She creates her own awakenings with dreams and paintings (Gilbert 104). It is as if she tried to begin again, making a life that she could control and to become a new woman and be herself rather than what she was expected to be. Edna's awakenings were all a part of her defining her own self(Rosowski 44). She feared to have the conventional life that so many women had become trapped in. As she awakens, Edna becomes less and less traditional by stripping

Whether coerced or through self realizations, there were many awakenings in the book. The first was that Edna was not the traditional mother like Adèle, the second was that she enjoyed doing things for herself instead of for her children and husband. This second awakening is shown when Edna takes time to talk

The point of view of The Awakening is third person omniscient that looks over mostly at Edna

The stepping stones in Edna’s awakening can be seen through symbols: birds, clothes, and even the ocean. The symbols of caged birds in The Awakening represent Edna’s entrapment as a wife and mother, along with all of the other Victorian women. When Leonce is sitting by the parrots reading his newspaper, the parrot spoke, “a language which nobody understood” (Chopin 5). Edna, just like the parrot, can not be understood. Edna can not communicate her feelings with others, her feelings being the “language” that nobody

Chopin uses the first hand description of Adele from Edna as a literary comparison to previous descriptions of Adele, allowing insight into Edna’s own perceptions and changing world view.