How strange and awful it seemed to stand naked under the sky! how delicious! She felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known. The foamy wavelets curled up to her white feet, and coiled like serpents about her ankles. She walked out.

Kate Chopin

The sea in The Awakening symbolizes freedom and escape. It is a vast expanse that Edna can brave only when she is solitary and only after she has discovered her own strength. When in the water, Edna is reminded of the depth of the universe and of her own position as a human being within that depth.

How still it was, with only the voice of the sea whispering through the reeds that grew in the salt-water pools! The long line of little gray, weather-beaten houses nestled peacefully among the orange trees. It must always have been God’s day on that low, drowsy island, Edna thought.

A feeling of oppression and drowsiness overcame Edna during the service. Her head began to ache, and the lights on the altar swayed before her eyes. Another time she might have made an effort to regain her composure; but her one thought was to quit the stifling atmosphere of the church and reach the open air.

Once in church, Edna feels stifled and drowsy. She leaves during the service, accompanied by Robert. He takes her to his friend Tonie’s house, where Tonie’s mother, Madame Antoine, puts Edna in the guestroom.

What doesn’t Edna realize about herself? Edna realizes that she is now different than her past self, but she does not yet realize that she is now seeing the world through “different eyes” and becoming accustomed to “new conditions in herself” that are changing her perception of the world.

Arobin

Edna feels slightly sad when her husband leaves for a long trip to New York, and her children have been taken to Iberville to stay with their grandmother, but once they are all gone, she feels peaceful and happy. Edna eats dinner alone, reads, then takes a bath and goes to bed. She still feels peaceful.

Adele Ratignolle is a good friend of Edna, the protagonist in the novel The Awakening. Adele is a Creole living in New Orleans with her husband and several children. A Creole is someone descended from the original colonists of New Orleans, and this denotes a very high, old money type prestige on a family.

Edna does not want Victor to sing the song because a)it reminds her of Robert and b) it finally shows her the feelings that Robert has towards her, and she does not want to get heartbroken all over again. Arobin walks Edna to her new house. He hopes that she will feel better in the morning.

After Alcée leaves, Edna weeps. She feels guilty when she considers the material possessions surrounding her, all of which her husband has provided. She understands the irresponsible nature of her actions, yet she feels no shame or regret.

Why does Edna visit Mademoiselle Reisz? It “quiets the turmoil of Edna’s senses”. Her visits to Mademoiselle Reisz seem to “reach Edna’s spirit and set it free.

What is significant about the description of Mademoiselle Reisz’s apartment? She lives on the top floor of apartments to “discourage the approach of beggars, peddlers and callers”. Her out-of-the-way living style signifies her independence from ordinary life and distractions.

Edna’s wedding ring is a symbol of the bonds between her and Leonce Pontellier, her husband. It represents the vows they took when they were married. By taking off her ring and stomping on it to try to destroy it (Carey 43), Edna is showing us that she wants to end the marriage and break the vows.

12. What is the phrase that Madame Lebrun’s parrot repeats? “Allez vous-en! Sapristi!”

The Civil War. What event does Edna refuse to attend, despite her father’s pleadings? Her sister’s wedding.

Edna has spent the evening with Adèle and her husband but instead of being envious of their close relationship, she looks down upon them. Although Adèle is the perfect wife and mother, this role is not appealing to Edna: Adèle has no identity other than in relation to others, be it her husband, children, or friends.

This classic story about the position of women in a patriarchal society begins unforgettably with the words of a parrot which “hung in a cage outside the door.” The words that it keeps on repeating, again and again, can be translated as: “Go away! Go away!

Water is the most significant symbol in The Awakening whether it is the ocean, gulf, or sea. The ocean represents freedom and escape. The water also is symbolic of rebirth.

Edna is fully dressed when first introduced; slowly over the course of the novel she removes her clothes. This symbolizes the shedding of the societal rules in her life and her growing awakening and stresses her physical and external self.

The lovers and lady in black are minor, symbolic characters that make paired appearances; the lovers represent the naiveness of young couples in love, oblivious to the future or any short comings.