Symbols of Freedom: Sea and Birds in The Awakening - Essay Example

17 September Symbols of Freedom: Sea and Birds in “The Awakening” Chopin challenges the gender roles and expectations imposed on married women during the nineteenth century in her novel, “The Awakening.” The main protagonist, Edna, initially symbolizes the conventional woman; she is married to Leonce Pontellier and they have two children. Later on at Grand Isle, she experiences dissatisfaction with her life and marriage. Edna experiences a stirring in her soul that exposes contradictions between her natural self and “gendered” self. She wants to break free from social norms that bind her to motherhood, and this is her natural self in conflict with her “gendered” identity. To be free, however, is not always an easy choice to pursue. This essay explores the sea and birds as symbols of freedom in “The Awakening.” The sea and the birds stand for freedom, because the sea represents vast new opportunities for self-discovery and transformation, while the birds represent freedom from bondage, freedom of speech, and freedom in general. The sea represents the broad space for self-discovery. Several times in the novel, the sea beckons Edna to explore what it means to be in the sea, or more figuratively, what it means to be free in its waters, because it will give her a sense of freedom. Edna is with her children, when the sea calls to her with its natural and mystifying beauty: “The sun was low in the west, and the breeze soft and languorous that came up from the south, charged with the seductive odor of the sea” (Chopin 30). The sea becomes a person with a distinctive smell. It is like food that wants to respond to Edna's inner hunger. She is hungry for freedom and the sea seduces her to come and taste what it is like to be free, at least physically and imaginatively, while swimming in it. Since she is with her family, she strives to remember her “proper” place in society. She is a married woman and she is also married to her gender roles. Caldwell underscores these conflicting social and individual roles: “From an early age she recognized the division between the internal and external self-one of which conforms while the other one questions” (2). Edna's soul longs for the sea, because it can help her escape her real world: “The voice of the sea speaks to the soul” (Chopin 34). When Edna swims, she discovers the freedom of finding herself. Swimming removes her physical boundaries, which also expands her idea of her “self” and who she truly is. Edna struggles to swim in the beginning, because she fears drowning, which indicates her fear of going against the waves of society. When she learns how to swim, she becomes empowered to know more about this freedom. She says to herself: “How easy it is…It is nothing…why did I not discover before that it was nothing. Think of the time I have lost splashing about like a baby!” (Chopin 71). Swimming helps Edna understand that she can be free to explore the child inside her. She has not grown up emotionally, because she has always lived to serve the men in her life. First, she served her father's needs and ambitions, and now she serves her husband's. The sea reminds her that it is time to also uncover what she wants for herself. The sea also stands for the expanse of self-transformation. The sea has its extremes; it is filled with chaos and calm. Sometimes, it makes sailing and swimming so convenient and peaceful, but other times, it threatens life because of its stormy waves. Edna understands that if she allows herself to submerge into the freedom of the ocean, she will be transformed in the process. The sea comforts Edna as it makes her feel bold and free: “The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace” (Chopin 301). This is the part of the sea that makes her feel safe about her new “be-ing.” The sea can calm her, as she feeds her inner needs. The sea can help her become more confident as a new woman. Edna, as the novel progresses, is becoming another person, a person who no longer cares about what society thinks. The sea, however, renders the conflicts of freedom for it also shows Edna the “emptiness of a life stretching ahead of her” (Kauffmann 36), which is akin to seeing the emptiness of the broad sea before her. The sea represents her freedom, but it is the freedom she cannot access due to her gender and her society's cultural norms. Edna has already tasted what it means to be free when she neglects her gendered roles, since she paints and swims as she pleases. After Robert leaves her, nevertheless, she realizes that this transformation will be a solo journey. The patriarchal society compels Robert to feel guilty and unable to surrender to his love for Edna. As a result, “Edna gives herself in suicide to the vast expanse of the sea” (Gray 72). She chooses freedom over a life of oppression. The sea has been a beautiful opportunity to change and she can no longer swim back to the society that once imprisoned her. Birds represent bondage, freedom of expression, and freedom in general. The mockingbird and parrot at Madame Lebrun’s house stand for the freedom of expression. Leonce feels irritated with these noisy birds: “Mr. Pontellier had the privilege of quitting [the birds'] society when they ceased to be entertaining” (Chopin 2). Leonce belongs to the part of men with patriarchal attitudes and the birds' noise can also be seen as women's voices. He cannot stand noisy birds in the same way that he cannot stand women who express themselves openly and strongly. When Edna fails to do her motherly duties, he tells her: “If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it?” (Chopin 12). For him, Edna should remain subservient to her roles. She cannot say or do anything that will exempt her from her “duties.” As such, she is like a bird in prison. Men and their society has put women in cages and it rattles them when they want to be free. Like birds who must feel sadness for their imprisonment, Edna weeps after her husband admonishes her: “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish” (Chopin 14-15). However, like the birds in the house, she learns to fight back through verbal and nonverbal expression. She decides to swim and paint whenever she wants, which bothers her husband a great deal. The idea of Edna making her own decisions and being stubborn about it further infuriates Leonce. One time, he orders Edna to come inside the house: “I can't permit you to stay out there all night. You must come in the house instantly” (Chopin 79). Edna insists to do what she wants and stays outside. Birds also stand for freedom in general. The capability to spread one’s wings is crucial to the awakening process (Wyatt). Mlle. Reisz recommends that Edna should develop stronger wings for her artistic desires. Edna follows this recommendation and frees herself from motherhood, so that she can be an artist. The ocean stands for the chance of discovering and changing oneself. Birds, in addition, mean flight and it is a flight from all oppressions. It also means empowerment to do anything one's heart desires. The sea and the birds represent freedom. They help Edna awaken to her true needs and identity. She realizes that she has been imprisoned for a long time and that she is not fit to be a mother and wife. Instead, she opens her artistic lid and lets herself flow out in the open. She thinks she has Robert to support her in this new life, and she is dismayed to learn that Robert is too conditioned to be socially “upright.” Edna ends her life with the one symbol that gave her freedom- the sea. In the end, she dies, but she dies free; and that it is all that matters to her. While others think she committed suicide, in reality, she committed to her choice, which is her “permanent” freedom. Works Cited Caldwell, Tracy M. “ Chopin's ‘The Awakening.’” Literary Contexts in Novels (2006): 1-11. Print. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Web. 15 Sept. 2011 . Gray, Jennifer B. “The Escape of the 'Sea': Ideology and 'The Awakening.'” Southern Literary Journal 37.1 (2004): 53-73. Print. Kauffmann, Stanley. Stanley Kauffmann on the Symbolic Use of the Sea in the Awakening. Bloom, Harold. Bloom's Notes (1999): 36-38. Print. Wyatt, Neal. Symbols in The Awakening. 1995. Web. 15 Sept. 2011 . Read More