Themes and Images in The Awakening
"The water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with the million lights of the sun. The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude. All along the white beach, up and down, there was no living thing in sight. A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." Chapter XXXIX
Edna Pontellier, a woman no longer certain of who she is. A woman no longer sure of her position in life, of who she is supposed to be. Edna Pontellier is a woman trapped in the bounds of her society, her culture, her time. She is confined in a box that possesses no boundaries. The limits placed on her are as finite as the horizon. The closer you come to the edge, the clearer it is that the end is just a little bit further.
The water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with
the million lights of the sun. The voice of the sea is seductive,
never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting
the soul to wander in abysses of solitude. All along the white
beach, up and down, there was no living thing in sight. A
bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling,
fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.
Pg 770, Chapter XXXIX
The sea, this "water of the Gulf," is the deepest, most mysterious place Edna has ever explored. Until now, Edna had lived her life on the "white beach," a perfectly virginal island of blind men leading even more blind women. But Edna dips her toes into the dark waters and now she wishes to leave the island and swim out to a better place; or soar overhead, spying on the unseeing below. Edna swoops through the air for a while, but she flies too high, into turbulent currents, breaking her bones and her spirit. Details from this novel by Kate Chopin demonstrate how this quote aptly captures the theme and spirit of The Awakening, as well as the situation of women in the nineteenth century and even today. First, one most look to the "white beach," Edna has trod on her entire life. This beach is the safe and sturdy ground that Adele Ratignolle thrives upon. Attired all in white, Madame Ratignolle embodies the very spirit of the "mother - woman." "They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels." Ch. IV, pg 385. However, on this white beach, where women in white brood over all, ". . .Edna was not a mother - woman." Ch. IV, pg 385. Rather than dig her toes into the colorless sands, Edna prefers meandering walks, perhaps on the shoreline itself. The imagery of Edna walking along as the waters lap at her feet is profound.
Edna is thus far trapped on the ground, not yet knowing how to swim, but wanting desperately to swim into the boundless water. Therefore, she must be content with life on land, experiencing only a portion of the fluid as it swirls around her ankles. So Edna marries a man her father approves of, has children her husband approves of, and mimes a life society approves of. Here and there, the water of living laps at Edna's feet tempting her to jump in. Once as a child, one might even say that she took a few strokes as a ". . . very little girl walking through the grass, which was higher than her waist. She threw out her arms as if swimming when she walked, beating the tall grass as one strikes out in the water." Ch. VI, pg 691. Edna moved on her own as a child, swimming through life as she pleased. However, as the child grows into an adult, the demands of society press down upon her. Edna remembers the joyous freedoms of childhood, and realizes that she has not lived her life as fully as she could have had she learned to swim a bit sooner.
"The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting her soul to wander in abysses of solitude." How beautiful, how contradictory is the sea in its entirety. Shallow pools lie in calm serenity, allowing a person to peer to the bottom; baring all of its contents, hiding no secrets. But as one moves out, away from the solid beach, the waters creep up a body, the water becomes murky, and the footing unsure. This seductive sea illustrates the depths of a persons soul, the endless potential hidden away in every person. Some individuals venture no further than the shallow pools the seas give us. Here the waters are clear, and the contents are pretty and simple.
Other individuals, like our intuitive Mademoiselle Reisz, look beyond what the sea offers. With "a small weazened face and body and eyes that glowed. She had absolutely no sense in taste..." Ch. IX, pg 699., Mademoiselle Reisz searches for what the sea hides. She is not content with a "shallow existence," and wants a deeper meaning for life than what conventional society can contribute.
Edna, again teeters on the cusp, not willing to go back down to the valley of society, nor is she yet ready to go through the rugged terrain that lies ahead. ". . . that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions." Ch. VII, pg 689. Dual lives are lived and Edna is teetering precariously. If she does not chose a path, she could lose her balance, and tumble down the mountain; and a fall either way is deadly. This swaying motion causes Edna to move from one extreme to the other. In one instance, she moves out of the house her husband provides for her to step out on her own. Then she drops from her euphoric independence into almost a depression.
Finally we see Edna as a broken creature; "A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." Ch. XXXIX, pg770. Edna has attempted to fly and passed through a terrible storm. She has not weathered well, and is beaten and broken. After an "awakening" summer on the white beach of Grand Isle, Edna drastically changed her life. Shockingly, to civil culture at least, Edna has disregarded her children, ignored her husband, and flaunted her ill regards towards society. She has dabbled in painted, conversed with those of "questionable" character, and taken lovers.
However, it is not society, with its probing noses and rules that break Edna. Edna's discovery of freedom, independence, and sensuality overwhelms her, and she doesn't understand how to use her newly found power. It was "A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her, - the light which showing the way, forbids it." Ch VI, pg 689. Edna recognizes the power of the human spirit and knows that few are able to withstand the overwhelming force with which it propels us. ". . . Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her." Ch. VI, pg 689.
After Mrs. Pontellier broke out of her cage - like existence, she communicates more freely with the passionate Mademoiselle Reisz. These intimate meetings reveal the depth of Mademoiselle Reisz, and how far she went, how much she "gave up," to fulfill her life's meaning. She also show how certain ostracization comes to those who shun the ways of convenient conventional society. Mademoiselle Reisz has soared high above all, keeping a watchful eye on those like Edna, who are just learning how to fly.
". . . she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong . . . `The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wing. It is a strong spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.' " Ch. XXVII, pg 745.
Unfortunately, Edna's wings are not strong, and she has swum out much too far to return back to the white beach. She swam "were no woman had swum before.", and she never made it back to the land. "A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water." There is a simplicity in these words that bring to life the unaffectedness of nature in a stark comparison to humanity and civilization. Edna is now a bird flying above, attempting to get somewhere else. However, she is broken now and cannot go any farther. Partner sites: French Bulldog, Spanish school in Quito, and Wedding Speeches