What Is Edna Pontelliers Symbolism InThe Awakening

Page 1 of 3 ZOOM In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the main character, Edna Pontellier surrenders something extremely important: her life. She becomes very self-aware and secretly stands for women being independent from common gender roles and expectations, later realizing that society wants the exact opposite. This highlights several of Edna’s values, including her freedom, her art, and her sexuality.Throughout the novel, Edna Pontellier finds herself being held back because of her family. She is expected to devote all of her time and energy to her two children and husband. The audience should gather that Edna is very unhappy with her life as a mother and wife. In fact, Chopin uses symbolism to show just this. At the†¦show more content†¦She is expected to devote all of her time and energy to her two children and husband. The audience should gather that Edna is very unhappy with her life as a mother and wife. In fact, Chopin uses symbolism to show just this. At the beginni ng of the story, there is a caged parrot described as similar to Edna. The fact that the parrot is caged shows the readers how much like a prisoner Edna feels. The Awakening is set during a time in which women were only mothers and wives. After hitting a point of self-realization and coming to terms with what she actually wants, Edna begins to drift away from her family. The audience can assume that she actually does love her children and husband to a certain extent, because she doesn’t just completely abandon them.One of Edna’s forms of escape is her art. She spends much of her time creating her own paintings and illustrations, while avoiding some of her other, seemingly less important responsibilities—tending to the needs of her children. Edna finds a specific enjoyment and satisfaction in painting that she cannot seem to find anywhere else. In today’s society, creating art— whether it be visual or performing—can be seen as a coping mechan ism, or way for people to get their feelings and emotions out in a positive manner. The audience can see that this is how Edna is coping with her unhappiness and discontent. There are also times when her husband attempts to take this away from her and convince her that their