Symbols in "The Awakening"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Edna Pontellier, the heroine of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening", struggles with being "stretched" between the opposite choices of following her passion or remaining dutiful. The paper analyzes how the themes, settings, and dialogue in the novel show us this struggle and how it is implied by the symbols Chopin uses. In additiona, the paper explores some of the opposites that symbolize Edna's internal struggle and how Chopin subtly alters and plays with them in order to get her point (the tone) across.

From the Paper:

"The sea is one of the most prevalent and powerful symbols of passion in The Awakening. We know this, first, through connotation. When we think of the sea, we think of its vastness, its mystery, its beauty- all things associated with passion. But we also know this because of the way in which it is depicted. Edna uses every sense, with the exception of taste, in perceiving the sea, and it is often described as being seductive and sensual: "The seductive odor" (1262), "The voice of the sea is seductive" (1263), "The touch of the sea is sensuous" (1263), etc., helping to anchor the sea in our minds as a passionate thing (MacDonald, 1999). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• MacDonald, Erin. (1999.) Necessarily vague: Kate Chopin's gender-awakening. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/macdonald.html
• Steinke, Ellen, and Tomerlin, Beth. Kate Chopin: A biography and timeline. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://web.uccs.edu/english339/steinketomerlin_contribution.htm
• Wyatt, Neal. (1995.) Symbols in The Awakening. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/SYMBOLS.HTM

More papers on Symbols in "The Awakening":

• Analytical Essay # 67924 : "Music and Noise in "The Awakening"
• Book Review # 118931 : "The Sea in "The Awakening"
• Essay # 73749 : "The Awakening"

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