After reading the story “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, I began to have a better understanding of how women were treated in the 1800s. This was a very long story almost like a novel. I found it to be hard reading on such thin pages with small writing. Besides all that this was a very good novel and explained how women were treated back in those times. There are several themes that can be taken from this story. A theme that I noticed was seclusion as the consequence of independence. Edna Pontellier, the central character in this story, believed that independence and seclusion were undividable (SparkNotes). Women had very few opportunities for individual expression, not to mention independence because of the limitations of the law. The women were required to perform their household duties and care for the health and happiness of their families. Victorian women were prohibited from seeking the fulfillment of their own wants and needs. Edna begins to have an ongoing awakening where she finally notices her own identity and recognizes her emotional and sexual desires (SparkNotes). At first she thinks of her independence as no more than an emotion. The first time that she swims, she discovers her own strength. It is through her painting that she is reminded of the pleasure of individual creation. When she begins to speak about her feeling of independence, her husband tells her of all the constraints that weigh on her active life. When Edna finally makes the decision to end her previous lifestyle, she then understands that independent ideas cannot always turn into an instantaneously self-sufficient and socially acceptable life (SparkNotes). Robert has desire for Edna but it is not strong enough to join the two lovers in a true union of minds. Robert’s desire is strong enough to make him feel torn between his love and his sense of moral goodness, but it is not strong enough to make him decide in favor of his love. Robert leaves her a note that makes it clear that she is in fact finally alone in her awakening. When Robert refuses to infringe on the boundaries of societal convention, Edna then recognizes the immensity of her seclusion (SparkNotes). She has now lost her husband but in all reality that was what she wanted to begin with.
The caged birds in this story are reminders of Edna’s entrapment and the entrapment of Victorian women in general. The parrot and mockingbird represent Edna and Madame Reisz. The women’s movements are limited by society and they are unable to communicate with the world around them. The novel’s “winged” women may only use their wings to protect and shield, but never to fly (SparkNotes). Edna tries to escape from her husband, children, and society but her efforts only land her in another cage which is the pigeon house. She views her new home as a sign of her independence. The pigeon house symbolizes her helplessness to remove herself from her previous life as her move only takes her “two steps away(SparkNotes).” Reisz coaches Edna that she must have strong wings in order to survive the struggles that she will face if she plans to act on her love for Robert. Reisz warns: “The bird would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth (McMichael).” Reviewers say that Edna’s suicide marks defeat, both individually and for women. The novel’s final example of bird imagery is when it states, “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water (McMichael).” The bird is not a symbol of Edna herself, but it is rather a symbol of Victorian womanhood in general (SparkNotes). The fall represents the fall of convention that was achieved by Edna’s suicide.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Awakening.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 7 Feb. 2011
McMichael, George L. "The Awakening." Anthology of American Literature. 10th ed. Vol. 2. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2011. 697-786. Print.
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