Sunday, December 29, 2019

The Awakening Essay - 2046 Words

The Awakening is a story full of symbolism and imagery that can have many different meanings to the many who have read it. I have read several different theories on Kate Chopin’s meaning and though some are vastly different, they all seem to make sense. It has been said that Kate Chopin might have been ambiguous just for this reason. At some point, almost everyone struggles with knowing or not knowing their purpose in life, and therefore it seems, that on some level, most who read the story about Edna Pontellier can relate to her in some way. I believe that those who have theorized about this story, have done so based upon their own struggles with the same issue. To me, life is all about self discovery and what one does upon their self†¦show more content†¦It’s as if she’s been in her cage so long, that once she is released, the results are almost too much to bear. Edna’s awakening begins with the ocean and I feel that the way Kate Chopin describe s the ocean in the beginning of the and throughout the story makes the ocean seem like a seducer or seductress, enticing Edna and awakening her imagination, creativity, spirituality and sexuality. For example, when Edna begins to feel to anguish of her oppression â€Å"the everlasting voice of the sea, that was not uplifted at that soft hour broke like a mournful lullaby upon the night.† she begins to cry a flood of tears, which to me makes her seem like a lost and lonely child. I say child because Edna’s emotional, spiritual, and even sexual growth has been stunted or gone untapped. However, later on as Edna begins to make real connections with other people such as Madame Ratingnolle and Robert, she begins to pay closer attention to the ocean, and again there is another incident in which the ocean’s seductive character emerges: â€Å"the voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in a bysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.† If one takes a close look at that passage itself, it almost sums up the entire story. As the ocean â€Å"never ceases† to seduceShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening on Kate Chopins The Awakening1745 Words   |  7 Pages The time period of the 1880s that Kate Chopin lived in influenced her to write The Awakening, a very controversial book because of many new depictions of women introduced in the book. The Awakening is a book about a woman, Edna Pontellier. In the beginning, she is a happy woman with her husband and 2 kids vacationing at Grand Isle. 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