The Awakening Symbols: The Sea/Water

The Awakening begins with a scene at the sea. Mr. Leonce Pontellier finds the birds next to him extremely annoying as he reads his newpaper and waits for his wife to return from her swimming lesson. Some may not find this symbolic, but I find that it is. Edna begins the tale in the sea, yet restricted and scared for what is to come, while her husband sits back and finds something to ramble on complaining about. This, to me, symbolizes the relationship between to two and will later on show us how it evolves. I believe that Chopin has crafted this novel around the freedom of the sea.

An example of this  is in chapter five when Edna swims out as far as she can, against the will of her peers. Chopin narrates, "as she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself." Edna is completely at peace and feeling freer than ever, but then she looks back at shore and worries. This brief feeling of freedom is a foreshadowing to the dramatic ending of the book. She wishes to be free, and is very close to grasping it, yet she cannot. This sense of freedom is also accompanied by rebellion; Robert makes her feel free as well. I think that the sea and Robert are linked together with the idea of an escape, self control, and freedom to Edna. The sea represents Robert. When Edna is at sea, she is calm; when she is with Robert, she is calm as well. The sea is ultimately her subconscious goal.

Back in New Orleans, where she is not near her beloved sea, Edna seems increasingly unhappy with her life. Leonce says, speaking to the Doctor, "she doesn't act well. She's odd, she's not like herself." Reading between the lines, I found that her strangeness can be directly attributed to the absense of Robert and the sea. She doesn't seem in the right frame mind in New Orleans; her emotions ride a rollercoaster of craziness. We see her constantly obsessing over Robert and the hatred towards her husband. Since the sea acts as a freedom to Edna, and she is not able to reach it, I believe this is largely why she goes mad. Once again, the sea becomes her subconscious goal.

The Awakening ends with a scene at the sea. Leonce and the children are away and Edna has been home alone for weeks. After some wacky twists in her life, she finds herself on the shore at the Grand Isle. She puts on her bathing suit and walks to the edge of the water. She removes her clothing (also a symbol for freedom!). "The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace," Chopin narrarates Edna's feelings towards the sea. This, I believe, is the final awakening. The sea gives her what she has always wanted, which is freedom. The symbolism associated with her death is the ocean leads me to think that she has achieved her goal. She has been set free into the land of souls and couldn't be happier.

Chopin develops this symbol throughout the entire book. It progresses and changes as Edna becomes closer to her destiny in the water. The sea will always contain Edna's free and lasting soul.