Symbolism in Kate Chopin's The Awakening
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a literary work full of symbolism. Birds, clothes, houses and other narrative elements are powerful symbols which add meaning to the novel and to the characters. I will analyze the most relevant symbols presented in Chopin's literary work.
BIRDS
The images related to birds are the major symbolic images in the narrative from the very beginning of the novel:
"A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over:
`Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That's all right!'" (pp3)
In The Awakening, caged birds serve as reminders of Edna's entrapment. She is caged in the roles as wife and mother; she is never expected to think for herself. Moreover, the caged birds symbolize the entrapment of the Victorian women in general. Like the parrot, the women's movements are limited by the rules of society.......
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Approximate Word Count: 1975
Approximate Pages: 8 (260 words per double-spaced page) |