In the 19th Century, women were expected to be submissive and were strictly confined to rules set by societal expectations. They were seen as objects, and used for someone else’s personal benefit. The images, characters and setting of birds in the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbolize the repressive nature of society and how it inhibits Edna Pontellier from fulfilling her desire of achieving independence from the constraints of society. Characters throughout the novel hinder Edna’s longing for freedom in a restrictive society.
Leonce Pontellier, Edna’s dedicated husband, symbolizes the established view of society towards the roles women are supposedly meant to undertake. Leonce, acting as the husband and father he should be, follows society’s expectations. Since he follows this role, Leonce expects Edna to follow society’s mold of the perfect mother in turn, constantly nagging her about “her habitual neglect towards the children”.
Leonce’s frequent reminder of Edna’s expected role as a mother, averts her from exploring her true identity.
By Leonce consistently forcing her into the mold women are expected to pursue, her independence is restrained. Also, since men are considered the head of the house, Leonce expects Edna to depend on him rather than being able to depend on herself. He sees her as a “valuable piece of personal property” because of the established societal perspective, while women’s own thoughts and feelings are replaced by a strong dependency toward the male power in the house. Edna’s father, the Colonel, also represents the repressive views towards womens’ independences.
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He exclaims how “authority… coercion are what is needed… to manage a wife”. His belief that the husband needs to enforce control over his wife, displays how Edna’s desire for independence is just a fleeting delusion that the men are supposed to erase with their control.
In the article “The Unlikely Awakening of a Married Woman” by Kate Chopin, the author also notices how Edna desires and longs to be awakened as she feels the restraints society puts on her. As Edna is awakening, she channels her inner creativity when “she tried to paint – always a bad sign, that,… while she painted there was a subtle current of desire passing through her body, weakening her hold upon the brushes making her eyes burn”. The author observes how a woman thinking and using her brain is considerably bad at this time, and Leonce would never approve of Edna using her time to do something she enjoys. Edna feels her awakening boiling in her as she starts to realize how freeing it is to do something she derives pleasure from, like painting. In the novel, the men dominate society whereas the women are expected to depend on the men. Settings symbolize the repressive nature in society in physical form.
Edna’s home in New Orleans does not provide her with comfort or enjoyment. Rather, her home acts as a barrier that cages her inside from freedom and independence. For example, “On Tuesday afternoons – Tuesday being Mrs. Pontellier’s reception day – there was a constant stream of callers…” this had been the programme which Mrs. Pontellier had religiously followed since her home imprisons this desire and welcomes her house, Edna is unable to look past the solid walls of her home and make decisions for herself back her home conceals the windows of independence. Also, because this is her home, Edna’s confinement is permanent. When Edna is allowed to go out and visit people like Madame Reisz, whose home allows Edna to express her true self, Edna’s brief moment of independence is short lived, since she eventually will have to return to her own “home”. Just like her “very charming home… with the softest carpets and rugs… rich and tasteful draperies… cut glass and silver”, Edna is just another one of the lux objects displayed in her home, a decoration that fits the perfect societal mold on the outside but displays no individual character on the inside.
The recurring images of birds symbolize Edna being trapped by the cage of society. In this cage, the birds symbolize society’s idea that a woman should commit to two roles – a mother and a wife. At the opening of the novel, there is a parrot cooped up inside a cage screeching “Allez vous-en!”, or “Go away!”. It’s cries of “go away” are not only being directed at the people passing by, but it is also a cry toward society’s constraints, exclaiming how it needs to “go away”. Just like the bird, Edna is repressed by society’s control over women. In an effort to break free from this oppression, Edna talks back and refuses the demands of her husband in the first scene in the novel, trying to display a control over her life. Plus, the parrot speaks in “a lang, which nobody understands”, similar to how Edna’s desire for independence is incomprehensible in the conservative Creole society.
While birds are meant to represent a flight to freedom, the birds depicted in this novel try to become free, but are attached to a string connected to society’s rules. As Edna’s awakening comes full circle, she realizes she will never be able to be the mother or wife she is expected to be, while being who she truly wants to be at the same time. Edna takes her own life by drowning in the sea because “She realised that you can only put out fire with water, if all other chemical engines go away”. By taking her own life, Edna felt as though it was the best option for herself and everyone around her, including her children. Her decision reflects all the pressure she was receiving from the people that helped her develop her awakening as well as the people that doubted her. Edna is unable to obtain her independence in the Creole society due to the boundaries it places on women. In the Creole society, “socially acceptable behavior” can present one with a favorable status. However, the joy of freedom is not worth being sacrificed in order to gain society’s acceptance.
Symbolism Of The Repressive Nature of Society. (2021, Dec 26). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/symbolism-of-the-repressive-nature-of-society/
