Essay on The Awakening -- Chopin Awakening Essays

Critical Views of The Awakening The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is full of ideas and ground about human nature. In Chopins time, writing a story with such great attention to brutal details in both men and women caused disbelief among readers and critics. However, more critics have different views with deeper thought given to The Awakening. Symbolism, the interpretation of Ednas suicide, and awakenings play important roles in the analysis of all critics. Symbolism in The Awakening is see in many ways. It is important to understand the meaning of each explanation of symbolism given by every critic to fully appreciate the novel. Art, for example, becomes a symbol of both freedom and failure(Wyatt). It is through the process of trying to become an artist that Edna reaches the highest point of her awakening(Wyatt). Clothes are also significant in discovering symbolism. When Edna is eldest introduced she is fully dressed. Gradually, she disrobes until finally she goes into the water to die, completely naked. Her undressing symbolizes the shedding of societal rules in her life, her growing awakening, and it stresses her physical and external self(Wyatt). Two modern critics, Neal Wyatt and Harold Bloom, agree that Edna is symbolized for her quest for self-discovery or self-hood. Edna feels caged, which makes her quest very difficult. The use of birds in the story helps the reader understand Ednas feeling of entrapment and the inability to communicate(Wyatt). Much like the shedding of clothes, birds symbolize freedom and ply from being caged. The ability to spread your wings and fly is a symbolic theme that occurs often in the novel(Wyatt). Many readers do not like the ending... ...r that many people of her time found unladylike or even perverted. However, as time has passed and readers as well as critics find it easier to talk about sensual emotions, Chopin is now known as one of the most respected and brilliant writers that ever lived. Women had t he feelings she wrote about and life was as discriminating as she described it, provided only Kate Chopin had the courage to tell about it. Critics have given deep thought to The Awakening and with each analysis one reads, comes a new and eccentric awakening. Works Cited Gilbert, Sandra J. The Novel of the Awakening. Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views The Awakening, Kate Chopin Rosowski, Sandra M. The Second Coming of Aphrodite. Bloom, Harold, ed. Modern Critical Views Kate Chopin Chelsea House New York, 1987. Wyatt, Neal. Suicide. http.//www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384