Ocean Symbolism In The Awakening

The ocean represents liberation from the confinement of the oppressed home lives for women. Edna learns she has control over herself and that she is, “ no longer one of Leonce’s possessions” (Chopin 36.) Women were considered to be property to their husbands during the late 1800’s. The ocean is sharp contrast to the wallpaper in “The Yellow Wallpaper” represents a more literal form of imprisonment in

In addition, she later teachers herself how to swim, showing that she is independent and can do things on her own. She swims further out than any other woman has swam before. This symbolizes that she is acting like no other woman has before, and trying to revolutionize the way women are treated. After coming home from her distant swim, Edna lays outside on the hammock. When Leonce demands Edna to come inside, Edna responds by saying “’I mean to stay out here.

Adele has her sewing and Madame Reisz has her piano playing. One day, Edna agrees to go swimming with Robert. This experience awakens something inside her. She realizes swimming in the sea is some kind of escape for her. She can forget about all her responsibilities as a wife and a mother for a little while and just focus on herself.

In the stories ‘Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress’ by Dai Sijie and ‘The Boat’ by Alistair MacLeod, characters that are trapped in a close minded environment use their knowledge of books to escape and fulfil their desires. In both of these stories, characters are trapped in a close minded environment with some sort of higher power restricting their knowledge of the outside world. In ‘The Boat’ the mother is a strong presence in everyone in the family’s life. “My mother ran her house as her brothers ran their boats.”

1. Quote: “As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself” (31). Literary/Style Elements: Metaphor Commentary: Chopin evokes the emotion of breaking free, or losing oneself within Edna for the reader to understand that the sea or ocean resembles the sense of renewal. Edna being connected to the unlimited reach uses the metaphorical representation for her to comprehend that she achieve things strictly to please herself. Additional Ideas: This metaphor sets the mood in the novel, that it will be used to allow people or Edna more specifically to be happy.

"I find the question of whether gender differences are biologically determined or socially constructed to be deeply disturbing"- Carol Gilligan. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin depicts a woman who struggles with her identity. The book begins with Edna, a submissive wife and mother, on vacation in Grand Isle. As the book progresses Edna becomes increasingly disenchanted with her roles as a mother, wife, and socialite. After receiving a devastating letter from a former lover, Edna commits a final act of autonomy by taking her own life.

in Schanfield 1656). In the text, Glaspell insist on Mrs. Wright being identification as a “songbird” before she married John Wright (Schanfield 1655). Glaspell chose to do this so the audience can see how an independent woman is happier and better off alone. As her marriage played out with Mr. Wright she slowly morphed into the mold a woman was forced to fit into. In “A Jury of Her Peers” Mrs. Hale (referring to Mrs. Wrights singing and happiness in the context of the bird) said, “No, [Mr.] Wright wouldn't like the bird… a thing that sang” she went on to say “She used to sing.

I thought of telling him about binary numbers and the Glass Castle and Venus and all the things that made my dad special and completely different from his dad, but I knew Billy wouldn't understand. I started to run out of the house, but the I stopped and turned around. “My daddy is nothing like your daddy!” I shouted

In “The Story of an Hour,” the main character faced patriarchal oppression by not being able to liberate herself and her desire for freedom. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman portrays patriarchal oppression through the narrator’s stream of consciousness. The women of these texts reflect on the patriarchal oppression and have had an impact on women’s ability of self-expression, cultural roles, resistance of patriarchal oppression, and recognition. Throughout history, patriarchal advantages has taken a toll on a woman’s ability to express themselves and their daily lives.

“[The southern woman] cannot express an opinion without having [her husband] sneer it down. He ridicules her efforts at self-improvement, […] and she feels insulted and outraged” (Dix). Dorothy Dix mentions the emotional tolls taken on Southern white women caused by the patriarchal oppression of the late 1890s. In doing so, Dix creates a comparison between the external patriarchal oppression affecting southern women, and its internal emotional effects. Kate Chopin applies this comparison to her novella, The Awakening, set in the late 1890s about a southern housewife, Edna, struggling to cope with the daily patriarchal oppression from her husband, her children, her peers, her society, and herself.

The next day, Riptide felt like she couldn 't get to the beach to see Jason fast enough. But when she arrived, she froze in her tracks. There Jason was, sitting in a yacht- brand new bought with part of his new fortune from Riptide- with a human girl, his arm draped around her. Riptide was hit with a sudden realization, that humans were greedy and selfish, and would do anything for wealth. She left the beach, enraged, hurt, and confused.

“Legend holds that seesaws became popular with girls because on the upswing they were able to catch a glimpse of the world beyond their cloistered walls” (Brennert 17). In Alan Brennert’s novel, Honolulu, a young “picture bride” of the early 1900 's named Jin makes a deal to leave her native Korea for Hawaii in the hope to find a better life for herself. Jin’s dreams shatter as she is compelled to marry Mr. Noh, an abusive alcoholic that torments her throughout the story. The young girl soon finds out that her past life is out of reach and that she must find it in herself to rise up against the abuse and inequality to save herself. Over the course of the novel, Jin faces countless female right’s issues such as abuse, the wage gap, traditional

Kate Chopin stood as a feminist icon at the turn of the nineteenth century with feminism running rampant through her short stories. In The Awakening, Edna Pontellier is often seen as the ideal feminist, due to her sought out independence from her husband and her family. Often readers overlook Madame Adele Ratignolle as a feminist because she is thought to be the perfect mother and wife, unlike Edna as she separates herself from her family in search of a personal awakening in a way that would be seen as selfish. The reader is led to believe that Adele is the complete opposite of Edna because she is the “mother-woman” of the story. Madame Adele is not perfect by any means; regardless of what stereotype the narrator tries to place her in.