... like the married Creole women of this time. As the book continues, Edna's awakening begins. One morning, when Edna and her good friend, Adele Ratignolle, are walking down to the beach, Edna is dressed somewhat differently than the rest. "She wore a cool muslin that morning-white, with a waving vertical line of brown running through it." Edna also wears a large straw hat ... Madame Ratignolle, Mrs. Pontellier does not care for her skin. Madame Ratignolle wears a gauze veil, doeskin gloves, and a pure white fluffy dress with ruffles. As the two friends reach the beach and seat themselves,...

• Word Count: 1129
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... , with respect to Edna's character, makes reference to the sea to express this need. On one occasion, Edna and Madame Ratignolle, her neighbour for the summer, are sunbathing on the beach. Madame asks Edna to where her mind is wandering. Edna tells her the ocean is bringing back a memory of a field in Kentucky which, as a child, she had run through with ... feelings for Robert. Chopin also portrays Edna's longing for freedom by using the ocean as a trigger for this emotion. Edna's memory of the field in Kentucky while sunbathing on the beach, the feelings of chains loosening during her s...

• Word Count: 800
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . For instance, Edna's clothing was very modest, much like her life. The clothing she wore can represent a "cage" which is obvious when we see Edna and Adele walking to the beach in chapter seven. Adele wore a veil, "doe skin gloves, white gauntlets ... was dressed in pure white, with a fluffiness of ruffles that became her." On the other hand, Edna "wore a cool ... not cast a second glance" towards Edna. Edna, simply dressed, is thought to be defying her role in society by showing her true self. When Adele and Edna get to the beach, Edna removes her collar and unbuttons her dress at the...

• Word Count: 347
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... The Awakening, the sea is a symbol of freedom and release for Edna when she takes her first swim, leaves Grande Isle for Cheniere Caminada, and when she walks to the beach for the final time. Edna's emotions begin to stir the first time she is able to swim. Following a particularly moving musical performance by Mademoiselle Reisz, the vacationers at Grande Isle ... the era, and is not understood or accepted. Feeling shamed by her affair with Arobin and helpless after Robert leaves, Edna runs back to the sea. She goes to the beach, and strips off all of her clothing, representing the she...

• Word Count: 734
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... dinner. During this awakening she stops and realizes her duties to her husband, but she also questions herself. "Edna Pontellier could not have told why, wishing to go to the beach with Robert Lebrun, she should in the first place have declined, and in the second place have followed in obedience to one of the two contradictory impulses which impelled her ... "(Chopin 642). I believe that Edna was kind of excited and flattered that Robert was asking her to go with him to the beach for an evening swim and before she could think she got caught up in the moment. The though of her wanting to ...

• Word Count: 1027
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... there is more to life than raising children and being a good wife. In chapter six, Edna is awakened as to the true circumstances of her life. It is at the beach that she is beginning to realize that she is an autonomous individual and that what she does affects the people around her. At the same time, she is subject to ... and the expectations of other people. During this period, women led very sheltered lives that were focused on the family and home and not one individual hopes and desires. The beach and the ocean are major symbols used throughout the novel that represent every thing E...

• Word Count: 1097
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of the novel, Edna fears she will never be able to fully be free and escape the Victorian women society. Because of this, she decides to go down to the beach to "dip her toes in"" (163) the water. When she gets down there, she thinks about her husband, children, and the other Creole women and realizes she will never be ... ...

• Word Count: 1075
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the sun. The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in the abysses of solitude. All along the white beach, up and down, there was no living thing in sight. A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water'"'(p. 558). In ... ...

• Word Count: 1045
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... leave her be. Later, when Edna realizes the hopelessness of her situation, birds act as clear indicators of Edna's success in freeing herself and foreshadow her fate. Upon reaching the beach, Edna looks around and sees a sign of what is to become of her: "a bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the ... ...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... inhibitions. Chopin cleverly crafts the clothing imagery to go hand in hand with her character Edna's, sleeping patterns Edna first starts to remove her clothing when she goes to the beach with Madame Ratignolle. Edna only removes her collar and opens her dress around her throat, but this is the first instance she feels free enough to unbutton publicly. After Edna ... ...

• Word Count: 914
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... her husband and her children. However, when Edna does something that contradicts this well-established Creole social code, Leonce reveals his disappointment. For example, when Edna is sunbathing at the beach on Grand Isle, her husband approaches her and says, " "What folly! to bathe at such an hour in such heat! You are burnt beyond recognition." " Kate Chopin adds that Mr ... ...

• Word Count: 638
• Approx Pages: 3

... clearly shown when Adele says, " She is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously." The man on the beach is standing alone implying that he is also an outsider. It is important to note that Edna calls the piano piece "Solitude", for this leads the reader to believe that ... ...

• Word Count: 594
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... clearly shown when Adele says, " She is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blunder of taking you seriously." The man on the beach is standing alone implying that he is also an outsider. It is important to note that Edna calls the piano piece "Solitude", for this leads the reader to believe that ... ...

• Word Count: 594
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School