The Awakening

A detailed Summary of The Awakening

Just as a child comes out of its mother's womb and takes its first breath in open air, Edna herself is taking her first breath from her awakening in Chopin's novella The Awakening.

Chopin describes Edna's water experiences as if she was a new-born baby coming into the world and realizing that there is a totally different world from where she was held captive from everything. A baby is cradled in water in the womb. It is in this water that the baby develops and becomes aware of itself, just like Edna and her re-birth in water. Just as a baby is held in fluid and then brought into the world and notices life, so does Edna. Through Chopin's symbols of water and metaphors and similies between Edna and a new-born, we can see definite comparison.

Edna's first new water experience is very important in the development of her "awakening." "But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who all of a sudden realizes its powers and walks for the first time alone" (47). She has fully awakened and is aware t

Edna also feels like a new-born. "She felt like some new-born creature, opening its eyes in a familiar world that it had never known" 189).

Finally, the end of the novella is where her death takes its toll. This is the most symbolic part in Edna's life, first of all, she is naked ". . . . . . . and for the first time in her life she stood naked in the open air. . . . : (189). Just like a child is naked after being born the first time and is naked in open air, so is she. This seems to represent that Edna is repeating her birth. Each of these experiences are, for Edna, happening the first time. These "firsts" bring her further away from her roles in life.

Due to her previous relationships with everyone and her new discovery of a different kind of freedom Edna very much acts childish and responds to things the way a baby or a child would. This explains that women tended to be treated like this and also why Chopin associates Edna's awakening to a new-borne.

Towards the beginning of the novella she feels lost while swimming for the first

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 710
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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The Awakening

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