Broken Wings an Exploration of Kate Chopins The Awakening
Broken Wings A novelist will often employ several literary styles in order to portray the enlightenment and awakening of the main character in the book. Kate Chopin has taken the idea of “an individuals struggle toward understanding and awareness” and through Edna Pontellier’s gradual awakening, her struggle for autonomy and eventual demise into emptiness and solitude, Kate Chopin describes the theme of the short story, “The Awakening. ... 168)” Kate Chopin draws upon several symbols to show the reader of Mrs. Pontellier’s transformation and awakening, specifically, the sea and music. ... Mademoiselle Reisz offers up a cryptic comment towards Edna, ‘“…when I left her today…[Mademoiselle Reisz] said, “The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings (p. ... ”’ At the final scene of the story, Edna’s walk into the sea is foreshadowed by the description of a bird with a broken wing falling into the water (p. ... Chopin also uses the imagery of mist in describing pivotal points in Edna’s awakening, “An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. ... Edna’s awakening and realization is the central focus of the book. ... Through her awakening and through her downfall, the theme of the story is illustrated; an individual’s struggle for awareness through autonomy and rejection of the mores of the time leads to emptiness and despair. ... 175)” Her final and most cruel awakening comes as she walks into the sea for the last time. ... Her desire to break free has let her down and broken her, as a strong wind has broken the wings of a bird.