Summary: Symbolism, Narration and Character Relations In The Awakening By Kate Chopin

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The moment Edna begins to swim by herself is the moment that begins her awakening of her identity. In chapter 10 of The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier finally is able to swim by herself, reflecting one of the most important steps of her transformation process in finding herself. Though she has a moment of fear and doubt, the swim gives her a new confidence and brings about new feelings for Robert. Through symbolism, narration, and character relations, Edna’s rebirth and sexual awakening is revealed.

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The symbolism of the ocean in this chapter reveals Edna’s rebirth and self discovery. First, as the chapter starts out, images of sound and smell of the beach are used as backdrops to this scene. Sounds of a band play in the distance, the smell of the sea is entwined with the smell of of white blossoms, and the “white light of the moon had fallen upon the world”. This positive, light imagery symbolizes the positive experience Edna will have when she first swims.

This imagery sets Edna up for success in her awakening, treating this setting of the beach as a pleasant and exciting place to be. Further, the vast sea once symbolized isolation to Edna, but in this chapter when she finally learns to swim, the vast see represents total freedom. Enda now has no one to hold on to in case she slips. She is used to relying on a man, but after completing this task on her own, it will reflect the empowerment she feels.

As Edna enters the water, she appears like “the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who suddenly realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone” . This metaphor of comparing Edna’s first swim in the ocean to a child’s first steps and reveals her of rebirth. Edna then responds to swimming successfully by scolding herself for not discovering the simplicity of swimming sooner after so much time spent “splashing about like a baby!”. Edna is ecstatic and proud of herself for completing this task. This childhood growth that is used to compare Edna’s rebirth reflects Edna’s transformation. The author’s language in this passage presents Edna as a child who has just outgrown infancy and is now beginning the next stage of their life, symbolizing Edna’s journey of self discovery as an individual. Edna now wants to “swim far out, where no woman had swum before”. This is part of her awakening where she feels how freeing it is to swim in the sea by herself. She feels accomplished. When she finally swims by herself, it reflects her upcoming individuality. Water symbolizes birth, so the water that Edna swims in symbolizes the rebirth of herself as a strong individual. The ocean symbolizes freedom and escape. It instigates Edna's awakening, allowing her to fully realize her independence and strength as an individual. However, Edna’s journey is not complete. Although she defies societal expectations at the time by traveling out alone, she also maintains a child-like fear of self-reliance when “a quick vision of death smote her soul” . This reveals the fear she feels when she realizes that she must depend only on herself to make it back to shore. Edna’s swim in the sea symbolizes her rebirth of freedom, but when she realizes that she has to depend on herself, after always depending on her husband, she grows fearful of being alone. Her swim reveals that she is changing, she now knows what it feels like to not rely on anyone and finds it freeing, yet she goes back to shore because of this new thought of being alone.

Moreover, the narration of this chapter reveals Edna’s awakening as an individual. Edna’s awakening comes at a time where men and women have different roles: Men are dominant and women are limited to only domestic responsibilities. The narrator describes this chapter in a way that reveals the helpless status of women during this time the book takes place, in the 19th century. As we saw in the previous chapters, Edna reflected on her life and how she is limited because she is a woman; she doesn’t enjoy being a mother, housewife, or object to her husband. This chapter is told in a way where we see Edna’s conflicting thoughts about what a woman’s role is. She wants her independence, but the society she lives in only accepts women in domestic roles. Edna realizes she can be free thanks to her symbolic swim, but soon realizes that if she diverts from everyone else, she will be alone and only have herself to rely on, which scares her. This narration reveals Edna’s own internal conflict after her awakening of realizing what she could be. The language of the narration refers to the societal assumptions about the helpless status of women. Edna’s now rebellious will is not strong enough to withstand the consequences of defying social conventions, and the unfortunate factor is that she will never get to attain his power. Thus, the story of this chapter is told in a way that foreshadows the dangerous discrepancy between Edna’s desire to swim and her inability to gain the fortitude and strength that allow her to swim all by herself without depending on anyone.