Feminism In The Awakening

Chopin's View on Feminism In today's world, Feminism is a large part of our society. Many women believe in equal rights and having the same chances as men do. We see that over time, women have gained more rights in hopes of having equal opportunity as the opposite sex. However, although women have gained rights there is still a lack in equality between men and women: In the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, the use of imagery and symbolism through the novel demonstrates feminist ideas. To begin, the of birds demonstrates Demi's ''tis views on treatment of women. The very first sentence that the book opens with is a squawking sound, coming from the parrot that resides in the cage outside of the Pontellier’s beach house. The parrot …show more content…
Wedding rings symbolize eternalness . To “give a woman a ring signifies never-ending and immortal love” (Noreen). Whether it be to go swimming, or to go to bed, Edna slips her wedding wing off each time she does so. When Leonce came back from work after being absent for an extended amount of time, his commentary and foul attitude during dinner angered Edna. She fled the dinner hall, and began angrily pacing the room in which she escaped her husband from, and “stopped, taking off her wedding ring, and [flinging] it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there, she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet.” The wedding ring that Edna tries to destroy symbolizes the tight grasp that husbands have on their wives in terms of marriage. The ring is explains that women cannot leave the marriage, no matter the circumstances, for the circle represents eternity and timelessness. As Edna becomes “increasingly aware that she is "seeking herself and finding herself," she struggles with growing ferocity to discard and even destroy the conventions by which she has lived, including her wedding ring”. (Gilbert) Edna’s wedding ring acts as a “symbol of the bonds between her and Leonce Pontellier, her husband. It represents the vows they agreed to when they got married. By “taking off her ring and stomping on it to …show more content…
Even though she claims she loves them, Edna leads readers to believe otherwise. “She [puts] her arms around me and [feels] my shoulder blades, to see if my wings [are] strong, she [says]. 'The bird that [soars] above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.' Whither would you soar?” (Chopin 289). To begin with, Chopin denotes Edna as the bird who soars above tradition and prejudice, and explains that in order to do so, Edna must remain resilient in her efforts. Comparatively, the “weaklings” that Madame Reisz speaks of are a direct reference to Edna’s two children. Reisz notably refers to these children as “weaklings” because of how they conform to society’s rigid standards. She explains subtly that they will grow up to be exactly like those who have come before them, having implications that they will be “normal”. Normal, in this instance, is unfavorable, because it alludes to the idea that one must act like a robot, with no real control over his or her life. The “weaklings” flutter back to earth “bruised” and “exhausted” when they realize that becoming the normal Victorian Era society is demoralizing and highly restrictive. Similarly, the “weaklings” could also symbolize