Nature Imagery in Kate Chopin's Works
Kate Chopin Imagery and Symbolism are essential in a short story because they are used to help the reader better grasp the beliefs, the thoughts and the feelings of the characters. Kate Chopin clearly uses imagery and symbolism as a way to connect the character to the reader on different levels. She uses “The Story of an Hour”, The Awakening”, and “The Storm”, to help the reader have a better understanding and comprehension of the emotional state of the main characters in these stories.
In “The Story of an Hour” Chopin uses imagery of new life to illustrate the freedom that Mrs. Mallard begins to feel. For instance, “Mrs. Mallard looks through her window and observes the tops of trees that were all aquiered with the new spring life. The delicious rain was in the air. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.” Here, nature and everything around Mrs. Mallard is alive and happy, birds chirping and someone singing. Even the rain, which could have been a gloomy element of the setting, is characterized as “delicious rain.” Certainly, Chopin is using this setting to create the image of a hopeful outlook. Kate Chopin uses nature imagery in “The Awakening” to reveal emotion and time; there is a lot of symbolism and representation in this short story. Several types of birds appear repeatedly in The Awakening. In the beginning of the story, the parrot shrieks and swears at Mr. Pontellier. The parrot represents Edna and her unspoken feelings. Also, it’s in a cage, which is a form of literal imprisonment that represents Edna’s figurative imprisonment. The mockingbird in the story represents Mademoiselle Reisz in the fact that it is the only one who is capable of understanding the parrot’s Spanish. By the end of the novel, Mademoiselle Reisz is the only one capable of understanding Edna. In the short story “The Storm” Kate Chopin tells a tale of a woman torn
In “The Story of an Hour” Chopin uses imagery of new life to illustrate the freedom that Mrs. Mallard begins to feel. For instance, “Mrs. Mallard looks through her window and observes the tops of trees that were all aquiered with the new spring life. The delicious rain was in the air. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.” Here, nature and everything around Mrs. Mallard is alive and happy, birds chirping and someone singing. Even the rain, which could have been a gloomy element of the setting, is characterized as “delicious rain.” Certainly, Chopin is using this setting to create the image of a hopeful outlook. Kate Chopin uses nature imagery in “The Awakening” to reveal emotion and time; there is a lot of symbolism and representation in this short story. Several types of birds appear repeatedly in The Awakening. In the beginning of the story, the parrot shrieks and swears at Mr. Pontellier. The parrot represents Edna and her unspoken feelings. Also, it’s in a cage, which is a form of literal imprisonment that represents Edna’s figurative imprisonment. The mockingbird in the story represents Mademoiselle Reisz in the fact that it is the only one who is capable of understanding the parrot’s Spanish. By the end of the novel, Mademoiselle Reisz is the only one capable of understanding Edna. In the short story “The Storm” Kate Chopin tells a tale of a woman torn