What Does The Sea Symbolize

Such freedom comes with a price, nonetheless. The novel'south birds symbolize both the joys of liberty and its potential dangers. As she listens to Mademoiselle Reisz'southward music, Edna imagines a human watching a bird flying into the distance. Later, Edna's story about illicit honey makes her listeners hear the romantic rustling of birds in the dark. In both instances, birds are markers of forbidden desire. And as the book draws to its conclusion, birds become warning signs. Edna watches a bird with a broken fly float downwards to the body of water in the moments before she drowns.

The Sea Quotes in The Awakening

The The Awakening quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Ocean. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to information technology (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

A feeling of crowing overtook her, as if some power of meaning import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

There was no one thing in the earth that she desired. There was no human being existence whom she wanted near her except Robert; and she even realized that the day would come up when he, also, and the idea of him would cook out of her existence, leaving her solitary. The children appeared earlier her like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to elevate her into the soul's slavery for the rest of her days. Simply she knew a way to elude them.

Page Number and Commendation: 115

Caption and Analysis:

The Sea Symbol Timeline in The Awakening

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Ocean appears in The Awakening. The colored dots and icons signal which themes are associated with that appearance.

...been spending as much time with her as usual. Edna had never been able to swim, and Robert had tried all summertime to teach her; only she was ever strangely afraid... (full context)

...thinks of him all the time, and feels disinterested in the life around her. She swims often and visits Madame Lebrun, who talks to her almost Robert and shows her Robert's... (full context)

...remembers that the two brothers quarreled over the girl named Mariequita. Edna grows sad and swimdue south for a long time. Back on shore, Mlle Reisz invites Edna to come up visit her... (full context)

...her husband, and Edna makes upwardly a story about two lovers that got lost at body of water. The physician assumes Edna is in dear with another man. (full context)

...a visit, and asks if she could have a room in the business firm and a bounding maint at dinner. Get-go, though, she wants to get for a swim. (full context)

...her soul into love, but she doesn't want to sacrifice her soul to them. The body of water in forepart of her is inviting and solitary, and a bird with a broken wing... (full context)

...open up for the first time. She loves the free feeling. She walks into the cold water and swims farther and farther out. She becomes very tired, then afraid for a moment,... (full context)