Salameh 1

Senecca Salameh

Block B - Eng IV

Mrs. Morris

December 11, 2017

Contemplation Within The Sea

In the historical fiction novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the author weaves a story

about Edna Pontellier and her fight for personal liberation. Symbols throughout the story serve as

Edna’s inspiration and awakening, for example the sea, all of which represent the various

reconstructions within Ednas world. Throughout the novel, the ocean serves to symbolize as

Edna’s inner desire for freedom and independence, and choice.

Trapped within the molds of victorian society, Edna struggles to free herself from her

stereotypical life as a wife and a mother. She spends a lot of time at the beach, observing the

ocean and noticing its seductive nature. Chopin describes Edna’s perception of the sea as, “The

voice of the sea is seductive . . . inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abyss of solitude; to

lose itself inn mazes of inward contemplation.” (Chopin 15) The allure of the ocean and its

tendency to captivate Ednas attention ultimately increases Ednas yearning for something more

than her current life. Edna is thrust into moments of deep self-contemplation as she realizes who

she is and her current role in society. Contemplation of the ocean initiates a self-awareness

within Edna as she slowly begins to break away from her familial life and her typical duties as a

wife and mother. She imagines the ocean as a symbol of independence and it begins to provide a

motive for her to break free as she thinks, “. . . her imagination the figure of a man standing

beside a desolate rock on the seashore . . . his attitude was one of hopeless resignation . . .” (30)

The desolate rock serves as a representation of Edna’s desire for freedom, which may typically
 Salameh 2

be accompanied by the feeling of loneliness. Although Edna feels willing to break away from her

current life, she still feels alone in her endeavors for a life beyond her own. The sea represents

Ednas inspiration and thirst for independence as she makes numerous decisions to break off from

her ordinary life.

With Ednas freedom, the ocean stays as a reminder that she is able to make her own

decisions. Decisions such as deciding to de-prioritize her family and her life as a woman in her

current societal class, all of which affect her general morale and disposition within the novel. She

withdraws into herself and spends more time alone as she is now seen as different from other

women. However, this is the life that she has chosen. The ability to be able to actually choose her

life as her own becomes one of Edna’s main priorities as she refuses to let herself be anyone

else’s property but her own. Similar to the sea, the ocean is no ones property but its own. The sea

chooses when to wash over the shore and when to recede just as when Edna chooses to set aside

her previous life. Although it remains unstated at the end of the novel, one can assume that she

chooses to drown herself in the sea as the narration states, “The touch of the sea is sensuous,

enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” (137) The ocean, a place where she once found

her true self, has now become her grave as she becomes exhausted and overcome with an

overwhelming feeling of uncertainty and displacement. Even though Edna’s story ends on a

somber note, it is important not to forget that even in the end, Edna has the right to choose how

her life will go. The sea is representative of not only Ednas liberation but the power to decide

upon the nuances of her life.

Edna Pontellier proves to be a strong woman as she shows the readers how the ocean is

reflective of her personality and her characters desire for independence. She undergoes a

transformation from a standard housewife to becoming an independent and self-aware woman.

 Salameh 3

Work Cited

Chopin, Kate. “The Awakening.” The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin, edited by
Barbara H. Solomon, New American Library, a Division of Penguin Group (USA), 2005.