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Coral Chen

Mrs. Morris

English IV

1 December 2018

Mrs. Pontellier and Her Sea of Freedom

The sea can be the symbol for motherly love, since it is the origin of life; or it can also be

an representative of the abyss because the sea can destroy everything within it. In literature,

many authors use symbolism to express their ideas implicitly which create opportunities for open

interpretations. In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, she uses different symbols to reveal

themes and characters in the book. The purpose of this essay is to explore the relationship

between the symbol of the sea and Edna Pontellier, the main character. Edna is somebody who

wants to be herself, but society judgement keeps her from being who she really is. Every time

Chopin describes the sea or swimming, it represents Edna’s freedom from social restrictions,

both in her mind and in love.

The sea implies Edna’s freedom in her mind, because every time Edna sees the sea, she

awakens a little and realizes something about her true self. Edna first appears as a normal

married woman who tries to be someone she is not. When Edna notices “the voice of the sea” for

the first time, after being reproached by Mr. Pontellier for not being a good mother, she feels

“some unfamiliar part of her consciousness” is awakening (Chopin 7). Edna is not a traditional

housewife and motherly woman whose life is only around her family. She has her own interests

and sometimes wants to be separate from her family like talking with Robert alone on the porch.

However, at the moment her husband blames her for being her true self, and Edna, for the firs
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time, realizes that it is normal for women to be treated unequally. This is a sad discovery and the

moment of awakening, and Edna had “a good cry all to herself” while listening to the sea’s

“mournful lullaby” (7). That evening is just a start for Edna’s thoughts, she begins to reflect more

about herself the following days.

During the conversation with Madame Rotignolle near the sea, Edna connects her

experience in Grand Isle and a summer day of her childhood in Kentucky, and how they both are

“idly, aimlessly, unthinking and unguided” (19). Edna’s marriage with Mr. Pontellier was truly

an accident, but she fall into the illusion of a happy marriage and her successful escape from her

father’s control. However, near the sea, Edna finds the “realm of romance and dreams” which

represents the ideal love and marriage which she did not fin with her husband (21). Instead, he

wants her to be a perfect wife without individuality. When Edna sits “with face turn to the sea”,

she clears her mind and starts to face her true self that she is not a motherly woman and admits

that “the absence [of the children] was a sort of relief” (21). After a few tastes of what it is like

being free from restrictions of mind, Edna tries total freedom for the first time when she has a

sudden enlightenment while swimming. Edna has been learning how to swim the whole summer,

but one night, she finally understands it. At that moment, Edna feels total control over not only

her body, but her mind. Edna soon wants to “swim far out, where no woman had swum before,”

and get away from people and the society that is judging her (32). At this point, Chopin is

implying that Edna is a different women who does not just think, but also takes actions. The

feeling of freedom is “excited fancy” for Edna; unfortunately, it is also short and transient (32).

When Edna “swam out along,” the vision of “death and [a] flesh of terror” comes up to her, so

she swims back to the land (33). This first attempt of gaining freedom is a failure not only
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because Edna comes back to land, but also because her husband was watching Edna the whole

time when she was swimming. Even in the sea, Mr. Pontellier still watches Edna and controls

her. In addition, the broader meaning is that the society is always watching women’s behaviors

and controlling their minds and thoughts in order to function the way that society wants women

to. However, Edna is not a conventional woman who follows the rules of the society, instead, she

follows the rule of her heart. At the end of the book, she figures that the only way to secure

freedom is not to swim far away from the crowd, but rather to become part of the sea that nobody

can see her anymore. Therefore, she comes back to “the water of the Gulf,” “stood naked in the

open air,” and “went on and on” in the water until she loses strength (136). Edna chooses to die

rather than live as the puppet of her husband, children and society. When she stands naked under

the sun, Edna was like a newborn, and finally realized what she really wants in her life —

freedom. Since she thinks that she does not have the courage to be an artist who “dares and

defies”, Edna decides to acquire freedom by resting in everlasting peace where nobody will rule

over her mind (137). Edna becomes part of the sea, which is her freedom, and her true self.

The sea not only symbolizes Edna’s freedom from constraint in her mind, but also the

freedom from restrictions in her love life. The sea is a sign of Edna’s true love, and this love is

with Robert. For Edna, the voice of the sea is “seductive,” and she has a realization of her

relationship with others, especially Robert (15). Moreover, in the science where Robert invites

Edna to go to the beach, first she refuses, but then she in her heart that she wanted to go.

Unfortunately, the relationship and the true love between Robert and Edna is not appropriate

since Edna is a married woman. However, Chopin soon reveals that the marriage of Mrs.

Pontellier “was purely an accident” (21). Edna’s motivation is truly absurd, because she marries
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a Catholic in order to go against her father and sister’s will. This rebellious side of Edna does not

disappear over time, because when she found that her image of Mr. Pontellier being someone

who understands her is just dream. The reality is that Mr. Ponllier, just like everyone else, hopes

she can be a perfect wife and mother. Therefore, keeping her untrammeled character, Edna

decides to escape the prison of marriage and fall in love with Robert, even if it is not socially

permitted.

For Edna, Robert is her teacher and lover who teaches her how to swim and how to love.

When they are on Grand Isle, Robert teaches Edna “a system of lessons almost daily,” but she

still does not know how to swim and needs a hand to “reassure her” (32). At this point, the

swimming symbolize Edna’s love, and she still does not know how to love another person and

does not have the courage to face her love when society does not approve. The state of Edna’s

mind soon changes. When she suddenly learns how to swim, it represents that Edna is free from

her concerns and restrictions of her marriage and is brave enough and ready to start accepting her

love towards Robert. However, when Edna puts herself into her relationship with Robert, it is

Robert who runs away first, because he does not have the bravery to face the social judgment of

having a romantic relationship with a married woman. Robert does not run away one time from

Edna, but twice. When Edna finally realizes Robert is the person “who awoke [her] last summer

out of a life-long, stupid dream,” he does not under stand her (128). Therefore, she comes back to

the water of the Gulf, where everything started. At this time, Edna is fully awoken and peaceful.

Edna’s body and love are both in innocent states near the sea, because she is naked, and when her

lover says goodbye to her, she does not want to live without love, so Edna decides to use death as

a goodbye to Robert. By walking into the sea, she has the total freedom to expresses her intense
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love towards Robert without any limitation, and the last thing Edna thinks before she dies is

Robert’s word, “Goodbye—because I love you” (137). Edna finally becomes her true self and

chooses the place she finds true love as the place she wants to die. Thus, Edna is completely free.

In this novel, Chopin uses the sea as a symbol of Edna’s freedom from restrictions. Edna

is freed from the limitations of her mind, and starts to live a life that she likes and represents her

true self. At the same time, Edna is freed from her marriage and gains controls of her own love

which she uses to love Robert. Although Edna does not have the artistic spirit that “dares and

defies”, but she has the courage to die, and to walk into her freedom (137).
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Work Cited

1. Chopin, Kate. “The Awakening.” The Awakening and Selected Storied of Kate Chopin. New

York, Penguin Group, 1976, pp.1-137.