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Tiffany Lubrino

Mrs. Morris

English IV- Block F

December 11, 2017

The Awakening: Symbol of Birds in the Main Characters

In the fiction novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, there are symbols that contribute to

the work as a whole such as themes and main characters. Set in Victorian society in the early

1900s, there are many restrictions placed on the women since it is ruled by a male-dominated

society. In the novel, the main characters, Edna Pontellier and Mademoiselle Reisz are shown as

women nonconformists who challenge social norms. Their role in the story are symbolized

through birds in a cage, a pigeon house, and to the final act of committing suicide by the bird

with a broken wing. The birds symbolize isolation and entrapment, wanting to have liberation,

and failure of actions of the main character.

The birds represent the main character’s Edna Pontellier and Mademoiselle Reisz being

isolated and trapped by the role of women in Creole society. In the beginning of the novel, there

is an image of birds in a cage. The depiction is set as, “A green and yellow parrot, which hung in

a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over: ‘Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!

[Get out! Get out! Damnation!] That’s all right!’” (Chopin 1) These parrots are entrapped in a

cage yelling out phrases of wanting to get out of there. This is a symbol of what the main

character, Mrs. Pontellier is feeling at this point in her life. Edna struggles to openly express her

thoughts and feelings because her isolation of who she really wants to be find her way especially

during this time period. What Edna truly desires is to move away from the life of a high class
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citizen and playing the role of a mother and wife; caring for her kids and pleasuring her husband.

Another main character in the novel, Mademoiselle Reisz, understands the emotional state in

which Mrs. Pontellier is going through as symbolized as a mockingbird. Edna’s feelings are

considered “radical” during this time period and it is described as being in another language, “He

[the parrot] could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, unless it

was the mocking-bird that hung on the other side of the door, whistling his fluty notes out upon

the breeze with maddening persistence.” (1) To show the parallelism between the two characters

of Mrs. Pontellier and Mademoiselle Reisz, the mockingbird mimics what the parrot is saying

and is also trapped in a cage. She sees herself different from society because she is not married

even though women her age are already having kids, her talent of music, and playing the piano is

her pathway of being herself. Both characters are nonconformists of their time; consequently,

both feel trapped and isolated from self-expression and women’s rights in Creole society.

Edna pushes the boundaries of nonconformity and decides to live in a pigeon house as a

symbol of wanting to be liberated. Though the pigeon house looks old and dreary, Mrs.

Pontellier made this a place where she is able to be herself and do anything in the context of her

own rules. She describes it as, “The pigeon house pleased her. It at once assumed the intimate

character of a home, while she herself invested it with a charm which it reflected like a warm

glow.” (111) This is a symbol of independence since she is away from her former life with her

children and Mr. Pontellier. With only her possessions, this “nest” represents Edna taking her

stance and nearing her attempt of taking flight to escape the social norms. On the other hand,

Mademoiselle Reisz closely observes the actions of Edna because she is also faced with the

expectation of wanting to be free herself or conforming to the roles of society. By seeing Edna’s

growth and transition from being high in Creole society to living in a pigeon house,
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Mademoiselle Reisz warns her to be careful about her actions. She compares Edna to a bird with

strong wings, “The bird that would soar 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.” (98) Reisz indicates that since Mrs. Pontellier is challenging social conventions, she must

stay strong and watchful because there will be consequences in choosing her own path. This is

also a distant sign of foreshadowing since their might be a risk of failure through this journey.

The bird with broken wings is depiction of Edna in the last scene in the novel through the

failure of her actions. Once Mademoiselle Reisz warns Edna of her actions of her attempt of

living her own life and restraining the social norms, it is making her weak and “unable to fly.”

Before Edna commits suicide she sees, “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above,

reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” (136) Edna observe these broken

wings as a victim of society and how her fate has come down to end her life. This action of

committing suicide of in order to fully free herself, the author Chopin makes the choice of Mrs.

Pontellier taking her and the complications of women in society to completely enjoy freedom in

another life. However, Edna on this solitary flight to her death, is a failure of not living a life

according to her own will. The inability of strong wings and flight is not only individually

pointed for Edna, but towards women in Victorian society as a whole.

In conclusion, isolation and entrapment, wanting to have liberation, and the failure of her

actions are symbols of the bird in the fiction novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. This is

represented through the caged birds, the pigeon house, and the final act of committing suicide. In

the beginning of the novel, there is a mockingbird and a parrot trapped in a cage that it similar to

the main characters trapped in women stereotypes in society. Overtime, Edna Pontellier moves

into a pigeon house to move away from these barriers as a symbol of wanting to have liberation.
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However, this foreshadows into what her fate has become. Similar to the bird with an injured

wing, the reader sees the failure of Edna’s actions of not completely living a life to what she

wanted. These two women: Mrs. Pontellier and Madmoiselle Reisz are examples of how women

are trapped in a male dominated society.

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Work Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening and Selected Stories of Kate Chopin. Signet Classics, 1976.