A Catalogue of Symbols in The Awakening by Kate Chopin by Skylar Hamilton Burris using Archetypal

Criticism

In general, feminist critics have praised Edna’s “awakening,” describing it as a form of

intellectual maturation or liberation. Although some of the symbols listed below portray Edna and/or

her “awakening” in a positive light, a large number of them suggest that her “awakening” may be

nothing more than a selfish delusion that causes her to lose a valuable, if conventional, life.

Blue, the coldest and purest of colors, is “insubstantial in itself [and] disembodies whatever

becomes caught in it,” according to The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. It is associated with calm,

eternity, potentiality, and emptiness. Madame Ratignolle is presented with ambiguity, and this

symbolism reflects that. On the one hand, she feels “blind contentment,” is “anguish-free,” and

recognizes the potential of “the fusion of two human beings” with her husband; on the other hand, Edna

sees her life as “colorless” and “hopeless ennui.”

Adèle’s lips are bright red. Dark red is “nocturnal, female, secret,” representative of the

“mystery of life” and the color of the fire that burns within the individual, according to the dictionary

(and since Adèle’s lips are described as being like cherries, they are probably dark red). This tends to

balance out the negative aspects of the blue symbolism, implying that Edna may be misjudging Adèle

when she describes her as “colorless,” and that her domestic bliss, which Edna dismisses as “hopeless

ennui,” is in fact a manifestation of the “mystery of life.”

Edna’s party has a fountain, which can be heard. Springs are “symbols of motherhood” in

traditional cultures, according to the Dictionary, and “springs are well known as symbols of the

beginning of life and… of all beginnings, of genius, power, grace, and all good fortune.” It’s worth noting,

though, that the fountain’s splash is described as “monotonous.” This could indicate that motherhood
has become monotonous for the newly awakened and liberated Edna; however, it could also indicate

that her new beginning (which feminist critics regard as possessing more genius, power, grace, and good

fortune than her old, conventional life) is simply monotonous, and that she is deceiving herself when

she considers Adèle’s domestic bliss to be a “hopeless ennui,” because the greater monotony is found in

Edna’s self-absorption.

Edna has a strong affinity for the color yellow. Her hair is a light yellowish brown color. The table

at Edna’s party is covered in a pale yellow satin, the candles are burning under yellow silk shades, there

are yellow roses, and Edna is dressed in a gown that has both a “golden shimmer” and a “yellow

shimmer,” according to the Dictionary. Yellow is the most powerful of all the colors in terms of intensity

and violence, and it always overflows “the limits with which one tries to confine it,” according to the

Dictionary. Edna’s awakened personality, which overflows the conventions of Creole society in an

intense and, ultimately, violent way, is described in this way. Edna’s suicide could be foreshadowed by

the color yellow, which is a death harbinger. Yellow is associated with adultery, arrogance, an intellect

that feeds only on itself, cruelty, deception, and cynicism on the negative side. As a result, it’s possible

that Edna’s “awakening” is nothing more than a cruel, selfish rejection of the family she should value

instead.

Edna accidentally broke a vase. Breaking a vase, according to the Dictionary, “is to destroy,

through ignorance, the treasure for which it stands.” Edna’s shattering of the vase, then, could represent

her throwing away a perfectly good life with a decent husband because of her misguided feminist ideals.

Edna found a “drowsy cat” and stroked it for a while. Although the cat is regarded positively by

some cultures (such as Egypt), it is a “emblem of ‘sin and the misuse of the good things of this world’” to

the Cabbalist and Buddhist. Edna’s association with the cat may (like her breaking of the vase) symbolize

her misuse (her ignorant rejection) of her life as a wife and mother.
 A bunch of leaves, according to The Dictionary, “denotes a group as a whole in joint action or

common purpose.” The fact that Edna is picking “dead, dry leaves” may symbolize her bad luck (i.e., her

eventual suicide), which stems from her rejection of the group, that is, the Creole community.

Edna has a strong connection to the moon and moonlight. The moon, according to The

Dictionary, emits no light of its own and changes shape as it progresses through its phases. “This is why

it is a symbol of growth, life-rhythms, cold knowledge, fertility, sexual laxity (Mayan), dreams, and the

unhealthy imaginings that form the subconscious.” It is a symbol of growth, life-rhythms, cold

knowledge, fertility, dreams, and the unhealthy imaginings that form the subconscious. As a result,

Edna’s “awakening” may be viewed as fictitious; not a bird soaring high, as Madame Reisz desired, but a

“unhealthy imagining,” a self-deception, arising from her sexual laxity.

Edna had given her husband her rings, and when she returned from the beach, she “silently

reaches out to him, and he, understanding, t[akes] the rings from his vest pocket and drop[s] them into

her open palm.” As a result, the rings could represent Edna’s sense of isolation within the Creole

community to which she is wed. “In Christian tradition, rings represent faithful affection freely given,”

says Edna, who does not marry for love. As a result, her wedding ring becomes a lie, and she throws it to

the carpet and stomps on it. The force or bond of a ring, however, could not be broken in Irish poetry,

even if the ring was lost. And Prometheus’ ring “symbolized the fate from which no human can escape,”

suggesting that the ring represents Edna’s inability to free herself from the bonds she has formed, with

suicide as her only option if she must.

As Edna drowned in the suicide scene, she heard the “barking of an old dog.” The dog is a

“culture-hero, mythic ancestor, symbol of sexual potency… seducer, lacking chastity, overflowing with

vitality…or fruit of unlawful marriage,” according to the Dictionary. The dog, “the sage – or saint –

purifies himself by devouring himself; in other words, he finally reaches the last stage of spiritual self-
mastery by an act of self-sacrifice.” The dog’s barking could represent Edna’s purification; by killing

herself, she wisely avoids a conventional life and thus becomes master of herself through death. It could

also represent her refusal to be devoured for the sake of her children; she could be dying to be free of

that very self-sacrifice, and the barking dog could be a reminder of her selfish choice, which she makes

because she lacks the chastity and willpower to live as a faithful wife and mother.

Edna also heard the hum of bees when she died. This is one symbol that doesn’t seem to fit into

the negative symbology. The bee is a symbol of the soul, the afterlife, resurrection, eloquence, poetry,

and the mind, according to The Dictionary. This suggests that Edna’s “awakening” is a beneficial

intellectual experience. The hum of the bees, on the other hand, may be a cruel irony, because “bees

collectively ensure the survival of their species,” and Edna, having left the community, is now unable to

survive.

A bird with a broken wing flutters above Edna as she prepares to commit suicide. The bird,

which opposes the serpent, can represent the soul or intellect escaping from the body, a forewarning or

message from heaven, lightness and freedom from heaviness, or fate, according to The Dictionary

(Koran). “Those who offer sacrifice…are frequently described…as ‘birds flying skywards.’” Birds could

also be interpreted negatively as symbols of “distraction.” Thus, the broken-winged bird in the suicide

scene could represent Edna’s mental distraction and inability to sacrifice for her children, or her failure

to liberate her soul and break free from convention by continuing to live an awakened life. The

symbolism of wings, which is “an expression of rising to the sublime and of striving to transcend the

human condition,” may support the latter view. However, if “the human condition” is viewed as innately

sinful, and pride is the original sin, the broken wing could represent Edna’s failure to transcend her pride

by sacrificing herself for her husband and children.

 While he was away, Edna told Robert that she had been seeing the “waves and white beach of

Grand Isle.” Waves can “be stirred to violence by external forces, and their passivity is as dangerous as

their uncontrolled activity; they stand for all the power of massive inertia,” according to The Dictionary.

In the Old Testament, they represent threats to both the physical and moral order. In The Awakening,

they may symbolize that rebellion against a conventional lifestyle (“uncontrolled activity”) is just as

dangerous as complete subjection to it (“passivity”). The “massive inertia” of the waves could represent

Edna’s inability to stop (and return to a normal life) once she’s started down the path of rebellion. They

could also represent the moral peril she must overcome: the temptation to prefer self-indulgence and

individuality to self-sacrifice and community.

Madame Reiz’s city is a fitting symbol. “In general, the city is akin to the female principle,”

according to The Dictionary, “contemporary psychoanalysis regards the city as one of the symbols of the

MOTHER in her dual aspect of protectress and controller.” Madame Reiz tries to play this role of

protectress and controller for Edna.

With a parasol, Edna can be found. It is a symbol of heaven and a kingship emblem, according to

the dictionary. “The parasol draws attention not to the Sun above it, but to the Sun below it, that is, to

the individual concerned; it tends toward exteriorization.” This is appropriate for Edna, who begins a

process of internalization that leads her to withdraw from society and her husband, thus drawing

attention to herself through her unusual and unexpected behavior.

Robert is associated with an umbrella, whereas Edna is associated with a parasol. According to

The Dictionary, it is associated with darkness, withdrawal, and protectiveness, unlike the parasol.

“Symbolically, it is more inclined to reveal a timid refusal of the principles of fecundation, whether in

physical or spiritual shape,” says Robert, who has been suppressing his desire for Edna for quite some

time.
 Arobin and Edna attended the horse races together. When Edna is alone with him, she notices

that he “repel[s] the old, vanishing self in her, yet [draws] all her awakening sensuousness,” which is

appropriate given that the horse is a carrier of both death and life, as well as a symbol of “the onrush of

desire,” according to The Dictionary.

Edna made use of a fan. The fan is a symbol of ritual sacrifice, an emblem of kingship, an

instrument of bodily liberation, and a shield against evil influence, according to the Dictionary. If Edna’s

awakening is viewed positively, the fan may represent how her sexual liberation and awakening, which

culminates in a ritual sacrifice (her suicide), protects her from evil (a conventional life).