Carmen_The Awakening post

Question: What is the symbolic meaning of Edna's infatuation with the sea?

Comment: At the end of The Awakening Edna commits suicide. This was a strange and abrupt was to end the book. Part of me thinks that by doing this Chopin is suggesting Edna's defeat. Like the bird that falls from the sky before she goes into the water, Edna's wings were not strong enough for her to fly away freely. As Messner discussed in discussion today, his student from prison suggested the idea that most people don't know they have bars around them and once they realize they are there they will probably not be able to live on the outside of their "cage" because they have unknowingly been inside for so long. Chopin could possibly be suggested that this happened to Edna and that she ultimately failed in becoming independent. However, I don't think that Edna failed. She broke free of many of the bounds of her society and age cohort. Edna's suicide symbolized her arrival to ultimate freedom. Edna could not live happily in her society; she could not lead the life she wanted to lead. By commiting suicide she released herself from her bodily bounds and freed her mind.