How Does Kate Chopin Use Bird Imagery In The Awakening

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Chopin uses bird imagery to illustrate the difficulties faced by women who yearn to go beyond the social sphere that confines them. She develops the pattern of bird imagery with the recurring images of the parrot and the mockingbird, the repeated use of the word “fluttering,” and the details of birds’ wings. Chopin draws our attention to the parrot and the mockingbird right away: the first few paragraphs describe “the green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage” and “the mocking bird that hung on the other side of the door.” There is a great incongruity here – although the parrot is usually seen in this domesticated setting, the mockingbird is usually seen as flying freely in the sky or woods. Instead of flying freely, which is one of the positive images

associated with birds, the mocking bird is being confined to bars of a cage. This tension between freedom and confinement is very evident throughout the entire story, as Edna is determined to break free of the strict customs of marriage that she has already surrendered to.

Chopin describes the parrot speaking “a language which nobody understood” which is representative of Edna’s unexpressed desires. The parrot and the mockingbird also represent the differences between Adele Ratignolle and Mademoiselle Reisz; the parrot’s tame nature is similar to how Adele is submissive to her role in society and somewhat happily fulfills this role making her the ideal Victorian woman, while the wild mockingbird, symbolic of freedom and fulfillment, trapped in the cage relates to Mademoiselle Reisz’s individualistic behavior within the limits of Victorian society. Chopin continues the pattern of bird imagery through the repetition of descriptions of “fluttering” and “wings.” For example, she describes mother-women as “fluttering about with extended, protecting wings” and growing “wings as ministering angels.” This is one of the few times Chopin portrays birds in a positive light in that women cherished their children and greatly respected the institution of

family. However, there is a contrast in that Edna does not exhibit the same passion and love for her family: she has a great lack of affection for her children. This is exemplified through her saying that she would not give up herself for her children and her committing suicide because of thoughts of her children. Chopin elaborates on the struggle between the caged bird and the free bird in the conversation between Edna and Alcee Arobin. Edna reflects on Mademoiselle Reisz’s words: “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.” Like the caged bird, Edna is yearning to become independent from the confines of society, but in order to stay free she would have to have great resilience in order to withstand the social consequences of rebelling against societal norms. Chopin also uses the word “fluttering” negatively when she expresses that those who try to stray from the expectations of society and are not strong often fail and totally abandon their desire for independence. This weakness that is being described is clearly seen in Edna’s last moments: “A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water.” The strong and protecting wings that Chopin had described earlier are now worn out and broken. Edna has failed to go beyond the limits that Victorian society has placed on women: she did not possess the “strong wings” needed in order for her to break free. Through her artful use of bird imagery in the story, Chopin explicitly demonstrates through Edna just how unbreakable the restrictions imposed on women were during the Victorian Era.