![]() ![]() ![]() Edna’s spirit is too wild and free to succumb to a life of subservience, and she will soon learn that she would rather forsake the many social benefits that she enjoys for a life of liberty.Īccompanying the parrot in a separate cage is a homely mockingbird whose song is much more beautiful but whose appearance is dull and plain in comparison with the parrot. Although he is very devoted, he provides no passion in the marriage as he expects her to assume the typical role as a wife of a wealthy New Orleans businessman. She is discontented in her marriage, though no outward activity can presuppose this, as her husband provides her with ample money and sends her many gifts. ![]() More specifically, however, the bird represents Edna and the lack of true attention that she receives from her husband Leonce (Bookwolf 1). Its position resembles that of all women in the male-dominated world at the turn of the twentieth century. To set a tone for the story, the parrot, though beautiful and well taken care of, isn’t free and is unhappy. Two translations of its dialogue are “Go away! Go away! For goodness sake!” and “Get out! Get out! Goddammit!” Either phrase conveys an unpleasant environment, as a parrot traditionally repeats overhear words spoken by humans. The novel is introduced with the image of a colorful parrot squawking words of rage. The avian symbolism in the novel is apparent as the readers mark her tribulations from one bird to the next as she forges an unheard-of path in her upper-class world but eventually finds that she is unable to survive in this new environment of feminist individualism. The reader witnesses Edna Pontellier’s transformation from a caged beautiful parrot to a disabled bird that flies freely. Creating a social sensation when it was introduced in 1899, The Awakening was labeled one of the first feminist novels as it fell into tone with the rapidly rising group of young women who demanded political and social equality. ![]()
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