In Kate Chopin's Awakening, the sea symbolizes Edna's freedom from oppression. Edna feels stifled by conventional society and has no interest in being a devoted wife or mother. She feels stuck with Léonce and her children, but does not have the necessary skills to start a new life as an independent artist. Edna must ultimately choose between staying with Léonce, in which she would remain unhappy, or freeing herself from her marriage but having nowhere to go. The sea, although intimidating to Edna at first, allows Edna to escape the pressures of society and provides her with her best option and desired solitude in death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the novel, the sea calls to Edna, beckoning her to escape. “The voice of the sea is seductive, it never stops whispering, shouting, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude” (115). Edna wants to learn to swim, and finally does so in Chapter X: Edna had been trying all summer to learn to swim. She had received instructions from men and women; in some cases, children. Robert had followed a system of lessons almost daily; and he was almost on the verge of discouragement as he realized the futility of his efforts. A certain unmanageable fear surrounded her when she was in the water, unless there was a hand nearby that could reach out and reassure her. (27) This paragraph is symbolic of Edna's journey toward discovering her own inner strength. Others around Edna have certain expectations about her role in society, including Robert, who throughout the novel is in fact "almost on the verge of discouragement." In this scene, swimming alone in the vast sea with no one to “reach out and reassure her” worries Edna. This indicates his current state of dependence and submission. However, Edna becomes elated as she swims further and further into the sea: "A feeling of exultation came over her, as if a power of significant importance had been given to her to control the functioning of her body and of her soul… She wanted to swim far, where no woman had swum before” (27). Here Edna realizes her importance as a human and tastes the independence she longs for. face towards the sea to gather in an expression of space and solitude…. While swimming, she seemed to reach out towards the limitless in which to lose herself" (28). The sea brings Edna the experience of a solitude in which she could "lose herself", which pleases Edna very much because its character feels the need to get away from the pressures of her children, her husband and society This thrill of being alone is soon interrupted by Edna's fear of death: “A quick vision of death struck her. soul, and for a second of time dismayed and weakened her senses... She made no mention of her encounter with death and her flash of terror, except to say to her husband: 'I thought I should have perished there. -down alone'” (28) Edna's happiness while swimming alone suddenly turns to terror, indicating that she is not yet ready to be independent as she fears the consequences of breaking away from her old life. This scene foreshadows Edna's death at the end of the novel As she swam away from the shore, "she looked into the distance, and the old terror flared for a moment, then sank again." . » (116) At this point, however, Edna is ready to be alone, and she overcomes the terror she felt learning to swim to finally surrender to the inviting sea. While talking to Madame Ratignolle, Edna recalls a childhood memory in which she wandered aimlessly through a field, which. ».