Just as the ocean cannot be forced to move in any controlled way and is not enclosed by any sort of container, Edna feels that, while in the water, she has complete autonomy over her life. As is typical in much of literature, the water serves as a symbol of free will and lack of restraints. Most obviously, water is continually contrasted against land as a source of freedom. Her husband is often away with business, her children spend the days playing at the beach, the other inhabitants live so close as to make calling obsolete, and Edna is left with a sense of freedom from all which holds her down in the city.Īnother important aspect in The Awakening and Grand Isle is symbols.
On the other hand, when she is on the island for the summer, Edna is freed from many of her duties. She must be home on certain calling days, she must be subservient to her husband, she must put her children before all else, and she must be the person that conformed society encourages her to be. When Edna is residing in the city, she is weighed down by society’s expectations of her. The city, or civilization, symbolizes oppression by societal demands, while the island, or wilderness, symbolizes freedom from society’s watch. On a higher level, the two main elements of the setting, the city and the island, or civilization and the wilderness, serve as symbols. Many families living in New Orleans and similar cities would retreat to small coastal islands for the summer to escape the heat of the city. The setting of the novel is historically accurate. The novel and the film heavily rely on setting, both to stage the events of the story and as a method of symbolism. Disregarding its origins and influences, as a work of art on its own, Grand Isle is well filmed with an enjoyable cast and portrays its main themes completely. Grand Isle is a very complete adaptation of The Awakening and with only a couple minor details altered, the film takes Chopin’s novel and completely translates it into a different medium, often quoting the novel exactly in character dialogue. Both The Awakening and Grand Isle make use of setting, symbols, and characters to reveal the ultimate theme of the work: that nobody is free from society. On the other hand, there’s a film entitled Grand Isle, which is a direct translation of Chopin’s novel. The story revolves around a small group of friends from New Orleans who vacation together on Grand Isle each summer, the main character being Edna Pontellier.
Mugilan Manokaran 160738 The Awakening, is considered one of the first texts addressing the concerns of the feminist movement.
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